Question: You’ve really taken a different approach with this most recent injury, in terms of when to come back and how to prepare yourself to be healthy for the Finals.

Answer: It was hard for me not to go back (for the Mohegan Sun Invitational). After Columbus I thought about calling and saying I was and I knew that I wanted to go, but the more I thought about it, I realized that extra two weeks would be even better in my favor. I didn’t think I was actually 100 percent into it to go. I knew my thumb wasn’t 100 percent, but I knew that I could go and do it. It was probably a good event to go and get a few bulls under my belt right before the Finals, but it’s more important to be healthy for the World Finals. Definitely the best bulls are going to be there, and you don’t really want to have any injuries. It’s OK. I don’t mind that I haven’t been on a bull for a long time. I’m actually craving it more than I have in a long, long time.

Q: That’s a good feeling to have when you go into that first round.

A: That’s for sure. We’ve got the draft and stuff and we’re going to pick the bulls. That’s probably the best way for me to get back in it, when I’m actually going out on a limb and you have to pick your own bull and you have to back yourself. That’s the best scenario to be in when you’re coming back off an injury.

Q: In the past, you would have made that call and ridden at Mohegan Sun, but what was different this time? Why didn’t you wind up making the call?

A: Well, I think now it’s my age and a little more wisdom, I guess you could say. I know that in the past I’ve gone back and I’ve been able to get the job done every now and then, but it took a long while before I got the consistency back and stuff like that. That’s because I wasn’t 100 percent and I wasn’t ready to go, so I think that’s what played in the back of my mind this time. I had talked to Justin (McBride) and Ross (Coleman) about it and both of them had pretty much mentioned that I didn’t need to. The only reason I thought I should go back early was I thought I might need to get on some bulls to get back in the swing of things, but I’d watched both of them guys do it in the past and it hasn’t hurt either of them. They both mentioned that it was probably smart that I stayed out and waited for the Finals. It’s more important to be there and there’s more money there. That was the way I was thinking, so it was pretty good to hear that from them.

Q: They pretty much just came out and told you that you already know you can ride a bull—

A: Yeah, that was pretty much their exact words. Justin is the perfect example of it and he just said, “You know can ride and you don’t need to practice, so just be healthy.” In the past, I hadn’t really thought about it like that. It’s something now that the older you get—if I was one of the rookies or was 23 years old, like in the past, I’d probably come back early and I probably could have gotten away with it, but it’s more important to me for the Finals and for next year than to just get on a couple bulls and get hurt again.

Q: Do think having a succession of injuries made you more aware of what you put your body through?

A: Yeah, pretty much. You’re right. That was in the back of my mind. I didn’t need to come back and it wasn’t like I was pushing to make the Finals, like some other guys. It wasn’t like I was in the running for a world title, and I knew if I didn’t come back I was going to get too far behind. I had none of those scenarios, and I’ve had the Finals made since about the start of the year, and I didn’t really need to go to qualify, so it was a perfect chance for me to sit out and save myself to be as healthy as I can be before the Finals. I started the year really good, and then I got knocked out a few times, and by the end of the summer I had been knocked out six times this year, and that wasn’t very good. I had to go to wearing the helmet, and that didn’t really hinder me very much. Then I went to Tulsa and hurt my knee, so that was a good opportunity to let my head rest, and when I finally got my knee right and came back it was the first event and I hurt my thumb. That basically gave my knee more of a chance to get better, and it was just one of those things that I couldn’t seem to catch a break, but that’s the way this sport goes. But my having the Finals made was a good opportunity to sit out and let everything heal up and be ready to go. Hopefully it’s been the smart move. I think it will be and I think I’ll be ready to go. I’m excited about the Finals and I can’t wait to get there.

Q: Another positive to come from this is you only went to 22 of the 32 events and you’re still a Top 25 rider, so that lets you know when you are healthy you’re definitely good enough to seriously compete for a world title.

A: I know that for a fact. I was in the Top 10 and then I had to miss a couple of events, and I had always been in the Top 15 the whole year until I hurt my knee. It’s something I know. I know I should be a Top 10 guy if not a Top 5 guy every single year. It’s been injuries, in the past, that have kept me away from that. Every time I’ve got healthy—last year I went into the Finals and, I think, I was in like 19th place and I finished in the Top 10, so it’s something that I know I can still do. I know I can still finish in the Top 10 this year as long as I do my job. I know I’ve got to the age now where I know I just need to work harder at it than I may have in the past. When you’re a 20-year-old guy your body can handle a little bit more than … well, me, I’m 28 now, so I need to work a little bit harder to keep my body in shape to keep myself healthy and compete at the top level. Nobody wants to get hurt, but I don’t want to be that guy that scrapes through every time. But it has hurt me big time to sit back and watch. I think I was 14th in the world when I got hurt, to now I’m 24th. It’s hard to sit back and watch that happen. That was the hardest thing to do because I wanted to go back every week. I thought I could go back before Columbus and I was thinking about Oakland. Well, then Tandy (Freeman) pretty much talked me out of that. Four years ago I probably wouldn’t have listened to him and just said, “Well, I can do it.” As time goes on you start to think about the big picture instead of next week. It’s tough to watch yourself drop in the world standings, but it’s even tougher to go back and ride bad for four or five months because you came back too early.

Q: You’re sounding like Mike White in a conversation I had with him earlier this year. In years past, he would have never sat out if had the chance to ride, and he would have chuckled at the notion of working out to stay in shape.

A: He’s the same way as I am. He’s a little bit older than I am, but he’s the same way. He’s had a career full of injuries and everyone’s always talked about if Mike White could stay healthy he would win a world title. I feel like I haven’t given me self a chance to prove that to people because I just keep getting hurt. I’m going to try and give myself that chance, and I thought this year was going to be that year. Everything was going great up until the summer and it seems like every summer in that June, July, August period is when I’ve gotten hurt. It’s all right and I’m not too worried about it. It’s given me an opportunity to get some other stuff done, and I’m as happy as I’ve been, now, as I’ve been my whole life. I’m excited about the Finals. I like being in Vegas and it’s always my favorite time of the year. It’s easy to get yourself in the right frame of mind out there because it’s the biggest show we’ve got.

—by Keith Ryan Cartwright