ProRodeo Sports News - July 24, 2020

out strong.”

Not finding bull riding until he was a little older pushes Fischer. “That’s one thing that always drives me to push even harder, a lot of guys I compete with have been riding since they could get on little calves,” he said. “The first one I got on was a full-sized bull. I’ve never wanted to use that as an excuse that these guys have been at it longer than me. I use it to progress even faster and push harder.” SETTING GOALS Fischer is traveling with Elliot Jacoby, a two-time NFR qualifier. They were also traveling with Dakota Eagleburger until Eagleburger was injured recently. “Cole’s a guy I’ve known quite a bit of my bull riding career,” Eagleburger said. “The guy wants it so bad he puts everything he has into it. He’s got all the try in the world.” While Eagleburger is mending, Fischer and Jacoby are on the road. “We are entering every rodeo,” Fischer said. “This winter we were going really hard, we were in Houston when it shut down. I was doing really well, I never stopped throughout the coronavirus (shutdown), I was going to jackpots and trying to stay fresh. Some guys took that time off, and I just didn’t want to stop. I wanted to keep going the way things were going. With things picking back up, I had a pretty decent Fourth of July – it could’ve been better, but it could’ve been worse too.” While his cage-fighting days are behind him, bull riding isn’t. It’s staring him in the face and that goal of making the National Finals Rodeo is the carrot that keeps him coming back. And his mom? She just wants him to be happy, he said. “I went out and got on a bull and never turned back,” Fischer said. “It was pretty thrilling. It’s crazy how God works. If you’d have asked me eight years ago if I’d be riding bulls and be where I am now, I would’ve laughed at you.”

“It’s always nice to set a goal early in the season and be able to accomplish it. The (2019) season started slower than I wanted to, but I got on a roll in the middle of summer and was able to finish out strong.” – COLE FISCHER

By the time the RAMGreat Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo rolled around, Fischer already had a solid lead, which is what he wanted, just in case. “It (the circuit finals) didn’t go as I planned,” he said. “I drew some good bulls, but the first one bucked really hard. ... He ended up bucking me off right before the whistle. The rest of the finals didn’t really go my way, but that was the whole reason I wanted that lead. Sometimes those things happen, and I didn’t want to fall short. I didn’t want to work my butt off all season, get that far and then let it go right at the end. It worked out.” His success in 2019 came on the heels of back-to-back injury-plagued seasons. In 2017, he shattered a foot in seven places in the bucking chutes, forcing him to undergo surgery. The next season was worse, as he tore tendons in his right (riding) elbow. After undergoing surgery by Dr. Tandy Freeman, Fischer found himself missing the summer run for the second consecutive season. But he stuck with the rehab program and by the time 2019 rolled around, he started to gain steam. This season, Fischer was 38th in the July 22 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings with

$16,302.

“It’s all about the hard work,” said Fischer, 27. “I did a lot of physical therapy, and that hard work you put in won’t let you down. It means a lot to go set a goal, reach it and just go on from there to be even better and stronger than I was before.” Bull riding wasn’t something he grew up watching. He hardly knew about it. Then one day, while walking through his living room, Fischer noticed an advertisement. “I used to cage fight, but I wasn’t in love with it, it wasn’t my passion,” Fischer said. “One day I picked up the paper in the living room and saw an ad for bull riding. I thought, I’d never tried that, that seems pretty cool. I hadn’t even been to a rodeo. I’d always grown up on a farm, but rodeo was scarce to me.” Fischer entered that rodeo with no training or practice. No surprise, but that first ride wasn’t exactly a winner. “It was about an hour frommy house. I probably only lasted like a second,” Fischer laughed. “I don’t really remember. I remember going, but then the adrenaline kicked in. The first time you get on you kind of black out.” RIGHT ON TIME

Photo courtesy Cole Fischer

Cole Fischer reels in a shark off the coast of Florida.

ProRodeo Sports News 7/24/2020

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