Tue, Dec 02 2008
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Published October 13, 2008 12:38 am - Barrel racer down, but not out Barrel race, silent auction to benefit injured champion By Cathy Spaulding Phoenix Staff Writer OKTAHA — After 50 years of racing a horse around barrels at top speed, champion barrel racer Betty Roper stands outside the rodeo ring, content — for now — to watch her grandchildren race. Roper, 59, broke her neck and ribs and punctured her lungs while mounting a horse on Sept. 19. She said she’s waiting for her doctor to say she’s ready to get back on. After her latest doctor’s visit, Roper said she heard “everything’s healing nicely,” but will have to wear a neck brace — and stay off horses — for another six weeks. “Until then, I’ve got Jimmie and Jaylie to keep the horses trained and prepared,” Roper said. “I can watch them compete.” Friends and other barrel racers expressed confidence that Roper will ride again soon. Some are putting together a benefit barrel race and silent auction for Nov. 22 at the Checotah Round-Up Club arena. The proceeds will help Roper with her medical expenses. “She tries not to be let down,” said Stephanie Rolland, a friend who learned to race from Roper. “She kind of surprises me. She thinks that if you sit down, it just makes matters worse.” Roper is not spending her convalescence sitting down. She said she watches her husband and grandchildren ride and race and, on Tuesday afternoon, was planning to watch a competition in Checotah. Still, she doesn’t discount the seriousness of her accident. “I was starting to step on and I guess I didn’t get all the way on him and he bucked me off,” she said. “I punctured my lung and broke my second vertebrae from my neck,” she said. That was Sept. 19 (a Friday) and the next Tuesday I started getting back out.” A padded brace keeps Roper’s neck stable and erect. She keeps her left arm in a stiff sling. She said she can brush horses with her right hand, but that’s about the extent of her activities around horses. “I have to make sure I am doing this right,” Roper said. “I can do things, but I don’t want a horse to bump me.” The September tumble was not the first time Roper was injured in a horse-related accident. “The last accident I was in was in 1985,” she said. “I cracked my ribs, cracked my collar bone, punctured my lung. I had a lot of lacerations.” She said she rode into a six-inch pipe while she was barrel racing. She said she was back on the horse two weeks later. Roper acknowledged that she was younger then, about 36. This time, she said she’ll take it more slowly. 
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