Monthly Archives: January 2022

A torn pectoral sidelined bulldogger, but not before he made a statement Cody Devers walked in to the Thomas & Mack Center in late November, he felt that adrenaline rush that every first-timer experiences when he arrives in Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo. He’d done everything he could to prepare for his moment on ProRodeo’s biggest stage. Truth be told, a lot of NFR veterans feel that rush every time they meander through the yellow Priefert gates and onto the dirt, but there’s nothing quite like that first time. He looked around the arena, taking in all that he could. A cowboy never knows when he might return to this championship, so he may as well take in all the sights, sounds and smells he could. He’d earned the right to be there, and, by God, nothing was going to stop him from making steer wrestling runs inside that legendary building. On opening night, he rode into the arena during the grand entry, tipping his cap along with the others to acknowledge the rambunctious crowd and its support of the cowboys on parade. Twenty-five minutes later, he nodded his head to make his first run at his first NFR. Within seconds, he knew he was in for trouble. “Whenever I dropped in the hole (between his bulldogging horse and the steer), my pec felt tight and when I grabbed the steer’s head, everything was perfect,” said Devers, 26, of Perryton, Texas. “Right as I was about to go forward to the nose, I felt it pop. Even as loud as the Thomas & Mack is, I still think I heard it.” Let’s back up about a month, because that’s when everything went south at the Cooks Days Rodeo in Lubbock, Texas. He partially tore the muscle during a run. He didn’t get to finish the rodeo, and he started his rehab assignment in order to be ready for the NFR. Apparently, there was more to his injury. The pop was his first indication of trouble. The pain was his second. “It was a pretty intense pain,” said Devers, a Cinch endorsee who attended both Garden City (Kansas) Community College and Northwestern Oklahoma State University on rodeo scholarships. “I went into the Justin Sportsmedicine room, and (Dr.) Tandy (Freeman) evaluated it and told me that it was, for sure, a torn pec.” Despite the pain, despite the difficulty mounting his horse, despite the inability to properly lift the rein with his right hand, much less grab a steer’s horn, Devers pressed on. He turned in times in Rounds 2 and 3, then was unable to even throw his steers on Nights 4 and 5. His mind and his heart told him to continue; his body told him to stop. He finished his 2021 season after his fifth-round run at the NFR, one that saw him so limited by measures set to protect him and his damaged chest. The Justin Sportsmedicine team tried to tape his right arm in a way to allow him to compete. Devers still had difficulty making anything work. Dressed in a bright-pink Cinch shirt to honor cancer awareness on Pink Night at the NFR, he tried to lunge for his steer but didn’t have the capacity to even reach for the animal. “I’d worked so hard to get there, and it’s been one of my life’s goals to compete at the NFR,” he said. “I also didn’t want a torn muscle or a torn tendon to hold me back. If I think I could compete, I was going to try. “What made the decision for me was not being able to get the start I needed. The Thomas-&-Mack start is so fast, and it’s hard even if I’m healthy. I couldn’t physically put my hand up enough to cue my horse to get the start we needed. I was behind every run. It’s got to be a perfect go for me to catch a steer, I realized without getting a good start, I wasn’t going to be able to have a perfect go.” Still, he proved to be one of the toughest competitors, if not the toughest, at the 2021 NFR. He couldn’t sleep because of the pain, and he still found his way into the saddle every night knowing full well he was in for a world of hurt when he dismounted a fast-moving horse onto a running steer. He arrived in Las Vegas 11th in the world standings with $67,715, and all he earned at the NFR was the $10,000 every contestant pocketed for qualifying. His dreams of a big Las Vegas jackpot drifted away with his chest, right shoulder and right arm thumping in pain. Devers had surgery Jan. 3, by Dr. Chris Miller of the Kansas Orthopedic Center in Wichita, Kansas. During the process, Miller drilled a hole into bone and attached a suture anchor, which was then sewn to the tendon. He had a checkup nine days after surgery, and all looks to be healing well in the early stages. “We’re shooting for five months after surgery, which would be the first of June before I’d be ready to go,” Devers said. “I’d like to maybe start back at North Platte (Nebraska) or Reno (Nevada). If possible, I’d like to go to Woodward (Oklahoma).” Woodward, which is scheduled for June 9-12, is about 100 miles from his family’s home north of Perryton, so that would be a great place to make his return to the sport he loves and, even in pain, already misses. “It is nice being home a little bit; I just wish I could do more,” he said. “I’m dang sure missing it. I love these winter rodeos. There are quite a few in Texas that aren’t very far from me. I like going down to those, camping out for a couple days, seeing everybody and easing around. “It’s a lot different than the summer when you’re constantly going, running at two rodeos in the same  Continue Reading »

Lifetime of lessons helped build team roper into a world champ Pressure makes a steam engine work; as the pressure builds, the engine goes in motion and creates a force that drives the machine’s purpose. Over 13 years, the pressure continued to build in team roping header Kaleb Driggers. From his first run in 2009 through his nine qualifications to the National Finals Rodeo to his four runner-up finishes to the world championship, his head of steam kept arching toward that red line. The pressure has often built ever so close to the relief valve, that Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. Time and time again he was on the verge of a reprieve, only to watch it fade away in someone else’s arms. In 2021, he walked away from the NFR with the wearable rodeo trophy. “It’s a little nerve-wracking when you come so close and don’t quite get over the camel’s back,” said Driggers, 32, of Hoboken, Georgia, now living in Stephenville, Texas. “To finally get that done, it was definitely a little pressure relief.” He first finished as the runner-up in 2012, his second season to advance to Las Vegas. He followed that up with second-place finishes in 2016-’18 – three straight years of being just behind the titlist. In 2016, he watched his heeling partner, Junior Nogueira, become the first Brazilian world champion in ProRodeo history when Nogueira won the all-around gold buckle. This past season, though, the longtime partners were able to snag gold together. “It means everything,” said Driggers, a Cinch endorsee. “A guy is always happy when he wins the world no matter what, but I feel bad for the guys that have split titles because you’ve spent all year roping with your partner and don’t get to enjoy it together. It’s so much sweeter when you can do it together. We’ve been close four or five times, and to finally pull it off is incredible.” What’s it like being a world champion? “I don’t know if it ever really sinks in,” he said. “There are times that it hits me and kind of brings a tear to my eye, but it’s a lot of pride.” He’s not puffing out his chest in any regard. He earned that world title. He and Nogueira entered the NFR second in the world standings, then pocketed $143,896 over 10 December nights in the Nevada desert. They placed in six rounds, including the fourth-round title, and placed third in the average. Driggers finished the campaign with $263,227 and well ahead of his runner-up, Erich Rogers. “In order to win rounds out there, a guy has to take a little bit of a high-risk shot,” Driggers said. “I was trying to stay away from that; I was trying to take a higher percentage of shots. When you have the best 15 guys going at them, you know you have to stay in your comfort zone but still take a calculated risk when you can.” He’s learned that through a lifetime of swinging a rope. Driggers was raised around the sport, the son of a horse trainer who roped. Driggers’ uncles and cousins roped, and there were arenas within a mile of his family’s house that allowed plenty of practicing opportunities “I’d say my dad is the one that probably shaped me, along with my mom,” he said. “They’ve always been there for me. When my dad had to do shiftwork and couldn’t go to the rodeos, my mom made sure I got there. Their support was a huge deal for me growing up. “Brad Culpepper introduced me to ProRodeo. I was a rookie, and I made dumb, rookie mistakes, and he was the guy that helped me with that stuff. Every partner I’ve had has added a piece to me. There’s not just one person that’s stuck out the most. I try to take a little bit from everyone’s opinions and figure out what works on my own. “Speed Williams has helped me with my horsemanship. He’s given me tips on how to use my hands and legs better. There have been a lot of people that have impacted my career, even to the people that allow us to stay at their places while we’re out rodeoing and give us a place to practice throughout the year. They’re all important.” That includes his wife, Nicole, who trains and runs barrel horses. She understands the work it takes and the hours spent practicing and all the other little things that come with competing at a high level. Along the way, each person has made an impact on who and what Kaleb Driggers is today. Just in ProRodeo, he’s teamed with some of the greatest in the game, from Culpepper to Jade Corkill to Travis Graves to Patrick Smith and now with Nogueira. Each run he’s made with each man has taught Driggers something about himself, about being a cowboy and about being a teammate. In essence, he’s a reflection of them in some capacity. “There is no substitute for experience,” he said. “Everything you can think of, good or bad, it feels like we’ve done it. We know what works and what doesn’t, and we learn from that. We know in situations you get in that you have to overcome it a little bit. From the first time I made the NFR to now, I’d like to think I’ve learned a little bit.” That’s what makes this gold buckle special. Every experience he’s had played a role in finally winning the war. It’s nice to win battles, because this is how he makes a living, but the world championship is the prize for which they all strive. “The No. 1 key to me winning the gold buckle was my partner,” Driggers said of Nogueira. “He didn’t make one mistake. He was 100 percent, and that definitely helped us. He helped me keep a level head and treat each steer for what it was and rope each steer from that. I  Continue Reading »