If bareback rider Chad Rutherford wants to make his second NFR and first since 2020, it is now going to be an uphill climb.
Rutherford had surgery on June 7 to repair a “shattered” finger in his free hand that he suffered on May 28. Rutherford wrote on Instagram he has four pins in his finger and hopes to be back competing in about eight weeks. The injury came around the time he was due to have his third child.
“This obviously wasn’t MY plan for the summer, but I had been praying to God heavily leading up to this to direct my path and help me decide how to handle rodeo and a newborn this summer,” he wrote on Instagram Monday. “God answered, and certainly has a plan and always provides. Our third son will be born TOMORROW via c-section, and we are so blessed and excited. We could use all your prayers for safety for my wife and baby, and quick, complete healing for all of us.”
Rutherford, who is currently ranked 15th with $41,550, has spent the last few months bouncing between No. 10 and No. 15 in the world. He has won four times this season, most recently with a 90-point ride at the Will Rogers Stampede in Oklahoma.
