Rodeo Star Who ‘Had a Horse Fall on Me’ Returns to Arena 8 Weeks after Breaking Collarbone and 7 Ribs

NEED TO KNOW

• Rodeo star Madison Outhier has resumed competing after a devastating accident last year left her with broken ribs, a punctured lung, collapsed collarbone and lacerated liver
• During an Aug. 20 appearance on the Like a Farmer podcast, the athlete, 22, said she “had a horse fall on me” while walking up to an arena to compete last year
• As she returns to the arena, Outhier said, “ You have to have complete confidence in yourself“

Rodeo star Madison Outhier shared more details about the debilitating accident where she “had a horse fall on me,” breaking multiple bones and puncturing internal organs.

The athlete, 22, looked back on the July 2024 accident during an appearance Aug. 20 on theLike a Farmerpodcast, explaining, “I had a horse fall on me" while she was walking up to the arena in Salt Lake City to compete.

The two-time Women's Rodeo World Champion Breakaway Roper said she “ended up breaking seven ribs. My collarbone collapsed and punctured my lung and lacerated my liver.” Outhier shared she was "very lucky” that it happened in Salt Lake City, which was “super close to a lot of big great hospitals.”

She had collarbone surgery and stayed in the hospital for a week before returning home, where she said she “had to sit the rest of last year's season out. So that was pretty hard for me.”

“Initially in the moment, I was just thinking, ‘Dang I guess I'm not going to get to rope today,’ “ Outhier said, sharing that it was an adjustment to stay at home and recuperate. “It was obviously hard when I got home … having to sit at home and not doing much was pretty hard mentally on me.”

As soon as she was cleared by an orthopedic surgeon — which took about 8 weeks — she began physical therapy and working out. “I was roping and stuff again at close to 9 weeks,” she says, explaining that “it sounds like a quick turnaround, but it felt a lot longer than it was.”

“I wasn't as strong as I had been until at least a couple months after that,” she explains. 

The breakaway competitor — which is where the rider lassos a calf — said she’s just now getting back into competition, explaining, “Well, especially in my event where it's so quick, so many things can happen that are out of your control. You just have to have a really strong mental game.”

“You have to have complete confidence in yourself. “

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