ProRodeo Sports News - June 25, 2021

PRORODEO GIVING

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Clay Guardipee Bareback rider Leighton Berry competes at the 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Berry was injured a month later in Odessa, Texas.

“I can’t thank (JCCF) enough; they’re the reason I got to stay home . . . and do the things that were necessary to still come back this season. –LEIGHTON BERRY JCCF gives cowboys relief while recovering from significant injury Peace Mind OF

BY KEVIN CARMODY, Special to ProRodeo Sports News E verything was coming up aces for bareback rider Leighton Berry. The bareback rider fromWeatherford, Texas, had just put the exclamation point on a historic 2020 season by making his debut at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. That momentum continued into the early parts of the new season with average and year-end titles at the RAMTexas Circuit Finals Rodeo. The next week, however, the 22-year-old found how quickly things can go wrong when he suffered a serious back injury in the chutes at the Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas. Suddenly, a cowboy who rides to make a living faced the prospect of surgery, rehabilitation and months on the sidelines. So, when injury inevitably rears its head – and without guaranteed salaries afforded in many other sports – how does the cowboy get by, pay bills and keep food on the table, while he is unable to do so? That’s where the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund enters the picture. The idea of a “safety net” for injured rodeo athletes came to fruition in 1990, when the Justin Boot Company formed a partnership with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association andWomen’s Professional Rodeo Association to establish the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. A 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the JCCF operates entirely from contributions from the rodeo community and private and corporate donors. The JCCF helps cowboys, and their families pay everyday living expenses,

ProRodeo Sports News 6/25/2021

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