Tattoo Serves as Reminder to Triplett
By: Justin Felisko
October 16, 2018
Matt Triplett has struggled through injuries and surgeries since ascending to the world No. 1 ranking in 2015. Photo: Christopher Thompson/BullStockMedia.com.
PUEBLO, Colo. – Matt Triplett sat in the locker room by himself with a bag of ice wrapped around his right wrist, his Montana Silversmiths event-winning belt buckle on the chair next to him and his sweat-infused riding shirt on the floor.
Triplett had his hands on his knees as he began to put into words the emotions that come with earning the fourth premier series victory of his six-year career.
The last four years have seen Triplett go from world No. 1 bull rider to an injury-riddled rider that has spent more weeks on the sidelines than in the Top 5 of the world standings.
Triplett has not had to look too far to remind himself of the bull rider he was before three surgeries, including two on his left shoulder.
He knows that bull rider still exists.
In fact, the tattoo that sits on his left forearm was a decision he made when he was still the No. 1 bull rider in the world in 2015.
Triplett had just torn his left MCL when he was kicked by Coyote during the 2015 Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The then 23-year-old did not need to get surgery, but he knew his ensuing return would be a mental – let alone physical – uphill battle.
Therefore, he decided to get a tattoo with the words “Bruised But Not Beaten” on his arm. He then elected to have a dazed boxer placed above the words and inside a horseshoe.
“It is kind of a motivator,” Triplett said. “It is (referencing) Rocky. He was a fighter and never gave up. That is what motivated me to go get it. When I am thinking I am going to give up, I look at it and remember you have to be a fighter and not a quitter.
“The guy looks dazed, but he is not quitting. He still has his dukes up.”
Triplett easily could have thrown in the towel repeatedly since he got that tattoo in the spring three years ago.
The torn MCL wound up being the least significant of his future injuries.
The Columbia Falls, Montana, bull rider returned from the torn MCL four weeks later, but saw his world title aspirations slowly wilt away. He bucked off his first seven bulls back, and concluded the season in an 8-for-27 slump.
Triplett finished 2015 ranked fifth in the world standings.
Worst of all, Triplett tore two ligaments in his right elbow during the fifth round of the 2015 PBR World Finals.
Triplett underwent surgery following the World Finals, and it was the beginning of a downward injury-induced spiral.
Five months after his elbow surgery, Triplett needed to undergo reconstructive left shoulder surgery following a return to competition that lasted four weeks until he dislocated his shoulder in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Triplett was then the No. 10 bull rider in the world last year, and on the fringe of the 2017 world title race, when he tore his left labrum in Springfield, Missouri, in September.
He finished the year 1-for-9 before undergoing offseason shoulder reconstructive shoulder surgery for a second consecutive season.
Triplett missed the first five months of the 2018 campaign and made his season debut in Columbus, Ohio, on April 28.
Despite it all, Triplett is ranked 15th in the world standings following his Greensboro victory and is set to compete in his fifth World Finals.
“I love the way he has come off two years worth of injuries and surgeries and rehab,” said 2009 Ring of Honor inductee and CBS Sports Network analyst J.W. Hart. “He just comes in here and picks up right where he left off. He makes it count when it’s supposed to and is making a run at the World Finals.”
Triplett is 12-for-27 in 10 premier series events for a career-best 44.44-percent riding average. He is riding at a 52.17-percent clip at all levels.
“It has just been a downer these past couple of years,” Triplett admitted as he sat in the locker room, nursing his latest injury – a sprained right wrist. “Shoulder surgery, and then the next year I was in the Top 5 & 10 and there it went again. To finally bounce back up and get where I think I deserve to be right now is awesome. I came here the last two events of the first half and now I am sitting real good for the World Finals.”
Ironically, Triplett will miss the regular-season finale in Nampa, Idaho, after spraining his riding wrist during his 85.75-point winning ride on Hart Breaker, according to Dr. Tandy Freeman.
Triplett is not in jeopardy of missing the 2018 PBR World Finals on Nov. 7-11 at T-Mobile Arena, though.
While Triplett knows a world title is not in the cards this year, he does know a World Finals event title would be quite the 1A prize.
It is why he wants to take the next three weeks off to rest his injured wrist.
“That would be huge,” Triplett said of a World Finals victory. “It is a game changer to win that much money. It would change a life for a cowboy like me. That would help set my life up for after bull riding. I am just going to try my hardest and go have fun. This is what we work for all year. That is when you can go let loose and have fun.
“You can only ride bulls for a short period of time and you have to try and make as much money as you can when you ride. You have to look at it as I am going to Vegas and made my goal this year. Now it is time to show off, have fun, and hopefully win the Finals.”
Triplett finished third in the world in 2014 and fifth in 2015.
The six-year pro believes that gold buckle is far from a pipe dream in future seasons.
“A healthy year is going to be a scary year for me,” Triplett concluded. “I am going to go out and dominate. I am not going to quit the grind. I am going to keep hustling and keep working at it. I am going to get better and better week in and week out.
“Hopefully next year my name will be on that gold buckle.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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