Kansas EMS, Trainers Cure What Ails Rodeo Cowboys

July 17--PRETTY PRAIRIE -- Travis Vogt likes the view he has carved out for himself at the Pretty Prairie Rodeo. He gets a little nervous thinking about retiring someday far off in the future because he might have to go back to the bleachers.

Vogt, the service director for Pretty Prairie EMS, has his staff holed up left of the chutes into the arena, near the walk-in gate. If a cowboy's ride takes an unexpected turn for the worst, Vogt and his team spur into action.

"Over how many years I've been doing this, that's the best seat in the house," Vogt said Thursday. "We get to see what's going on in that arena, but it also helps us so we can see what happens. If they get thrown off, we can see how they land.

"We kind of have an advantage, where we don't have the advantage with our normal 911 calls, we can see what exactly caused them to get hurt."

Vogt works in conjunction with J.D. Smith, a certified athletic trainer with the Kansas Orthopedic Center's rodeo sports medicine program. If a rider suffers an injury, Smith is the first to examine him.

"I'm just trying to assess what's going on with them, and then just go from there. If they need transported, then we'll do that," Smith said. "A lot of times, they don't want no part of that."

There is the hitch with cowboys -- even with battle scars, each one wants to walk out of the arena on their own power, not in the back seat of an ambulance.

"You know they probably should go, but in the end, it's all up to them, really, unless I really think that it's necessary," Smith said. "Out there, unless it's really bad, we try to help them along and take their time. I call it gathering their chickens."

Smith may be able to handle the situations himself, but Vogt and his squad -- typically seven or more a night -- are prepared to assist.

"We've worked with him so many years, he knows all he has to do is look at us. We're watching him, and we know. We can read what he's thinking," Vogt said. "(Wednesday) night, when the guy was unresponsive, we all went out at the same time and came out together."

In that instance, a rider was knocked unconscious for a couple of minutes, Vogt said, but the rider later walked off.

Those occurrences worry Smith the most.

"I don't like it when they get knocked out, to be honest. It scares me," Smith said. "There's not a whole lot you can do about it. You just don't know. There is so much force and so much energy."

But serious emergency incidents are rare. Smith said injuries range from concussions, pectoral tears and bone fractures, but those are also uncommon. More typically, Smith is offering ice to sore riders -- or they never pay him a visit at all.

Cowboys like to be self-sufficient.

"There are a lot of them that tape their knees, and that's how they get along. They just tape it and go," Smith said.

Emergency workers will see their share of cowboys getting stepped on by a horse or bull, or getting conked in the head on a particularly violent ride. Bareback riders, bull riders and bull fighters take the worst beatings. Unlike a movie depiction, bulls on the professional circuit will not gore anyone with a horn. Their horns are dulled to prevent it.

Vogt is a Pretty Prairie native. He does not believe he has ever been absent from the rodeo. The only difference now is his added responsibility.

"I've lived here my whole life," Vogt said. "I look forward to this event every year."

Copyright 2015 - The Hutchinson News, Kan.