Rusty Wright Out Indefinitely
by ProRodeo.com | Aug 30, 2016
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright had his 2016 PRCA regular season come to abrupt halt Aug. 25 when he suffered a compound fracture of his left leg during a ride at the Kitsap Stampede in Bremerton, Wash.
Wright had surgery that night at Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton to repair the damage to his leg.
“I broke my tibia and fibula, and it was an open fracture because my bones went outside the skin,” said Wright, 20. “I also know I had to get a rod put in my leg.”
Wright left Harrison Medical Center Aug. 28, and returned to his home in Milford, Utah.
About five seconds into his ride on Calgary Stampede’s Urgent Delivery, Wright knew his left leg was in bad shape.
“I spurred back and my foot got (caught) in my saddle and when I sat down, it broke,” Wright said. “I heard it break, and I knew it was broke right when it happened, and I jumped off the horse. I’ve had that happen a few times where I’ve sat on my foot, but never like that, and it just decided to break.”
Wright is No. 2 in the Aug. 29 WEATHER GUARD® PRCA World Standings, with $117,942. The PRCA regular season concludes Sept. 30, and Wright is a lock to qualify for the 2016 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Polaris RANGER, Dec. 1-10 in Las Vegas.
“I should be back for the Finals,” Wright said. “I’m just going to try and heal up, and if I’m ready, I’m ready, and if not, I’m not. It’s a little frustrating, but everything happens for a reason. I must have needed some time off, and now I have it.”
A year ago, Wright made his WNFR debut, winning Rounds 4, 7 and 8, and placing in four other rounds, en route to finishing third in the world standings.
- Wright of Way: With Rusty out of action, the rest of the Wright clan picked up the slack for him over the weekend. Twin brothers Jake and Jesse Wright shared the title at the Horse Heaven Roundup in Kennewick with 88-point rides, while Jake also had wins in Salmon, Idaho, and at the Kennewick Wrangler Champions Challenge, and Jesse had a second win in Tremonton, Utah. Cody Wright, Rusty’s dad and Jake and Jesse’s older brother, won in San Juan Capistrano, and another of his sons, Ryder, finished first in Miles City, Mont.
- While his injury isn’t as serious as Rusty Wright’s, steer wrestler Matt Reeves will also miss some time in the last month of the regular season. The 38-year-old bulldogger, who is seventh in the Aug. 29 world standings, will miss the first half of September with a sprained left hip that he suffered Aug. 20 at the Caldwell (Idaho) Night Rodeo.
Courtesy of PRCA