mfreter@mavs.coloradomesa.edu

Injuries are a risk that every athlete faces. The bigger the thrill, the bigger the threat is of getting hurt.

Sprained ankles, dislocated shoulders and even ACL tears can be overcome. Some people face injuries that are not only potentially career-threatening, but life-altering.

Tashala Storbeck, a junior at CMU and a member of the rodeo team, confronted that problem after sustaining two major injuries.

Her first came last spring at her former school, the University of Great Falls in Montana. While competing in a roping event just before the start of the season, she suffered a severe break in her shoulder.

“I had to have a complete shoulder reconstruction,” Storbeck said. “The doctors had to put nine anchors in to help my shoulder completely heal.”

Storbeck was forced to sit out the remainder of the season so her shoulder could heal. Her brother Telbe, CMU’s ASG president, persuaded her to come to CMU and continue her rodeo career this fall.

Storbeck endured another injury while practicing for the upcoming fall season. She suffered two fractures in the lowest two vertebrae on her spine. After having consecutive dangerous injuries, doctors were very cautious to allow her to return to the sport.

“With all of my injuries, the doctors told me that I might not be able to go back,” she said. “They were really hesitant to even let me try.”

Despite their uncertainty, Storbeck was willing to do whatever it took to return to the team. Since her rehabilitation began in August, she has been exercising her back so it can be back to full strength.

Although she has yet to get back on a horse, she is confident that she will return to her roping and barrel racing events starting next fall. Her connection to rodeo has been strong since her early childhood and she says that no injury is going to keep her from it.

“I don’t know a different lifestyle,” Storbeck said. “So for doctors to tell me that I can’t rodeo is like telling me I can’t walk. I’ve never done anything else.”