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Maverick Potter Gets Huge Victory at Ellensburg Xtreme Bulls in his Push to WNFR

The pain is never far away. There are about a million ways a bull rider can hurt internal and external body parts. In July 2021, Maverick Potter watched his promising season unravel when he had his spleen removed.

He returned this season with clinched teeth and resolve. After a groin injury required a 10-day absence from the PRCA circuit, the 21-year-old returned with a vengeance this weekend. Potter delivered with 88.5-point ride on Wayne Vold Rodeo’s By the Batch in the first round of the Ellensburg Rodeo Xtreme Bulls.

And to his surprise it held up as there were no qualified second-round rides.

Potter traveled to Washington pushing to make the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo with the clock ticking, so the $27,693 in prize money arrived like a long, lost friend.

“It feels great. Being 13th on the bubble, a win like this really takes the pressure off your chest quite a bit,” said Potter a Waxahachie, Texas, native. “Man, it was an awesome bull. It was an awesome ride all out through it, just an awesome bull. He kind of beat me right out of there. I didn’t panic or anything. He came around the right and he was sweet as can be and I met him there. It was a day off from there on out.”

Potter felt the urgency to perform well because of his latest injury. He suffered a hematoma on his left groin – a bad bruise where blood collects under the skin – requiring treatment.

“I just took off 10 days and went home to see the doctor. I got it all broke loose and it started to feel better,” Potter said. “So, the plan was to come back to Ellensburg, win, get that money and get me off that bubble. For that to happen, this has gotta be one of my biggest wins yet, honestly.”

Potter boasts four victories this season, among them the Will Rogers Stampede and The Days of the Old West Rodeo. He joined the tour in 2019. Potential is turning into purpose as his first NFR qualification remains in reach.

“It would mean everything. I have been dreaming of this ever since I was a little kid. My uncle used to push us to do the greatest that we could,” Potter said. “Now, I am just living it.”

Courtesy of PRCA

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