Safety gear saves boy dragged and kicked by steer
Bull fighters leap into action to help junior rider whose spur got stuck
A scary moment occurred during Tuesday’s junior steer riding competition at the Calgary Stampede when Jesse Ozirney’s spur became stuck in the flank strap wrapped around the steer’s backside.
Unable to make a clean dismount from the animal, the 13-year-old Grenfell, Sask., native was dragged around for a few seconds, kicked, and appeared to be stepped on.
The Stampede’s experienced infield medical team and bull fighters were quick to step into action, eventually getting his spur out of the rope before loading Ozirney on a stretcher and carrying him out of the arena to the on-site medical centre.
About 45 minutes later, he was upright, talking and walking around. He walked out of the medical room with his gear in a black garbage bag and his yellow helmet under his arm.
“I was just trying to grab onto something so I didn’t go underneath the cow,” he said. “I didn’t really get stepped on, just grazed and was flung around by the cow. The bull fighters tried to grab onto me and get my spur unstuck.”
Thanks to the bull fighters’ quick actions, Ozirney emerged with barely a scratch on his body.
But Logan Schaffer, rodeo supervisor for the in-house paramedics, said Ozirney’s protective vest and rodeo-specific helmet and mask — which were both bent and disfigured considerably — really saved his life.
“From the injuries 10 years ago without the proper safety equipment, we would have expected much more severe injuries,” Schaffer said.
“This here, we would have been looking at mass body and facial trauma without his protective vest and the helmet. It prevented massive injuries. It reduced his recovery time from years to no recovery at all.
“That cage saved him years of recovery, if not permanent disfiguration … having the right safety equipment, no different than a seatbelt, will save your life.”
Schaffer praised the in-house bull fighters who lifted Ozirney to prevent him from being stepped on and stopped the steer from running around.
“Today we got lucky,” he said. “The bull fighters really save more lives than we do … they save us so much work. We are so happy to have those guys here. Because of them, we wouldn’t be seeing (athletes) as much as we normally would 20 years ago.
“This injury in the past has ended pro-riders’ careers. There’s a lot of factors that (Ozirney) got lucky with today.”
If it was frightening for Tuesday’s rain-soaked crowd, imagine how Jesse’s parents, Quentin and Tracy Ozirney, felt.
“I had to look away,” Quentin said. “After that boy broke his leg at a competition in Raymond, Alta., about two weeks ago, I couldn’t watch. I’m so thankful for the bull fighters. They’re life savers. “It’s nerve-racking.” Tuesday’s ride ended young Ozirney’s hopes of qualifying for the Calgary Stampede’s junior steer riding final but he is entered in a competition at Craven, Sask., next weekend.
“It’s just like horse riding — if you’re bucked off, you have to get back on,” Quentin said.