The return of LaBeth Veteran battles back from injuries

PUEBLO, Colo. (April 9, 2009) - If Dusty LaBeth knows one thing, it’s patience.

“My deal is,” he said, “one jump at a time, one bull at a time and one event a time.”

It took that, a lot of patience and a whole lot of time and determination for LaBeth to work his way back onto the prestigious Built Ford Tough Series after breaking his femur back in 2006 at an event in Albuquerque.

Earlier in his career he had qualified for the World Finals three consecutive years, from 2000 until 2002, and made four appearances in a six-year span when the spiral fracture of his right femur occurred. That was followed up with a hip injury, the combination of which nearly derailed the rest of his career.

After three years, a hundred or so lower-level events and thousands of hours spent rehabbing, the 29-year-old recently won an event in Palestine, Texas, and the $2,962.96 he earned was enough for him to make the BFTS cut for at least five events.

In his 2009 debut in Nampa last weekend, LaBeth, who has two career BFTS event wins to his credit, covered all three long round bulls before bucking off Firebird in the short go.

His sixth-place finish earned him $3,424, and more importantly, he earned enough points – 546.75 to be exact – to place him 44th in the world, with four more events in which he can still try to work his way into the Top 30 and assure himself of a spot at future BFTS events throughout the rest of the season.

Earlier this week, www.pbrnow.com caught up with LaBeth, whose career highlight came in 2001 when he covered Promiseland for 95.5 points in Nashville, and talked with the cowboy about his long journey back to the BFTS.

Question: How does it feel to get back to the Built Ford Tough Series?

LaBeth: Of course it’s going to feel great, but just to be back where I know I belong, where I’m capable of riding feels really good, and I’ve really had to overcome a lot of obstacles. Injuries have sort of been my deal, but, heck, now I feel great. Now I’m just ready to do what I love and it’s exciting.

Question: It’s not whether or not you belong – you’ve proven that – it’s just that in the second half of your career, would it be fair to say, you just haven’t been able to stay healthy enough?

LaBeth: That’s exactly right. It just seems like it’s been one thing after the other. Heck, I think now we have my body all pieced back together and I should be good to go for a few more years, at least.

Question: Right, and we will look at the positives, but like you said, you were piecing your body back together from a series of injuries, so I’m wondering: Does there come a point when you say to yourself, “I don’t think I can come back from all of this?”

LaBeth: That’s just the devil working on you right there. I mean, I think everybody would deal with that a little bit. I just felt deep down inside that I wasn’t ready to be done. Heck, I’m still only 29-years-old. I’ve just been around a little bit longer than a lot of these other guys, but if you take away all my injuries then I’m right around 24, so I’m in my prime.

Question: Bull riding is one of those sports where you can’t really say this one injury or that one is the worst a guy could have, but a spiral fracture of the femur is definitely one of those injuries that would be on that list. What did it take for you to come back from not just breaking the biggest bone in the human body, but to do so in a way that it was compounded like that?

LaBeth: You just gotta forget about it and, of course, it’s going to play mind games with you.

Question: Actually I’m speaking of the long, painful days and time you spent rehabbing.

LaBeth: I don’t sit around very good at all. I remember sitting at home for days and I was just going nuts and, right about then, I started walking around outside with my crutches. Then about week later I started driving, which was safe—you know, cause I broke my right leg.

Question: Oh, I know what you mean. It wasn’t very safe.

LaBeth: I was being very sarcastic, but I tried to get on that bike as soon as I could. Between that then my hip, I was out for over a year. I just tried to stay in the gym as much as I could, rode my horses every day and continued to do my drills, and then just having great family and friends behind me. I knew if I needed anything I could count on a lot of people.

Question: How did you feel when Jay (Daugherty) or Edwin (Lay) called from the PBR office to let you know you had made the cut, or did that call merely solidify what you already knew?

LaBeth: I don’t have cable anymore and I don’t have the Internet so I’m sort of, well—I don’t even know where I am in the standings. I knew I had been riding a lot of bulls and just nickel and diming them everywhere, it seems like, so I had a feeling after I won that event in Palestine (Texas)…my dad was with me and I said, “Dad, this may be the one where I finally make the cut.” Throughout my whole career I’ve always come back from injuries as an alternate so, I think this may be my first cut that I’ve actually ever made. I’ve either always been seeded or I’ve come back as an alternate.

Question: Because you came in having made the cut for the next five events, did that provide you with the relief to allow you a chance to just do what a bull rider does?

LaBeth: My deal is that I just love to ride bulls. It’s one of them crazy things. I love being a bull rider and I love the lifestyle. The Built Ford Tough is every bull riders dream because that’s how you make a living. When you’re going to these Challenger series events they’re paying $3,000 to win, but you’re spending $1,500 to get there—it’s tough. Your goal in the Challenger series is to almost cover your expenses so you can get back to the Built Ford Tough and make a living.

—by Keith Ryan Cartwright

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