ProRodeo Sports News - Jan. 7, 2022

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Click Thompson

Cowboys recovering from injuries sustained at NFR On the Mend BY TANNER BARTH T he Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge is a 10-day battle that takes every ounce of strength a cowboy has to finish the fight. Unfortunately, during those 10 days injuries tend to happen Bullfighter Dusty Tuckness is carried off by Justin Sportsmedicine after suffering a broken leg in Round 9 of the Wrangler NFR.

He said while the injury will keep him out of competition for nearly six months, he expects to make a full recovery and be back for the key stretch of the 2022 ProRodeo season. “It’s going to be a lengthy recovery for me, but I’m ready to attack it head on,” Broussard said. “They say it’s going to take six months, but I plan on being healthy before then. But I’m going to let it heal completely and then I’ll be back and be ready for hopefully Calgary and the summer run.” Three-time NFR qualifying bull rider Dustin Boquet will miss time in the upcoming season after suffering a shoulder injury in Round 6 of the Finals. He broke the humerus bone near the top of his left shoulder, he dealt with a similar injury earlier in the season. It caused him to miss the remaining four rounds of the NFR. “I’m still wearing a sling right now and probably will be for the next month or so,” said Boquet, 27. “It broke in a different spot than it did last year, with this injury we are just going to let it heal. Last time they put a plate and 10 screws in my arm.” His plan is to return to action at the midway point of the season. He hopes to return even better than he was before with his sights set on qualifying for his third straight Finals in 2022.

and a few cowboys were dinged up at the conclusion of this year’s event. A handful of those injuries will also force the athletes to miss a portion of the upcoming year. “If you get beat up in the early rounds the rodeo doesn’t stop for you to heal up,” said Taylor Broussard, a 2021Wrangler NFR qualifier in bareback riding. “It really is a 10-day fight, I was hurting pretty bad by the end of it, but that’s just the way it goes.” Broussard suffered a left shoulder dislocation in Round 3 and a neck injury in Round 6 that forced him to miss the next two rounds. He did return for Rounds 9 and 10 but failed to reach the pay window. The injury required surgery at the completion of the Finals. “They had to go in and repair my rotator cuff, my labrum, and the capsule on my shoulder,” said Broussard, 28. “That was all frommy shoulder being dislocated in Round 3. I just got my physical therapy started on that.”

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ProRodeo Sports News 1/7/2022

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