Woodward riding again after brain injury
Bull riding takes grit, perseverance, and a can-do attitude to make it to eight seconds. For the 20-year-old cowboy from Custer, Jestyn Woodward’s abilities were put to the test after recovering from his most recent injury.
In February at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, Woodward suffered from an injury resulting in him being carried out of the arena by Justin Sports Medicine and questioning his ability to ride again.
“Since then, I’ve had to do a bunch of (physical therapy) on my brain. I ended up having second impact syndrome and a bunch of brain stems in my head were trying to die,” Woodward said. “If I had to focus on more than one thing at once, I couldn’t. My brain would overload and shut my body down and I would just black out.”
Second impact syndrome is a condition in which an individual experiences a second head injury before completely recovering from a prior head injury. For Woodward, the previous injury occurred at Fort Worth (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo just before San Antonio. Despite the chances of being told he can’t, he entered this season with the mentality that he can.
“It really feels good to be back because there were a few doctors that told me after I was diagnosed with second impact syndrome that I would never be able to ride bulls again. It’s been a really big thing to get my brain back and be able to ride again,” Woodward said.
After his journey to recovery, Woodward jumped back into the game as soon as he was able. His two latest competitions resulted in a rewarding feeling as he proceeds forward. Woodward walked away from Black Hills Roundup with a score of 87.5 and earning $7,896 on his match up against Championship Pro Rodeo’s Blowin Smoke. Following his win, he competed at Home of Champions Rodeo Xtreme Bulls (Montana) and resulted in his second-place finish with a score of 86.5 and earning $4,129.
The road to recovery with an injury like Woodward’s is a challenge to overcome. He credits his community and family legacy to helping him preserve through the tough times.
“My dad and grandpa rode bulls. My dad was a national champion in high school and then rode professionally. They were my motivation when I was younger,” Woodward said. “It was just always something that was a part of my life and something that I naturally wanted to do. They’ve supported me on my way up and it’s just gone from there.”
The inspiration to continue to compete lies within his love for the sport and his brother.
“My inspiration to compete is just for the pure love of the sport and that I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything other than rodeoing and riding bulls,” he said. “I’ve got a little brother at home that always tells my parents that he wants to be just like me when he grows up.”
Continuing into Cowboy Christmas, Woodward is looking forward to more rodeos on his schedule.
“You know, I’m a little sore, but I’m feeling really good and confident and excited to keep going and see where I can take the rest of this month. It feels really good to be back to my old self again,” Woodward said.