CHEYENNE, WY – An injury sustained this week by four-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Cole Elshere will force him to drastically change his approach.
The Faith, S.D., saddle bronc rider suffered a complete tear in his right bicep on Sunday at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
Elshere will undergo surgery to reattach his bicep next week. But he’s not giving up on his season yet.
“Right now, my tentative plan is that I’m going to switch hands and ride left-handed at Deadwood Days of ’76, also in Gordon, Neb., and Cheyenne because I made the semifinals,” Elshere told the ProRodeo Sports News. “So I’m going to still ride and just use my other arm.”
Elshere is set to undergo surgery on July 28. And if the weekend goes well, he’ll continue riding with his left arm.
“After surgery (I hope), they’ll let me continue to ride left-handed, and then I’ll use my surgery arm as a free arm,” he said. “But besides the ride, you still have to be able to get off and get on the horses safely, so there’s a lot that goes into it.”
The 34-year-old made the NFR from 2012-14 and 2020, and he’s in the hunt to return to the bright lights of Las Vegas.
“It’s definitely testing me right now,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out whether I’ll compete for the rest of the season left-handed or prepare myself for next season. It’s definitely a tipping point this weekend to see how good I can ride left-handed on these next three horses.”
This isn’t the first time Elshere has ridden with his non-dominant arm. A few years ago, pinched nerves in his neck made riding with his right arm difficult, so he made the switch.
“It’s definitely going to give me some confidence knowing that I have the ability to do it,” he said. “From the ones I got on (lefty), I know a few things that I can focus on to help me ride better. So I do know there are some things I need to focus on to make it work right.”
Elshere placed third in the second performance at Cheyenne Frontier Days – when he got injured. The ride netted him a $1,177 check and qualified him for Saturday’s semifinal round.
On July 23, he sat 17th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $66,767. An impressive weekend on his offhand could inch him closer to his first NFR qualification in four years.
“It’d be a great feat to be able to make it to the NFR using the opposite arm,” Elshere said. “Everybody rides so well that it’s an amazing feat to make it at all, let alone be able to do it with your off-side arm. That’d be quite the blessing.”
