Rodeo is an All-American sport that captivates audiences.
There is danger lurking every time someone competes.
And a rodeo star survived one life-or-death situation when everything went wrong fast.
Bull rider lucky to be alive after getting gored in the neck
Zachary Naegele, a 24-year-old, had a brush with death riding a bull at the Conley Invitational in Palmetto, Florida.
Naegele was riding a bull when seconds after it was released from the pen, he was gored by the beast’s horn in the neck while it was bucking.
He hopped off the bull and walked away when he was overcome by his injury.
“I really didn’t feel it when it first happened,” Naegele recalled. “I thought I broke my jaw until I grabbed my chin and then I seen the blood squirt out from my neck, and I said ‘this ain’t good.’”
Naegele was holding his neck as the first responders tended to him.
The rodeo star lost nearly two gallons of blood from his injury.
“I could feel myself going in and out from the amount of blood loss in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. I had to fight to keep breathing,” Naegele told ABC27.
The bull’s horn severed the carotid artery in his neck.
Naegele had successful surgery to repair his wound and was released from the hospital.
He faces a recovery that could take two months.
“I know that God has bigger plans for me in life; now it’s time to get healed up,” Naegele stated. “It was just a freak accident, but it did put me in the hospital unconscious and fighting for my life. I know that God has bigger plans for me in life; now it’s time to get healed up.”
He thanked the crowd who prayed for him and the emergency technicians who attended to his injury.
The injury is not going to scare him away from his love of rodeo.
“I most definitely plan to get back into bull riding,” Naegele said. “My goal is to make it onto one of the PBR [Professional Bull Riders] teams, specifically the Oklahoma Wildcatters.”
Rodeo star credits it for saving his life
Naegele , a native of Louisiana, began riding bulls when he was a freshman in high school.
“Shoot I was a freshman in high school,” said Naegele. “Ever since then, I was pretty much hooked.”
He joined the Cross Brand Cowboy Church where he got interested in rodeo.
“I had a rough upbringing,” Naegele explained. “This church saved me.”
The church combined ministry with bull riding.
“That’s what the main purpose of this church is,” Naegele said. “We do a ministry through the bull riding and after bulls, we come in here and learn about God.”
Naegele was eager to get back home after he was released from the hospital.
“This is home. This place, this church, all my friends and family,” Naegele said. “Louisiana is home. I was 12 hours away and I was in that hospital, I kind of felt a little bit alone.”
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.
