Cowboys, cowgirls fight through pain for pay

By Ted Harbin
Posted Friday, January 2, 2009

Do you want to know tough?

Take a tour around the Ector County Coliseum over the next couple of weeks, and you’ll see tough, up close and in your face. This isn’t the John Wayne-Rooster Cogburn tough you saw on the big screen; it’s bigger.

Unlike other professional athletes who have guaranteed wages whether they’re on the playing field or on Injured Reserve, cowboys and cowgirls have to endure the aches, pains, sprains and other injuries that come with competing in the sport they love.

During the SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo, Joe Garretson of Springfield, Mo., will be protecting cowboys and competing when he should be doing physical therapy, less than two months removed from shoulder surgery. Garretson and teammate Cory Wall of Burlington, Colo., make up one of five teams competing in the Professional Bullfighters Daisy Protection Bullfight World Championships, which take place during the six days of the rodeo, January 2-3 and 7-10.

“I had complete reconstruction on one of my shoulders,” said Garretson, 36. “I had torn all the ligaments and tendons in both shoulders, but I could only do one at a time. I had about seven weeks between events to have the surgery done.”

In a sling for six weeks, he’s just now getting to do some of the therapy needed to bring the shoulder back to full strength.

“I haven’t even started strength training it,” he said. “I have to do some things that won’t jar it while I’m working out. My mobility is fine, but if I have to run and pull on it, it could pop out again, which just destroys the surgery/”

So why take a chance on that? It’s just part of rodeo, Garretson said.

“I need to get the other one fixed, too,” he said. “I’ll go to Odessa and try to fight bulls and not hurt myself any more, but this is how I make a living. I want to compete, and that’s while I’ll be there trying to win a world championship.