An Albury mother has praised rodeo competitors who jumped into the arena and saved her son, Ben Gard, after he fell and broke his leg during a national competition on Saturday.
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Gard, who has been riding since he was five years old, was left helpless after he broke his femur during a fall in round four of the bull ride at the Australian Professional Rodeo Association national finals.
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“He knew straight away when he hit the ground that his leg was broken,” Carolyn Gard said.
“He couldn’t get off the ground, he just had to sit there with the bull all around him and he couldn’t move.”
Ms Gard said if it wasn’t for fellow competitors Rinsie Jamieson, Josh Birks and Josh Bourke – who jumped into the area and wrestled the bull away – her son could have been seriously injured.
“They saved him,” she said.
“It could have been so much worse.”
Gard was airlifted from Warwick to Toowoomba for surgery but will be back on home by Friday.
Ms Gard said he will have to heal completely before he considers competing again but was in good spirits.
“It all depends what the surgeons say, but it’s obviously a dangerous sport and he knows that,” she said.
Ms Gard said her two daughters Ellie and Stephanie were at the rodeo, but she was in Albury watching a livestream of the event.
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Digital journalists with The Border Mail.
Digital journalists with The Border Mail.
