Nicola Valley bull rider says this is just a break — his event will come back in 2017
With a slough of injuries slowing him down, Ty Pozzobon has announced that the fourth annual Ty Pozzobon Invitational PBR won’t be happening this year.
“I’ve had a rough past year and a half of riding bulls, with my injuries, and I really want to focus on my career this year,” Pozzobon told the Herald. “PBR is holding my event for a year for me, so I’m going to go after the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) this year and be at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR).”
The Nicola Valley native, still in his early 20s, nearly made it to the NFR in 2015, but broke his leg while competing in a rodeo in September. He said he’s just now beginning to recover from that injury, and isn’t going to waste any time getting back to the sport he loves.
“It’s been about three weeks almost since I’ve been off a cane and I’ve been [going] to the gym,” he said. “I plan to be back for the big San Antonio rodeo at the end of February, and then I’ll be back in Houston the next month, for the big Houston rodeo. It’s going to be busy.”
On top of that, he’s also been asked to join the Elite Rodeo Association (ERA), a new competition just starting this year. There are only eight events, with the first one coming up in March, and the finals in Dallas in November. “It’s the very first year for it and I’ll be the first Canadian to be a part of that,” he said.
He also stressed that this wasn’t the end of his own event here in Merritt. “Big, big thanks to everybody — to the town and all the sponsors who made this thing happen the past three years,” he said. “It’s not going to be the end of it, we’re going to be back.”
