Once in Lockwood’s Shoes, Jestes Knows the two-Time World Champion can Bounce Back
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – When two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood was lying at home in the middle of March, he would stare down at his immobile left leg and begin to think about his future.
How would he bounce back after sustaining a career-threatening torn left hamstring on March 1?
The injury itself was one that left Lockwood festering in frustration, too.
Lockwood had caught his right spur in his bull rope during his dismount from 2020 YETI World Champion Bull contender I’m Legit Too following a 91.5-point ride in Kansas City. The bovine athlete then yanked him into a split, ripping his hamstring muscles completely from his hip in a fluke deal.
The Volborg, Montana, native would play video games or watch something randomly on Netflix as a way to pass the time, but his mind would still wander.
He wanted to come back from his latest obstacle stronger than ever, but he was entering an unknown recovery period.
Lockwood’s injury was so unusual in Western sports. It is rare for a bull rider to have to come back from a severely torn hamstring of this magnitude, and he knew he would have to lay his trust in Dr. Tandy Freeman and his surgeon – Dr. Thomas Youm in New York City.
However, there was one man in particular, especially in the Western world, who could relate to what he was going through both physically and mentally.
Nate Jestes.
The three-time National Finals Rodeo bullfighter from nearby Wyoming had sustained a similar injury during the 2018 NFR.
Jestes’ injury happened when Left Lane hit him after the bull bucked off Dustin Boquet inside the Thomas & Mack Center during Round 1 of the NFR. The bull caught Jestes in his left hip, tossing him about 10 feet into the air. When he landed, his right leg was completely straight as Left Lane then barreled through him, pushing right over the top of his straight leg.
In a matter of seconds, Jestes had torn two of his three hamstring muscles, and they were separated from his pelvis.
Dr. Tandy Freeman referred Jestes to Youm at New York University Hospital, and Youm would perform reconstructive surgery on Jestes’ right hamstring. The then-31-year-old had to sit out for six months after Youm used an Achilles cadaver to reattach his hamstring to his pelvis.
“Absolutely, there is no doubt Jess can come back and have all the confidence in it,” Jestes told PBR.com this week. “For rodeo athletes, sometimes coming back from an injury is all mental. Jess has the mental capacity to put this injury behind him and move forward. If he feels like he is 100%, then I have no doubt that he is. After the surgery, it is all about rehabbing it. If you feel like you are back to 100%, then most likely you are.”
Lockwood and Jestes had similar rehab processes, and Lockwood was thankful to have someone he trusted to ask for additional advice.
Jestes owns property in Montana, and he often would chat with Lockwood at the few Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour events in which Lockwood competed in the past. So the two were not complete strangers when Lockwood decided to reach out.
“We talked a lot for the first three weeks to a month after I had surgery,” Lockwood said. “I asked him a lot about what to expect and this and that, especially once I got out of the brace.”
Jestes said he was more than happy to be a sounding board.
“It wasn’t really until he got hurt and I found out it was very similar to what I went through that we started communicating,” Jestes recalled. “I heard it was his hamstring, and then I read something that it was very similar to mine, and he reached out to me.
“He said, ‘I tore my hamstring just like yours,’ and he started asking me for some advice.”
Jestes reiterated the same message to Lockwood that Freeman and members of the Justin Sportsmedicine Team continuously told him.
Lockwood had to focus on a six-month timeline and not overreact or push it too hard in rehab on days where he felt perfect.
“There are times you feel great, and you want to do this and you want to do that,” Jestes said. “If you push the healing process too early, you can screw up the whole thing and you could have to start over, or it could potentially be irreversible and not fixable at that point.”
Lockwood took Jestes’ advice to heart, and he made sure to follow Freeman and the PBR Sports Medicine Team’s advice. Lockwood has had setbacks before in his recoveries from a broken collarbone and torn groins where he attempted to come back too soon.
“His biggest advice was, if they tell you to be careful or do not do this, then don’t even mess with it,” Lockwood said of Jestes. “He was like, ‘You are so vulnerable until Tandy releases you. You could be five months in and mess up all that work. Don’t do anything they say not to.’”
Lockwood is ready to make his return to competition for the first time in six months this weekend at the PBR Ariat Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, in Billings, Montana.
He faces One for the Money (0-0, UTB) in Round 1 on Friday night, which fans can watch on Ridepass beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
What will Lockwood be experiencing mentally and physically?
“As a bullfighter, obviously I use my legs differently than a bull rider would, but when I came back I felt like I was at 80%, which allowed me to fight bulls and do my movements in the arena like I would prior to the injury,” Jestes said. “The only differences I could tell with my leg was my range of my motion and my speed in a straight line. I felt like I was back to 100% bullfighting ability. With my workouts, it took about a year to get back to the same amount of weights and reps that I was doing before the injury. I felt really good in the arena, though.
“For Jess moving forward, obviously getting it loosened up is going to be crucial to help protect it. That is one thing I have noticed is a little different – my mobility and flexibility. So I really have to stretch it out before I fight bulls to get it close to my left leg. That is one thing I do to help it out. As far as riding bulls, I don’t see Jess having any issues with it. It might be sore for the first couple of bulls he gets on, but Jess rides so loose and free flowing that I don’t think his hamstring will be a factor. If Jess was the kind of bull rider that really beared down and tried to out-muscle a bull, I could see him having trouble these first few months, but the way he rides is so free-flowing and floats over the top of him that I don’t see him having an issue.”
Lockwood enters Billings 570.50 points behind world leader Jose Vitor Leme. There are six regular-season Unleash The Beast events remaining until the PBR World Finals. Lockwood has drawn Axle for the 15/15 Bucking Battle on Saturday night (airs 3 p.m. ET on CBS national television Sunday).
There isn’t much time left for Lockwood to ease back into things if he wants to win a remarkable and record-tying third world title this season, but he remains confident he can regain his form sooner rather than later.
“Jess’ eyes are wide open, and he knows it is going to be a tough task ahead of him because he truly knows Jose is not going to stumble,” RidePass host and five-time PBR World Finals qualifier Colby Yates said. “There is such a gap now that Jess realizes he is going to have to win (multiple) events. He has the right mentality though. He has been there and done it twice now. He knows what he has to ask of himself to step up to the plate. If anyone can do it, he can do it. I think he is ready.”
Lockwood was off to the best start of his career with eight round wins in his first 18 qualified rides before being injured.
“I know my body is going to be what it can,” Lockwood said. “Ever since last year when I just really matured and my mind really matured, I don’t get in slumps anymore. I am confident in how I ride, and I know how good I am. I just let my body react. I may have a bad ride, but I don’t feel like I ever have bad rides, as in multiple. I know my body is good because I have had six months off.”
Lockwood did ride a practice bull last week in preparation for his return to competition, and Jestes texted him congratulations on his ensuing return.
Jestes agrees with Lockwood’s assessment that he can return to his World Champion form now that he is fully recovered from his surgery.
“Shoot, I saw him get on a practice bull on Instagram and he was riding loose and cool, and it doesn’t look like this injury is in his head at all,” Jestes said.
“I am sure the (hamstring) connection is going to be just as strong as before. As long as he has all the confidence in the world in his leg, and he is squared away between the ears, I don’t see him struggling.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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