ST. LOUIS – Derek Kolbaba had his right ankle propped up on a table inside the PBR Sports Medicine room Friday night during the PBR TicketSmarter Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, as the Game Ready compression therapy machine began to tighten and pulsate on his injured ankle.
Kolbaba had just ridden Bubba G for a critical 88.25 points, but the Walla Walla, Washington, bull rider’s landing following the qualified ride exposed the biggest issue that he will have to overcome this weekend inside Enterprise Center. A week ago, Kolbaba had a bull fall on him during a practice session at home, crushing his ankle.
The 25-year-old was trying to work out some kinks after his 3-for-12 start to the season had him cut from the Unleash The Beast. Now he had his ankle busted and was forced to take a weekend off.
“I don’t really have anything against a practice pen, especially when you need it, and unfortunately, that’s usually when these kinds of freak deals happen that you get freaking hurt is in the practice pen,” Kolbaba said. “But unfortunately, that’s bull riding. Even practice bulls hurt when they fall on you. I rode good and felt good, and then it was just kind of a freak deal and pop, pop, pop.”
The good news, though, was X-rays revealed no fracture.
The seven-time PBR World Finals qualifier felt good enough to try to compete this weekend in St. Louis, and that decision paid off to the tune of a fifth-place finish in Round 1.
“I thought it was broke, so to hear it wasn’t broken, I was pretty happy,” Kolbaba said. “I knew what I had to deal with coming in, so I figured I’d better make good of it. That was my game plan coming in here. And pretty much there was no turning loose with that one. The ankle has gotten a lot better, and I knew that I could ride. I mean, it was going to hurt when I got off, but in this kind of predicament I put myself in, I figured I’d better go freaking make hay while the sun shines.”
Kolbaba’s fifth-place finish in the round netted him 15 world points to push him from No. 42 to No. 35 in the world standings ahead of Saturday night’s Round 2.
The eighth-year pro was one of three riders who needed a qualified ride to advance to Round 2. 2018 Rookie of the Year Keyshawn Whitehorse rode Chief for 84.25 points, and three-time World Champion Silvano Alves rode Catfish for 86 points.
“That was a little difficult to get a score, but it worked,” Alves said. “I started the year really good, but the last three weeks, the draw did not help me a little bit. Some bulls were difficult, ABBI last week, it can be so hard away from my hand. This happens, though. Being a bull rider, your career can be like a wave. I am not mad. I do not have to prove anything. I want to stay here because I love riding bulls. This year is a short season, but there is still time. It is hard sometimes, though, but I feel great tonight.”
There were 14 qualified rides in Round 1.
Fans can watch the conclusion of this weekend’s event Sunday on CBS national television at noon ET.
Kolbaba cannot pinpoint exactly what was causing his struggles through the first month of the season, but he knows sitting at home because of his ankle injury would have pushed him into an even deeper hole.
“It’s just kind of the way it went,” Kolbaba said. “Sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want it to go, even when you’re doing the right things. I’m not going to make up any sort of excuse or anything about it because that’s definitely not the way it’s supposed to be, but I’m just going to get things rolling like we have and get back on track.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media