Neither broken ribs, nor a busy rodeo schedule were enough to keep Russ Hallaby away from his hometown Airdrie Pro Rodeo last week.
Hallaby scored a 78 in his bareback ride on day two of the event, June 29. He knew it wasn’t his best run, but said, considering the injury he was riding with, it wasn’t that bad either.
“For what I got going with broken ribs, it felt pretty good,” he said. “I felt a little tentative at the start when he took a scoot, I kind of got too far back from where I wanted to, but when he started bucking, I didn’t have no pain – so it was fine. The horse I had, Dusty Dan, has been around last year. Ever since I seen him, I wanted him. But today, he just didn’t have his trips. He covered a little bit of ground.”
Hallaby, a past champion at the bareback at the Airdrie Pro Rodeo, said he always enjoys coming back for a number of reasons, regardless of injuries, a busy family life or a cramped performance schedule during ‘Cowboy Christmas.’
“Ever since I come to Airdrie, I’ve always done good,” he said. “And I like the atmosphere in Airdrie – I always thought it was a great little rodeo. And then it got bigger and bigger, so I really couldn’t miss out coming to Airdrie and the hometown rodeo. It’s just a little nerve-racking, you don’t want to fall off, but hopefully I take some money out again.”
Primarily due to the rib injury, Hallaby has taken a lighter schedule than usual during this part of the season, but is still hoping to make the most of his upcoming appearances.
“I’ve got Ponoka tomorrow (June 30) and have a real nice horse there. I was supposed to go to Williams Lake, but I’m not sure if I’m going to go as I may let the ribs relax a little bit,” he said.
“I’m being a little more choosy, because I went to the doctor today and he said ‘you’re not quite healed. He said ‘if it’s not bothering you, go ahead and just tape them to protect them the best you can.”
Injuries aside, he said he’d keep performing as long as he’s competitive, as the action always stays fresh.
“You just got to keep setting your goals up,” Hallaby said. “I want to win that CFR before I quit. I made a deadline at 35 to make it. But travelling with young guys and guys that just crave rodeo gets you back into it again.”
