"Son of a bitch," says Christian, rushing down out of the stands, vaulting over the fence into the ring, and running to his son.
Dylan lies on the ground for several minutes, then struggles to his feet. The first thing he says, Christian later reports, is, "Can I ride him again?"
Joshua Prezant
Joshua Prezant
Dylan rides at Davie's Jackpot Rodeo
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Christian walks beside his son as Dylan sort of hops out of the ring, trying not to put weight on his right foot.
Back in the chutes, Dylan is breathing shallow and quick. He's struggling to fight back tears. Between gasps, Dylan gives his analysis of what went wrong. "I started thinking," he tells his dad. Christian strokes Dylan's back, trying to comfort his son.
"Don't rub my back," Dylan tells his dad.
Christian looks bemused. "I guess he's too old for that," he says.
Ryan asks to see Dylan's foot to check whether it's swollen.
"What for?" Dylan says. "There ain't nothing to see but a white foot with a bump on it."
Sandi Goodman, a retired pediatric nurse whose son Matt also rides bulls, and Ryan persuade a resistant Dylan to lie down and raise his legs, which will help blood flow to his brain and prevent shock. They remove his cowboy boots. Someone brings a bag of ice. As Dylan lies on the ground, his breathing returns to normal.
Goodman mentions Bambi. "She probably turned blue," Dylan says. Then Goodman gently talks to him about having the foot x-rayed.
"He just stepped on me," Dylan protests. "I'll be OK."
Christian watches, not saying anything.
"That right there," Ryan says, gesturing to Dylan's legs, "is your income. You got to take care of it."
"I don't like hospitals," Dylan responds. "I don't want to go." His tough-guy veneer begins to dissolve into tears.
"Be smart," Ryan admonishes him. Ryan and Matt Goodman hoist Dylan in their arms, carry him to the family's SUV, and deposit him in the back seat.
"I'll be back over," Dylan tells the well-wishers gathered outside the truck. Though the family is moving the next day, Bambi has promised they will return to the Jackpot Rodeo each month.
Ryan stands at the SUV door talking to Dylan. As a way of saying good-bye, he gives his protégé a friendly slap on the leg.
"Ahhhhhh!" Dylan screams. "Why's everybody smacking on that leg?"
The hospital confirms what Sandi Goodman suspected. The top of Dylan's right foot is fractured, with bone chips in it. Bull riding will be on hold until the foot heals.
A month later, after the move, the boy hasn't given up the sport. Instead, he plans to compete in a junior rodeo in Bunnell, north of Daytona Beach, in late January.
"He's ready," says Bambi. "He keeps asking the doctor when he can get back on." Dylan has promised the doctor he won't jump on his right foot.
"I ride left-handed, so if I get off on the left side, I should be able to stay off that foot," he explains.
The Werners still haven't found a church. They have been to several and plan to visit more. "It's going to be hard," Bambi says, "to sit in a Baptist pew after Triple Cross."
