ProRodeo Sports News - January 12, 2018

WNFR RECAP

Jake Vold covered his first seven horses and was leading in the average after his Round 7 ride (pictured above). But, the Canadian cowboy injured his knee in Round 8 and was unable to compete for the remainder of the WNFR. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Greg Westfall

“I was kind of battling the injuries and things didn’t get rolling my way,” Eldred said. “It was a long week and that’s a place you have to go in with a lot of confidence – but I struggled a bit this year.” Two weeks after the WNFR ended, Eldred was still recovering from his groin injury, but he already has his eyes on the road ahead. “I’m healing up and I think I’ll be as healthy as I’ve ever been,” Eldred said. “I’ve been working out hard and I’m craving it and wanting to win and be at the top. … I’m looking forward to 2018 and looking forward to getting back to theThomas and Mack.” VOLD LOOKSAHEAD Vold dislocated the patella in his kneecap when he caught it on the chute’s post in Round 8 and was declared out for Rounds 9 and 10. The bone-to-metal impact pulled his kneecap from the joint, causing severe tearing of the ligament and bone chips – leaving the Canadian cowboy with no stability. “It does happen fast,” Vold said. “It’s a freak deal and I’ve watched it a few times. That horse was trying to get me and was meaning to hurt someone – it could have been worse, and I’m lucky on how it ended up. It’s the way it goes in rodeo.” Vold was offered a re-ride option that would have allowed him to ride his eighth bronc before the start of Round 9. With so much money on the line, it was still anyone’s game. Vold had a chance to win the average, if everything panned out in his favor. “I felt something pop right away and as soon as I hit the ground, which was a wreck, too,” Vold said. Vold didn’t give up without a fight. He and the Justin Sportsmedicine team

tried supporting his knee so that he could compete in the final two rounds. But swelling got in the way and the ligament he damaged is crucial for holding the knee in place, which meant it was impossible to do with intense pain. “My knee hurt pretty bad,” Vold said. “I tried to put on a brace for the re-ride and that wasn’t going to work. And we tried two different tape jobs, so I had to bow out. Riding bareback with one leg just doesn’t work.” “There was a small chance we could stabilize it to try, but with that type of injury it wasn’t possible to function,” Foster said. “He wasn’t going to return for a few weeks no matter what was done.” The timing couldn’t have been worse for Vold, as he was leading in the average after Round 7. Having no score in Round 8 and being out for the final two rounds knocked him down to seventh in the average with 598.5 points on seven head. “He was discouraged, but realistic,” Foster said. “He knew the knee wouldn’t function right and he took the bad part of reality and realized it’s not going to happen.” Vold had surgery in Canada on Dec. 22. As of early January, Vold estimated he would be out of competition for three to six months. “It’s pretty vague now and we will go from there,” Vold said. “It’s getting better every day and the goal is to be back in April or May. We will see what happens. I won’t push it, and I’ll be sure it’s right before I go. There’s not a whole lot happening before then.” Until then, Vold will undergo physical therapy in Canada. “I’ll miss the winter run, but it is what it is, and there’s no way around it now,” Vold said. “I’ve accepted it and that’s how it’s going to be. I wasn’t going to go hard anyway since we have a baby on the way.”

ProRodeo Sports News 1/12/2018

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