Bareback rider McGehee fights back from injury to make dad proud
SPRINGDALE — Bareback rider Lane McGehee is similar to many cowboys in that he continues to compete after being injured previously in the ring.
In 2019, McGehee tore every tendon off his hamstring in his left leg after breaking his left shinbone before that. He was sidelined for several months before deciding to take up the often dangerous sport of rodeo again.
So, why’d he do it? “I want to make my dad proud and let my family know I am not a quitter,” said McGehee, who is from Victoria, Texas. “My dad [Carl] rode bareback horses and taught me everything I know.”
Carl McGehee would’ve been proud of his son, Lane, who scored 86 points in bareback Saturday on the final night of the 78th Rodeo of the Ozarks at Parsons Stadium. McGehee tied for fifth overall and earned $796.64 as he heads to his next appearance at a rodeo in Greeley, Colo.
McGehee, 25, got started early in rodeo and boosted his resume as a bareback rider when he won at the National Finals in the event as a student at Sam Houston State University in Texas.
“You’ve got to have toughness and grit in this sport because there’s nothing easy about it,” McGehee said. “Experience also helps when you become more in touch with the animals and kind of know what to expect from them.”
Like many athletes, McGehee has a routine before springing into the field of competition. He sat behind the chutes at Parsons Stadium and talked about the music he likes to help prepare for his moment, however brief, in the spotlight.
“I like Led Zeppelin, especially the song ‘Ten Years Gone.’ That helps me get comfortable in an uncomfortable sport bareback riding,” McGehee said. “I’m already wound up and this song is real slow at first, which helps me calm down. Then, it has some rock in it that helps me get that fire lit again.”
McGehee raised his arms to the crowd after Saturday’s ride and he hopes to continue the momentum when he enters the ring atop a horse again.
One of the biggest cheers of the night came when Parker Howell of Westville, Okla., won Saturday’s go-round in steer wrestling and earned $1,571.34. A handful of wrestlers failed to earn a score before Howell, a local competitor, excited the crowd at Parsons Stadium by taking down a steer in 4.2 seconds.
“I grew up right across the (Arkansas) line in Oklahoma and I’ve been coming here since I was a kid,” said Howell, 39, who is a pipe liner by trade. “This is the first time I’ve won a go-round. It was a really good steer and I was able to get ahold of him. It just all came together. … Look, lean, grab, it’s over.”
The 78th Rodeo of the Ozarks finished with a flurry when seven-time world champion Sage Steele Kimzey scored 89.5 points to win the bull-riding competition.
“I want to make my dad proud and let my family know I am not a quitter.”
Lane McGehee