MEMPHIS, Tenn. (August 20, 2010) - Travis Briscoe has decided to err on the side of caution.
The world title contender will not attempt to ride right-handed this weekend in Memphis, Tenn. He injured his left elbow and wrist last weekend in Nashville.
Initially, the fourth-ranked rider in the world indicated that he would switch from his left to right hand – a move with which he had relative success in 2007 – in order to keep pace with the other top riders in the world.
Now, he has decided to put off the experiment in favor of resting the injured arm. He’ll try what he termed a “Hail Mary” only as a last resort beginning with the Greenville, S.C., event in September. In the meantime, he’ll assess his injuries on week-to-week basis.
Briscoe said Dr. Tandy Freeman is concerned that he’s not only compensating for his left elbow, but also his wrist and both knees. On Monday he tried riding a drop barrel and said afterward he “no strength.”
Briscoe was injured Saturday night after being bucked off Loaded Gun in the opening round of the Jack Daniel’s Invitational. He was diagnosed that night with a sprained left elbow. It wasn’t until Sunday morning that his wrist tightened up and kept him turning his riding hand palm-up.
Later that morning, Briscoe doctored out of the rest of Nashville, but said he would be back in Memphis.
Peter Wong, who works as part of Freeman’s training staff, asked at the time, “Why don’t you just rest for a while?”
Monday evening, Briscoe spoke with Freeman for an hour by phone and was told that even if he rode with his right hand, damage to the left arm through a fall or other mishap could cause him to miss the rest of the season.
Briscoe said he does not intend to rest beyond next week’s event in Ontario, Calif., because of the importance of competing during the Final Five Chase.
Injury updates
On Tuesday afternoon, 12th-ranked Skeeter Kingsolver posted the following on his Facebook page: “Hey everyone... I'm going out to [Gary] Leffew's in California on Sunday and will stay all week to get ready for Ontario... I'm feeling good definitely ready to ride some bulls!” Thursday night, Kingsolver said he felt great and was “looking forward to getting after it.” He plans on traveling to Ontario with Leffew’s son Judd, who is hauling several bulls there. Kingsolver will celebrate his 21st birthday on the final day of the event.
As previously reported, Josh Koschel, 14th, is out for the rest of the year after having his left shoulder surgically repaired last month.
L.J. Jenkins, ranked 19th, is recovering from surgery to his free hand. Jenkins is currently in a cast and said the hand specialist who performed the procedure indicated he wouldn’t be ready to return to competition until 10 days after having the pins removed – in time for the Charlottesville, Va., event. Jenkins said he’s “hoping Tandy has a different opinion.” In either case, the 23-year-old said, “I’m going to listen to the doctors. … At least I’ll be healthy for the Finals.”
After competing in his own Touring Pro event two weeks ago, Ross Coleman, 24th, said he’s taking time off to let his riding hand heal. “It’s something I have to do,” said Coleman, who sprained a ligament on the inside of his index finger. “It’s nagging and frustrating, but affects my riding when I can’t hold my rope.” Coleman was unable to finish the BFTS event in San Antonio, but a week later he got on four bulls in his hometown of Molalla, Ore., and felt good for the first three. On the fourth out, however, he said, “Something wasn’t right.” The 31-year-old said he was “excited from watching last weekend on TV” and that next week, in Ontario, he’ll be “happy to get back on the road.”
Reigning World Champion Kody Lostroh, 27th, is expected to be out for another four to six weeks.
A disappointed Brian Canter, who is 38th in the world standings despite competing in just 11 events, said he’s out indefinitely. The North Carolina native was in Dallas on Thursday to be examined by Freeman. While his knee is “good to go,” he’s continuing to have trouble with his surgically repaired hip. Canter explained that he feels pain from his right hip down to his knee when tries to do anything strenuous with his leg. Freeman ordered an MRI on Thursday and Canter is expected to see another hip specialist in Nashville next week. “I did everything,” he said, “but something didn’t hold.” When asked when he’s likely to ride bulls, he said, “Next year. … I can’t ride with it the way it is right now. My leg doesn’t work right and I need it.”
Where’s Duncan?
Having already qualified for the PBR World Finals, Douglas Duncan, who is seventh in the PBR qualifier standings with $157,028.40 earned, opted out of the Memphis event this weekend to compete in a PRCA rodeo as he attempts to qualify for the NFR.
Last weekend, Duncan explained that after 2010 he intends to focus 100 percent of his efforts on the PBR, but that a year after missing out on an opportunity to win a PRCA world title he’s pursuing his childhood goal for the last time. Last year, he was first in the PRCA standings when he suffered a season-ending injury. Duncan is currently ranked 20th in the PRCA standings and is about $4,000 shy of the Top 15.
Duncan, who won this year’s Calgary Stampede, turned down a five-event BFTS guarantee in order to balance his schedule. However, he still has enough money to qualify as the top alternate at upcoming BFTS events.
Live Event Center
Follow all the action from this week’s BFTS event in Nashville by logging on to the Event Center at www.pbr.com/live. The Event Center provides live scoring, live blogging and event-related interviews.
