ProRodeo Sports News - July 23, 2021

the PRCA suggested he reach out to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. “I told them I didn’t rodeo anymore (because of his injury), and they told me I was still a cowboy,” Whitcher said. “So, I reached out to them ( JCCF), and KimKrueger from JCCF got back to me right away and said she would talk to the JCCF board and would let me know. As soon as she put it before the board, they didn’t hesitate and said they wanted to help me. “I just needed a little assistance getting a van and I would get it modified with a wheelchair ramp and all of that. I wasn’t looking for a handout, just a hand up. I’m still prideful, and it’s tough to ask for help.” The Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund mission is to provide need-based financial assistance to athletes injured through their participation in professional rodeo. The JCCF has given nearly $9.5 million in need-based financial assistance to more than 1,200 injured rodeo athletes and their families. With the stamp of approval from the JCCF to assist Whitcher, David Perkins, the president of Perkins Motors in Colorado Springs, Colo., answered when the PRCA called. “Being able to impact the rodeo community and do this is something we are thrilled to be a part of, and we are thrilled the (PRCA) came to us,” Perkins said. “Rodeo has become such a big thing for us since we became a Dodge dealer and partnered with RAMRodeo in 1997.” Whitcher was grateful to the JCCF, the PRCA and Perkins Motors. “I was so excited when Kim (Krueger) called and told me they found a van,” Whitcher said. “It worked out perfectly.” On July 6, PRCA representative Cody Rempelos delivered a 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan toWhitcher inWhitcher’s hometown of Scenic, S.D., about 45 minutes from Rapid City. “It was awesome,” Whitcher said. “The feeling was great. I told Kim (Krueger) I could never thank everyone on the JCCF board and her enough for as much as they have done for me and everyone who helped make this happen. It felt like a burden was off my shoulders and I had a little bit of breathing room. Now, I could put a little bit of my money toward other stuff and not stress out what I was going to do. Everything is so much more expensive with wheelchairs and wheelchair vehicles. It’s tough to juggle some of those expenses. This new van I’m hoping will last me 20 years.” Whitcher is in the process of having the van modified. “There’s a guy up here in Rapid City who works on vans like this,” Whitcher said. “He rebuilds them. He puts ramps in them and electric doors and modifies them for wheelchairs. That stuff gets pretty expensive, but we are going to make all that work and get everything going. Just having a brand-new van cuts the cost in half. It will take a few months to get everything modified with my van.” A VAN WITH OPTIONS Whitcher said the van will help him to continue the things he loves to do. “The big thing about this van is I drive up to Rapid City three times a week and go to Roosevelt SwimCenter,” Whitcher said. “I get dropped down in the pool in the 13-foot end and I go to swimming laps. That’s where I go to clear my mind. If I’m having a bad day, I swim for about 20 to 30 minutes and I can be at peace. I have some leg braces that we put on at my house and I can walk around with the use of parallel bars. I also ride an exercise bike and try to stay very physically active. This van gives me so much freedom. I can get in it and drive and go watch the rodeo in Deadwood, for example, and get to see my buddies rodeo.” Whitcher and his wife, Kasidee, have been married since 2016. “My wife has been very supportive, and she taught me how to bead belts, and I have been doing that for the last few years,” Julian said. “I have been making tons of belts. Kasidee starts my belts and then a good friend, Austin Livermont, helps me finish them. I’ve made a lot of belts for my buddies like Shane O’Connell, Taos Muncy and Cort Scheer. They all wear them, and it’s great because it keeps me so busy and it’s great therapy for my hands. If someone wants a belt, they can Facebook me or call me and we can design something.”

Above, Julian Whitcher competes in bareback riding at Rodeo Austin (Texas) in 2003. At left, Julian Whitcher poses with the Badlands in the background. Whitcher, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a 2008 rodeo accident, was recently given a 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan from the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. Kirt Steinke and Elsie Fortune photos

ProRodeo Sports News 7/23/2021

ProRodeo.com

55