2016 Canadian champion bull rider Ty Pozzobon dies at age 25

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Fri Jan 13, 2017, 03:19 PM - Edit history (1)

One year to the day after David Bowie died, 2017 is off to just as bad a start as 2016 was.

Champion bull rider from B.C. dies at age 25

2016 Canadian champion Ty Pozzobon was considered one of the best in the world

By Karin Larsen, CBC News Posted: Jan 10, 2017 9:07 AM PT| Last Updated: Jan 10, 2017 12:27 PM PT

https://i.cbc.ca/1.3929208.1484080659!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/ty-pozzobon.jpg

[font size=1]Merritt, B.C., bull rider Ty Pozzobon has died at age 25. (Richard Drew/Associated Press) [/font]

Rodeo fans are mourning the death of champion bull rider Ty Pozzobon.

The 25-year-old from Merritt, B.C., died suddenly Monday morning. The cause of death has not been revealed.
....

Pozzobon was the 2016 Pro Bull Riders Canada champion, and finished fourth at the 2016 Professional Bull Riders world finals in Las Vegas in November.

@prorodeocanada



LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 23: Professional bull rider Ty Pozzobon arrives at the second round of the Professional Bull Rider's Built Ford Tough World Finals at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 23, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for Professional Bull Riders)

Promising champion bull rider, 25, found dead — Canada’s rodeo community in mourning

Darren Francey, Postmedia News | January 10, 2017 1:03 PM ET



[font size=1]Cowboy Ty Pozzobon of Merritt, British Colombia, rides a bull called Wrangler Extreme during the Calgary Stampede on July 13, 2014. Al Charest/Postmedia[/font]

A high-ranking bull rider from Merritt, B.C., who rode with borrowed gear at the Calgary Stampede last year after his was stolen, has died at age 25.

Although it’s not clear how Ty Pozzobon died, a short statement on Elite Rodeo Athletes said “thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends” of Pozzobon.

“He will be truly missed by the entire rodeo community.”

Also, a statement from the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association said the bull riding community is “deeply saddened by his death.”

PBR mourns the loss of Ty Pozzobon

By: PBR January 10, 2017@ 10:00:00 AM

PUEBLO, Colo. - The PBR family is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Ty Pozzobon. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Pozzobon family and all of Ty’s extended family and friends.

The 25-year-old was a seven-year PBR veteran with 71 qualified rides on the Built Ford Tough Series after first debuting on the BFTS in 2011. The Merritt, British Columbia, bull rider first started riding in PBR Canada-sanctioned events in 2010 and went on to compete full time in the United States in 2011.

Pozzobon – the 2016 PBR Canada Champion – qualified for the PBR World Finals four times and was set to return to PBR competition in 2017 following a career-best fourth-place finish at the 2016 PBR World Finals. Pozzobon set a career-high with an 89.5-point ride on Big Cat during Round 2 of the World Finals this past November.

@PBR

[HoneyBadger]

1. Awful

[jwill2017]

2. RIP. :(

[2naSalit]

3. Oh no! My rodeoin'

friends will be sad!

[erpowers]

4. 25

25 is just so young. He barely had a life. This is so sad.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. The Merritt Herald is the newspaper I wanted to link to yesterday.

They must have had a server meltdown. Requests get forwarded to the Kamloops This Week.

The family thinks the death is related to concussions. Bull riders get thrown to the ground all the time.

UPDATED: Ty Pozzobon dies at 25

By Adam Williams - January 10, 2017



Merritt-based professional bull rider Ty Pozzobon died suddenly on Monday.



He was 25 years old.

The family released a statement on Tuesday night after being overwhelmed with calls and warned of the dangers of concussions like those sustained by Ty. ... “It’s important that people know about the implications of head injuries as a result of concussions,” Leanne Pozzobon, Ty’s mother, said.

Merritt RCMP confirmed on Tuesday that Ty was found deceased on Monday morning. The cause of death was not released but it is not considered to be suspicious and the investigation has been turned over to the BC Coroners Service.
....

With files from The Merritt Herald

[MindPilot]

6. White people do the stupidest shit

I'm supposed to feel sorry for some douchbag who make sport of pissing off a wild animal?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. If only there were some way you could check things like that before you hit "post."

[NCTraveler]

9. Not the best of examples...

But your accurate in theory. I believe that is a photo of Ocho-Cinco. God I hope I'm not wrong.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

11. It is. I can find others. I just went with one from the top row. NT

Blacks were actually a large portion of the cowboy population in the nineteenth century. It has largely been forgotten.

ETA: these:

America's forgotten black cowboys

By Sarfraz Manzoor Texas

22 March 2013

Black cowboys

[NCTraveler]

13. The comment you replied to is way out there.

It's was made from from an uneducated starting point. I don't expect many to be educated on bull riding. I do expect the uneducated to not drop a comment like that.

On a side note, damn 85 looks good.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

15. Yeah, I know.

Ochocinco didn't spend enough time riding bulls to acquire the inevitable array of fractures, sprains, dislocations, and concussions.

Full disclosure: I am wearing a pair of cowboy boots, and I am about to put on a cowboy hat and go home.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

20. (A week later) I found a much better one.

Photos: National Western's MLK Jr. Rodeo Celebrates African Americans In The West

Nathaniel Minor By Nathaniel Minor
Jan 16, 2017

For one day at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo, the spotlight shines on the West's African-American cowboys and cowgirls during the MLK Jr. Rodeo. State Sen. Rhonda Fields and Denver City Councilor Albus Brooks were among the hundreds who cheered on barrel racers, ropers, bulldoggers and bull riders at the event on Monday.

"This was on my bucket list," said Janet Davis, who made the trip from Wisconsin for the show. "I'm loving it."
....



Justin Granger of Tuba City, Arizona rides a bull during the MLK Jr. Rodeo at the National Western Stock Show in Denver on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017. (Nathaniel Minor/CPR News)

[MindPilot]

10. Sometimes black guys do stupid shit too.

Rodeo is no different than cock fighting, bull fighting, or dog fighting.

Straight up animal cruelty for human entertainment. I can't believe it is being honored here on DU.

[NCTraveler]

8. Should be some kind of award for your post.

[MindPilot]

12. You do realize that it is these ignorant fucking cowboy assholes

who fly the confederate flag, roll coal, and vote for Trump.

Rodeo is not sport--it is sanctioned animal cruelty and should be banned.

[NCTraveler]

14. What does that have to do with your post?

I think an award with a big buckle would work.

[WillowTree]

17. Stereotype much?

That's one of the most ill-advised and uninformed posts I've seen around DU in a long time. The thing about generalizing about people is that it's literally always wrong.

[JI7]

18. not really, the confederate types are more likely to shoot guns.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

16. Family say Pozzobon was suffering from concussions, depression when he died

Last edited Fri Jan 13, 2017, 12:41 AM - Edit history (1)

Family say Pozzobon was suffering from concussions, depression when he died

Meghan Potkins, Calgary Herald

Vicki Hall, Postmedia

Published on: January 12, 2017 | Last Updated: January 12, 2017 12:11 PM MST

The family of a young bull rider who took his own life are taking comfort from the fact that Ty Pozzobon’s brain and medical history could one day help other athletes and families dealing with traumatic brain injury. ... The 25-year-old was found at his Merritt, B.C., home Monday morning by his mother and a family friend in circumstances investigators are calling non-suspicious. ... Family have since confirmed Pozzobon was suffering the effects of a number of concussions and was grappling with depression.

“It came as a shock to everybody simply because although the family knew he was suffering depression and anxiety, he was still moving forward day-to-day, making plans, making coffee dates, signing contracts,” said family friend Gail Joe, who was present when Pozzobon was found Monday. ... “(Then) it all came tumbling down.”

Pozzobon was a decorated cowboy, the 2016 Professional Bull Riders Canada champion and four-time PBR world finalist. While he’d been suffering from the effects of a number of concussions in recent years, his family says he had been seeking medical treatment with a family doctor. ... “It’s important that people know about the implications of head injuries as a result of concussions,” Ty’s mother, Leanne Pozzobon, said in a statement Tuesday.

At the time of his death, Ty was visiting family and his property in Merritt, with plans to return to Texas, where his wife lives and where he spent most of his time. ... “He was very much moving forward but being drawn down by mental illness,” Joe said.

[Maru Kitteh]

19. Sorry, but some bull rider in no way compares to David Bowie

For starters, bull riding is a "sport" that profits from the torture of animals.

Comparing this guy to David Bowie is insulting. It's like comparing Maya Angelou to some monster truck competitor.

I am sorry for his family as I am for anyone who looses a family member too young but seriously . . . bull riding is sick and this young man was no David Bowie.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

21. Ty Pozzobon: head injuries derailed promising bull riding career

Ty Pozzobon: head injuries derailed promising bull riding career

TOM HAWTHORN

Special to The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017 7:36PM EST
Last updated Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017 9:47PM EST

The 25-year-old’s body was found Jan. 9 near his home outside Merritt, B.C., after he took his own life. The cause of his death has not been released by the RCMP or the regional coroner. Mr. Pozzobon’s family issued a statement indicating they believe their son’s mental health suffered because of injuries suffered in competition. ... “It’s important that people know about the implications of head injuries as the result of concussion,” his mother, Leanne Pozzobon, said in the statement.

The young rancher endured many blows to the head in professional competition, including several notorious wrecks (rodeo lingo for falls). In Saskatoon in 2014, he completed a ride atop a bull named Boot Strap Bill only to be stomped in the back of the head by the animal’s left hind leg. The blow shattered his helmet and the dazed, unprotected athlete was kicked in the head at least once more by the spinning animal.

Earlier in the year, he’d been straddled after an awkward dismount by a bull named Rock River Red in a competition in St. Louis, his helmeted head striking the ground. ... In 2013, his head hit the shoulders of Carolina Kicker and Mr. Pozzobon was knocked out before he landed on the dirt. ... In 2012, a bull named Mark 10:27 hooked the rider with its horns twice and flipped him three times, all the damage committed in four seconds. (The bull carried as its name a Biblical verse often cited for the phrase “with God all things are possible.”) That same year, Smokey White Devil pummelled the rider, at one point falling atop him, though Mr. Pozzobon walked away from the wreck.
....

The family requested donations be made to the Rider Relief Fund, which offers financial aid to those injured while bull riding. They have also spoken out in the hope of raising awareness of the dangers of concussions and the damage they can cause. They donated samples of his brain to scientists for further study.

Follow us on Twitter: @Globe_Sports

[mahatmakanejeeves]

22. For some, love of bull riding outweighs potentially deadly risks

For some, love of bull riding outweighs potentially deadly risks

By Danny Shapiro, Beaumont Enterprise Updated 5:59 pm, Monday, January 30, 2017

....
Bull riding has an injury rate 13 times greater than ice hockey and 10 times greater than football - two heavy-contact sports - according to a 2007 study by the International SportMed Journal, the most recent study involving bull riding injuries.

There's no surefire way for bull riders to avoid head injuries except to stop competing, which isn't profitable for professional riders like Kountze's Cody Teel. {Kountze is a city in Texas.} ... Teel and his peers are independent contractors, meaning if they don't ride, they won't get paid.
....

Teel, who has earned more than $1 million in his five-year professional career, said he's obviously concerned about the risks repeated concussions pose. He's been knocked unconscious several times since he started riding bulls at 14. ... Teel wears a 100X helmet, the first helmet made specifically for bull riding, but there's no proof the $500 titanium alloy and carbon fiber helmet prevents head injuries.

Helmets in general aren't helping, according to Dr. Tandy Freeman, the Professional Bull Riders' (PBR) longtime medical team leader. ... Freeman, in a May 2015 article, told the New York Times "there does not appear to be a statistically significant difference between riders with helmets versus without helmets in the number of concussions received yet." ... All riders born after Oct. 15, 1994, are required by the PBR to wear a helmet during competitions. ... Pozzobon wore a helmet.
....

[e-mail] https://Twitter.com/DannyShapiro13

[mahatmakanejeeves]

23. San Antonio friends, family recall troubled last days of rising star bull rider

San Antonio friends, family recall troubled last days of rising star bull rider

By Caleb Downs, San Antonio Express-News

Updated 6:00 pm, Friday, February 24, 2017

It's Nov. 14, 2014, in the first round of the PBR Canadian National Finals in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and then 23-year-old Ty Pozzobon settles onto the back of Boot Strap Bill, a hulking black bull with a white streak across his face. ... The gate opens, and Bill kicks and spins as the seconds begin to tick away. ... Pozzobon leans and rocks in rhythm with the massive bull, but as the buzzer sounds to end the 8 seconds, Bill slams the rider to the ground with a quick jump and powerful kick. The crowd looks on as the young rider rolls to his knees, but before he can stand the bull's hind hooves come crashing down, snapping Pozzobon's helmet in half as if it were fine china. ... The rider, now stunned, lays in the dirt on his side as the monstrous bull continues to buck, hooves crashing down around his unprotected skull. ... With a sudden twist, a hoof comes down on Pozzobon's head, rendering him lifeless.
....

Pozzobon took his own life Jan. 9, news that shocked friends, family, the bull riding community and fans across the globe. ... A few months after his brush with Boot Strap Bill, in February 2015, Pozzobon, who split his time between Central Texas and his hometown, went for a brain scan. ... By that time he was 25 and had reportedly suffered numerous concussions and other head injuries — not to mention the broken hands, broken wrists, broken femurs and collapsed lung — and family members began to notice changes in his behavior.
....

{His wife} Jayd, a resident of Gonzales, Texas, said doctors believed her husband was suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease brought on by repeated brain trauma, and he was suffering from "text book" symptoms of the disease: anxiety, depression and mood swings. ... "He was going through hell," Quartieri said. ... Jayd said she begged him to retire, but "passion is irrational." Pozzobon kept riding. ... "As a wife, it was undoubtedly nerve-wracking," Jayd said. ... Eventually, he was worn down by his personal battles and began to doubt himself, Quartieri said. ... "No one knows what he was thinking or doing," he said. "There was more going on inside him than what we know." ... On Jan. 9, at his home in Merritt, it finally came to an end.
....

On Feb. 21, 2017, the Ty Pozzobon Foundation officially launched. ... In a statement announcing the foundation, Ty's mom, Leanne, cemented her family's commitment to carrying her son's memory forward. ... "It is our vision to all do our best to make sure something like this doesn't happen again in the sport Ty loved so much," she said.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Pozzobon was in a coma for a week after Boot Strap Bill stomped on his head during the 2014 PBR Canadian National Finals in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

[e-mail]

Twitter: @calebjdowns

[mahatmakanejeeves]

24. Two years later: Getting Wrecked: Brain injuries impact popular rodeo sport

Getting Wrecked: Brain injuries impact popular rodeo sport

by Joe CongerWednesday, February 6th 2019

{There's a video at the site. I can't link to it.}

A chorus of cheers from the crowd mixes with the smell of dirt and cattle in the air. A buzzer goes off. ... And bull rider Ty Pozzobon remembers none of that day in November 2014.

"I believe he was out for 27 minutes," said Ty's wife, Jayd. It's an eight-second ride now immortalized in a YouTube video that she says she will never watch. ... “It just stings a little too much for me," she said.

Nearly 2,000 pounds of a bull named Boot Strap Bill came crashing down on Ty’s borrowed and ill-fitting helmet, splitting it open, tearing it off. ... Another hoof would come down on Ty’s skull.

“You’re going to get hurt. It’s not ‘if’ it’s ‘when’ in this sport," she added.

{snip}

I'll be checking the News 4 San Antonio channel to see if the video shows up there.