Up-and-coming bull rider Chad Hartman recounts worst injuries

Professional bull riders endure harsh injuries until sometimes they physically can’t compete anymore. Chad Hartman, a bull rider from Lancer, Saskatchewan will be competing in the upcoming PBR Canada Elite Cup Series in Lethbridge at the beginning of March.

He offered up some tips on how to stay on for that 8 second ride. Hartman also talked about some of the worst injuries he’s sustained in his career.

“Lately I haven’t had too many bad injuries. When I was young, I got hurt steer riding, but like what you do before you bull ride. And I collapsed my lung, bruised my heart, cut my spleen and liver, broke a couple of ribs, but that would be my worst injury. But as of lately, I mean, you get bumps and bruises every weekend and the odd time you’ll get a bone fracture or an injury like that that you just kind of continue on with. And for staying on the bull, I don’t even know because sometimes I can’t even stay on them. But I would say it’s 90 per cent mental. You got to tell yourself that you can stay on that thing.”

The Elite Cup Series will take place March 3-4 at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge.