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Ohl Suffers Injury, Continues Competing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Cody Ohl, a six-time PRCA world champion – five in tie-down roping and one in all-around – suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain June 26 at the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo. Ohl hyperextended his left leg, which caused the hamstring strain, but he didn’t do any structural damage to his left knee.

“I hurt (my hamstring) in the second go-round,” Ohl said. “The calf kind of came into my knee and I was kind of standing there straight up, and when I broke down, all of that weight came down on my knee, and my boot didn’t slide back. It hyperextended my leg and got my hamstring bad. My knee doesn’t bother me at all.”

Despite the injury, Ohl, who is outside the top 50 of the June 29 Windham Weaponry High Performance PRCA World Standings, competed at the Greeley (Colo.) Stampede June 28.

“I got by (at Greeley), but it hurt like hell,” Ohl said. “I’ve got to (fight through the pain) right now.”

Rick Foster, program director of the Justin Sportsmedicine team, said Ohl did have some tearing in the hamstring muscles.

“He’s not going to rest right now,” Foster said. “We just want to prevent any further injury because it will become debilitating or he will not be able to be very functional if he gets a complete tear or worsens it. We’re giving the injury lots of treatment and lots of quality care, and preparing him to go out and compete.”

Ohl is no stranger to injuries. In 2001, Ohl injured his right knee in Round 9 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and missed the entire 2002 season. On June 22, 2014, the Hico, Texas, cowboy shattered a rib underneath his left arm and bruised his lung in an accident while hauling cattle.

Despite the 2014 injury, Ohl finished 14th in the final regular-season standings to qualify for his 20th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Ohl placed fourth in the final 2014 standings with $148,954.

“This is just one of those deals where I’ve had to battle through injuries the last couple of years at this time,” Ohl said. “This is just another little speed bump and I have to battle through it for a couple of weeks and hopefully it gets better. If I draw a good calf, I’m dang sure going to go at it and try and get some money won this week. My schedule is going to remain the same.”

Ohl won tie-down roping gold buckles in 1997-98, 2001, 2003 and 2006 and the all-around in 2001. In 2013, Ohl finished second in the tie-down roping world standings, thanks to winning Rounds 3, 4, 5, 7, and 10 at the WNFR in Las Vegas. His five round wins tied the event record set by Dave Brock in 1978. Ohl has won 52 rounds at the NFR.

  • Ohl wasn’t the only cowboy to suffer an injury last weekend. The list of hurt cowboys was quite long, but it can be argued that nobody had a worse time of it than bull rider Kanin Asay. The Powell, Wyo., cowboy almost lost his right ear at the Reno Rodeo June 26 when his head was stepped on by a bull, causing the helmet he was wearing to shear his ear. He was taken to the hospital that evening, where a surgeon reattached the ear. “As I was coming off, the bull stepped over the top of me, and as I hit the ground, he stepped on the right side of my head with his back foot,” Asay said. “It broke my helmet, and I’m not sure if my helmet or his foot is what cut me, but either way it cut my (right) ear almost all the way off.” Asay spent two days in the hospital before he was released June 28. “It took over 200 stitches to reattach everything,” he said. “I didn’t lose any hearing in the ear, but the doctor said if I wasn’t wearing a helmet, I probably wouldn’t be here.” The five-time WNFR qualifier is 20th in the June 29 world standings and will be out of action for approximately a month.
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  • Bull rider Tanner Learmont, currently sixth in the bull riding world standings, is dealing with a strain and fracture in his left (riding) elbow. Learmont says a bone spur broke off in his elbow, and he’s been dealing with some numbness and tingling in his left hand. Nonetheless, he plans to cowboy up and compete through the pain until surgery can be scheduled at a later date. WNFR bull riders Seth Glause and Tyler Willis are also on the mend. Glause is scheduled to undergo shoulder reconstruction surgery on his riding arm and will be out indefinitely, while Willis is expected to be out 2-3 weeks with foot and groin injuries. Fellow bull rider Kody Lostroh will miss 4-6 weeks with a Vestibular system injury – which affects parts of the inner ear and brain that help control balance and eye movements.
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    Courtesy of PRCA

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