ProRodeo Sports News - Feb. 21, 2020

OUTSIDE THE ARENA

FROM PAGE 49

going to go rodeo. Kind of. “J.R. was ready to go rodeoing and I was with him,”

Thomas said. “And at this point they (Vezain and Landingham) are going to San Angelo, Houston, and I’m not entered, and I couldn’t get in even if I tried to enter. He tells me we have to get going on the road. What are you going to do? So I went along and ended up meeting this family of bronc riders down in southern Arizona on the Mexican border, the DeWitts.” Thomas caught another ride and soon found himself in Rio Rico, Ariz., working for the Miles DeWitt Family. “I took what belongings I had and started hitching rides south,” he said. “I was back to being a broke cattleman, a day- hand again. They treated me really, really well. They raised bucking horses in the middle of the Sierras on the Mexican border.” Again, he made the most of an unlikely situation. “I was able to practice, able to mount out and get on horses,” he said. Then came a break. The first rodeoThomas competed at in the PRCA was in Yuma, Ariz., in 2013 after purchasing his card. “I went second in the bareback riding, I don’t remember in saddle bronc riding,” he said. “I thought, ‘God, I’ve made it, I won money in professional rodeo. My life starts here.” HEALTHY AND COMPETING Since then, it’s been up and down in terms of ProRodeo, where he now competes solely in bareback riding. In terms of life, much more up than down. He’s undergone 16 major surgeries because of rodeo, the latest for a broken arm that damaged nerves, ligaments and tendons. That one took himmore than a year and a half to recover from. He’s feeling right again. Thomas has lived in 13 states in the U.S. He now lives in Humble, Texas. He’s also healthy. And as of Feb. 18, he was ninth in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings, in search of his first trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Thomas made a promise to himself, never again would he be caught unaware in rodeo. He’s also become an aficionado of bucking horses. And he can help cowboys at a world-class rehabilitation facility in Houston, the Ironman Sports Medicine Institute –Memorial Hermann. Thomas has worked out there too and has gotten to know the staff well. “I had the love of rodeo in my heart, but I didn’t know anything about being an athlete and I didn’t know anything about the business side of it, the entry side and logistics, and basically being your own travel agent,” Thomas said. “I promised myself I was going to study and become the best all-around athlete I could be. … I have a strength coach, athletic doctor. Nutrition is huge for me, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke. Now, everything goes into the preparation of being a world champion one day.” Landingham and other cowboys have worked withThomas at the rehab facility. “He’s had a few guys go in there with him, whoever is around Houston,” Landingham said. “They welcome you in as one of their own. Those guys seemed like they knew what they were doing.” Thomas will never forget where he came from, even if he says he can’t remember some of it. “I didn’t have parents, I didn’t have guidance,” he said. “I went to work like a man in one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, so I never really had an aspect of fear or knowledge of danger. And that’s how I became a bareback rider. “If it wasn’t for Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve any of this. Running away from home, what 12-year-old can do that without anybody looking after them?” The cowboy from the Kimberly has come a long way, literally and

Photo courtesy Anthony Thomas Before moving to North America, Thomas competed for the Australian Professional Rodeo Association.

figuratively. He’s nowhere close to quitting now. And he’s finally found a home. “I’m 32 years old,” he said. “I know I don’t have the youth running through my veins that (2019 world champion) Clayton Biglow and those young guys have, but I have experience and my fitness, and I’ll work harder, train harder, live better and I’ll be a top contender again soon. “I have a world title in my sights and most definitely the NFR in my sights for at least the next five years, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get there.” Robby Freeman photo Thomas checks his wrap at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, Feb. 16.

ProRodeo Sports News 2/21/2020

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