08.01.23 - Teams
Carolina Cowboys’ Sage Kimzey out with broken collarbone
Kimzey, a seven-time PRCA World Champion and the Cowboys' No. 1 draft pick, was injured at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
By Darci Miller
PUEBLO, Colo. – PBR fans and the Carolina Cowboys faithful will have to wait a little longer to truly get the Sage Kimzey experience.
Last week, the seven-time PRCA World Champion bull rider made his PBR Camping World Team Series debut for the Cowboys in Cheyenne, Wyoming, but was injured in the Semi-Finals of the Cheyenne Frontier Days bull riding not long after.
X-rays revealed a broken collarbone, for which Kimzey will undergo surgery on Wednesday. He’s been placed on Injured Reserve and is eligible to return to competition as soon as Stampede Days in Nashville on Aug. 18-20.
It’s an unfortunate turn of events for Kimzey, who was the No. 1 draft pick for the Cowboys in May. In his first Teams action, he went 1-for-2 in Cheyenne with a 90-point ride aboard Reba McEntire’s The Hammer.
It was his first qualified ride in the PBR in more than three years, when he competed in the Monster Energy Team Challenge in July of 2020.
Kimzey has competed only sparingly in the PBR during his career, preferring to chase rodeo history. He qualified for the PBR World Finals via the Velocity Tour Finals in 2017 and is 39-for-68 (57%) at all levels of competition.
Kimzey was expected to slot into a loaded Cowboys roster, making up a juggernaut of a Top 4 with 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis, 2022 World Champion Daylon Swearingen, and 2020 Rookie of the Year Boudreaux Campbell.
The squad went 2-for-2 in Cheyenne, falling in extra outs to lose the event victory but taking over No. 1 in the Teams standings thanks to its aggregate score.
“We just have to take care of business at the end of the day,” Kimzey told PBR.com’s James Youness in Cheyenne. “Our team has a lot of talent on it, and it’s just about us showing up and performing to the best of our ability. Every single out. During every single game. Throughout the whole season. It can be a long, grueling season, but I think this is a really determined, focused group of guys, and I think we can get the job done.”
Kimzey’s Teams season took a hit this past weekend, though, when he was bucked off in seven seconds in the first Semi-Final at Cheyenne Frontier Days. He’d previously advanced out of the progressive rounds thanks to a 91.5-point ride earlier in the week.
Even without Kimzey, the No. 1 Cowboys (2-0) are favorites heading into Outlaw Days in Kansas City, Missouri, on Aug. 3-5, where they will take on the No. 8 Missouri Thunder (0-2), the No. 2 Austin Gamblers (2-0) and the No. 7 Nashville Stampede (0-2).
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media