A 19-year-old cowboy was seriously injured after a horse stomped on his head and dragged him through an arena between its hooves in what has been described in an online fundraiser as “the worst bareback riding accident in recent history.”
Austin Broderson was filmed slipping off the side of the steed shortly after the eight-second buzzer sounded at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado on Monday.
His hands were still gripping on to the rigging — which resembles a suitcase handle and is placed on top of a horse’s back to keep a bareback rider on the steed — as it broke apart while the horse continued its race around the arena.
Terrifying video from the event showed the Casper College rodeo team member being dragged between the horse’s hindquarters for nearly 20 seconds as it continued to stomp around.
Other riders were eventually able to free Broderson from the horse’s grip, but at that point he was already knocked unconscious and was bleeding heavily, according to 9 News.
Broderson was immediately rushed to Denver Health Hospital where he spent the night in the intensive care unit with internal bleeding, a damaged artery, a fractured hip, spinal bruises and a loss of feeling in his arm as his parents rushed to The Mile High City from their home in Alberta, Canada.
He is expected to make a full recovery — much to the surprise of fans in the stands, who reportedly fell silent and took off their hats as the horror unfolded before them.
“It was by far the toughest rodeo wreck we have ever seen in [our] life,” one woman commented on Pro Rodeo Canada’s Facebook post about the incident.
“Austin is one tough cowboy.”
Another woman described the accident as “the most horrible thing I’ve ever witnessed.
“I’m so glad to see you recovering as I could not stop thinking of praying for you,” she said, noting that even though she never met Broderson she “could not stop worrying about” him.
“God was with you and will be by your side while you heal.”
His mother, Samantha, said doctors had to put a stint in his arm to restore blood flow — and the broken bone he suffered was to his nose.
“God was with you and will be by your side while you heal.”
“He’s not paralyzed,” she told Pro Rodeo. “His vertebra in his neck is fractured, but his spinal cord is intact.”
“When Austin is awake, he’s trying to crack jokes and tell the doctors his pain level is two out of 10, which none of us believe,” she added.
“He’s trying to keep us preoccupied and not worried, so that’s a good sign.”
An online fundraiser to help the family pay for Broderson’s medical expenses notes the rider “has a long road ahead, but he’s strong and determined, and we know he will do whatever it takes to overcome this.”
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