Star bull rider’s condition updated after nasty fall at NFR
Veteran bull rider J.B. Mauney, who was briefly knocked unconscious and suffered facial lacerations while being bucked off during the second go-round of the National Finals Rodeo on Friday night, cleared evaluation protocols and planned to ride in Saturday night’s performance at the Thomas & Mack Center.
A capacity crowd watched in stunned silence as the former two-time Professional Bull Riders champion lay motionless after the frightening incident before being helped from the arena.
“The biggest thing that caused that wreck was when J.B. came down and hit that bull (Johnny Thunder) with his head more or less that knocked him out for a minute,” said bullfighter Dusty Tuckness, who helped shield Mauney from additional harm.
“It was kind of one of them crazy bull ridin’ deals. You can’t protect (against) that. But (J.B.) is as tough as nails, and I expect big things from him tonight.”
Mauney, 34, made his long-anticipated NFR debut Thursday and split first-place money with a ride of 87.5 points.
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.