WNFR Saddle Bronc Rider Chase Brooks Recovering from Hamstring Injury

Saddle bronc rider Chase Brooks, who has qualified for six consecutive Wrangler National Finals Rodeos, is going to be sidelined for several weeks with a left hamstring strain.

“I pulled my hamstring in three places,” said Brooks, 29. “I’m looking at about an eight-to-12-week recovery. I had a horse (Frontier Rodeo’s Lil Sugar) in Round 9 (Dec. 15 at the NFR) that came around and my left leg got hung up. It was just a tear where the tendon and muscle meet.”

Brooks had a 76.5-point ride in Round 9, but the injury forced him to miss Round 10.

“Luckily I didn’t have to have surgery, just rehab,” Brooks said. “I started rehabbing as soon as I got home (to Brock, Texas) from the Finals.”

Brooks finished 12th in the 2023 PRCA | RAM World Standings with $175,800. He earned $36,579 in Las Vegas, placing in three rounds. Brooks finished a career-best fourth in the world standings in 2021.

“I’m hoping to come back for San Antone,” Brooks said.

The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo runs from Feb. 8-14, and 19-24.

“I have never had hamstring issues before in my career,” Brooks said. “I wasn’t sore there, and it must have just hung it just right. It was one of those perfect storms. The hardest part of my rehab is making sure I’m not overdoing it and re-injure my hamstring. At this point, I kind of know the drill and injuries are just part of it (rodeo). God has a plan for everything, and you just trust his plan and roll with it.”

Brooks said his partner in rehab is he and his fiancée Cara’s 18-month-old daughter CJ.

“You can’t slow that girl down,” Brooks said. “CJ helps me gets my laps in around the kitchen island. I do about 200 laps a day.”

Courtesy of PRCA