Bull rider Sage Kimzey overcomes injuries to thrive at NFR

Over the past year and a half, Sage Kimzey’s fortitude has been tested.

A trio of injuries, lengthy downtime and grueling rehabilitation have all been a significant part of his life. And that doesn’t include actually getting on a bull and trying to make eight seconds.

Yet through it all, Kimzey is right where he knew he’d be — back in Las Vegas for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

“The NFR is the dream for every young bull rider, whether they’re starting out or whether they’re 10 years deep into a professional career,” Kimzey said. “That’s always the end goal to kind of get out there, especially with the amount of money you can win at the NFR. It can be a great 10 days, so it’s super exciting to qualify again.”

The seven-time world champion certainly made the best of it this week, winning two go-rounds, placing in two more and pocketing $129,016 through seven go-rounds. But getting to this point was anything but easy.

Back on June 10, 2022, Kimzey injured his left shoulder at the Parker County Sheriff’s Posse Frontier Days and PRCA Rodeo in Weatherford, Texas. He previously hurt the joint in high school but managed it without surgery.

As part of the reconstruction, a piece of Kimzey’s lat muscle was used to replace his subscapularis. He was required to be in an immobilizer for two months. Between surgery and rehab, it was a full six months before he was cleared to do anything rodeo related.

The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo in early 2023 was his first time back on a bull. He was bucked off during his first-round ride but managed to score 86.5 points in the second go.

Over the course of the 2023 season, the Salado, Texas, bull rider dealt with a lingering groin injury he suffered early in the year but managed to find his rhythm.

“Moving into the summer months, I was riding probably as good as I ever have and was winning a ton of money and gaining ground on everybody,” Kimzey said. “I think I got up to maybe fourth in the standings, and all the gaps were closing pretty quickly. And then that was when the collarbone happened in Cheyenne, and that kind of put everything back on hold.”

The break suffered at Frontier Days sidelined Kimzey for six weeks, resulting in some missed opportunities to climb in the standings. After all was finished, the veteran bull rider managed to clear $145,000 in regular-season earnings, placing him 10th in the world standings.

While the setbacks might have frustrated others, Kimzey embraced the hiatus. It allowed him quality time with his wife, Alexis, and the chance to make memories with his son, Steel, who is approaching 2 years old.

“It was probably the best time I’ve ever had in my life, honestly,” Kimzey said. “I don’t even know that I’d call it a silver lining — the injury was the silver lining. Getting to spend time with them was just the sunshine. It was great.”

Fully healed and mentally refreshed, Kimzey has climbed all the way to fourth in the world standings through the first seven rounds of the NFR. He joked that bad things usually come in threes and hopes he’s met his quota for the time being.

Entering the final three go-rounds, Kimzey probably won’t get that elusive eighth world championship in bull riding, largely because of Australian Ky Hamilton’s huge run this week. But Kimzey can still hang his hat on being tied with PRCA Hall of Famer Donnie Gay, both owning seven bull riding gold buckles.

After all of the difficulties of the past 18 months, Kimzey certainly hopes luck is turning back in his favor.

“At the end of the day, it’s Vegas and anything can happen, especially since there’s $99,000 up for grabs every night in the bull riding,” Kimzey said. “If there are mistakes made and I capitalize on my opportunities, there’s still, I wouldn’t say a great chance, but there’s still a chance that I can walk out after Round 10 with another gold buckle.”