Sam Woodall continues to make his name known in the bull riding world as he lives out his childhood dreams.
(Photo: PBR Australia)
Heywood bull rider, Sam Woodall has always dreamt of riding bulls for a living and after overcoming some serious injuries earlier last year, this dream has turned into reality with the 25-year-old representing his country on the Pro Bull Riders (PBR) circuit in America.
Recoveries don’t get any more remarkable than this, he went from laying in a hospital bed on painkillers for days to riding in front of a crowd of 100,000 people just four weeks later.
After finishing 2021 with a win in the PBR Australia Finals and $8,500 in his pocket, home-town hero, Sam Woodall climbed to world number one in the PBR rankings to start the new year. It was at this point that he decided to buy a plane ticket, move away from the family farm for a while and fry some bigger fish on the world tour.
Woodall has been riding bulls from a very young age and standing at a lean figure of 161 centimetres and 60 kilograms, he is built perfectly for the sport. What the young man lacks in stature, he makes up for with heart and has a 'never give in' attitude which helps him to handle and successfully overcome serious setbacks in the way of injuries.
Bull riding is not for the faint hearted and there is always a good chance that some rides may not go as planned which Woodall found out for himself earlier last year. He was riding the high life after touching down on American soil to pursue his dream and ride bulls full-time, when he was struck by a bull’s horns and seriously injured. The extent of his injury was significant leaving him with a lacerated kidney and liver which threatened to sideline him for up to three months.
Woodall said it was “the worst injury” he had sustained since he started riding bulls many years ago and found the timing of the injury disappointing. Just weeks after he had scraped together enough money to fly to America and decide to dip his foot in the bull riding circuit, disaster had struck.
“The injury sucked, it was probably one of the worst ones (I've had), I knew straight away that I had (hurt myself pretty bad),” he said.
One of his many successful rides over the past couple years.
(Photo: PBR Australia)
You only have to meet Sam Woodall to know he is a pretty easy-going relaxed guy, not phased by much and is confident he can overcome any injury to get back to doing what he loves. One thing you should know about him is, he doesn’t enjoy sitting on the sidelines and was determined to do everything in his power to get back to riding in less than three months.
“I just looked up all the stuff that’s good for your liver and I was eating the right foods and stuff all the time, working towards getting back,” he said.
“As soon as I got out of hospital, I was working towards getting back (to riding), I was working out all the time trying to get some fitness back.”
Just four weeks into his 12-week recovery, Woodall couldn’t take it any longer watching from the chutes and decided he was ready to return.
“They did some scans and there was still some damage to my liver, but it was under my ribs, so I’d have to break them pretty well to damage it,” he said.
“It didn’t bother me too much … I was just feeling great being able to get back into it, it was unreal.”
While some people call it crazy or stupidity, Woodall puts the fast return down to his strong mindset and willpower which has helped him all his life, not just in the brutal sport.
“The mindset to want to be the best is what gets you through those moments, rather than dwelling on the negative or not being able to ride, instead I spend that time working towards becoming a better athlete physically and mentally,” he said.
“So that when you come out of the other side of an injury, you actually return better than you left.”
Woodall has continued his form in 2023 and recently represented New South Wales in the PBR State of Origin competition taking home an impressive win and over $7000.
(Photo: PBR Australia)
Just weeks after his return from the kidney injury, the Heywood rider recorded a 92-point ride on ‘High Tide Blues’ at the PBR TY Murray Invitational which earned him fourth place and $4,000. Most people think of rodeos as having not many spectators, maybe a few thousand at a maximum, however the American crowds that Woodall rode in front of were much greater than that.
Woodall’s highlight of the 2022 year was returning from his kidney injury just in time for the PBR Global Cup in Arlington, Texas. This competition was another successful one for the country boy who represented Australia and pocketed almost $9,000.
“I was probably a bit rusty, but it was awesome, like they've got a crowd of 80-100,000 people there and it’s a different atmosphere altogether,” he said.
“Just the whole show of it and everything leading up to it excites you that much more.”
Woodall spoke about how the American dream was alive with the states offering him a much greater opportunity to make big cash.
“(The opportunity) is ridiculous, like if you wanted to, you could go to events every day, whereas over here it is more a weekend sort of thing,” he said.
“The idea is probably to get a five year (visa) and that’s what I’ll probably work on, give it five good years (in America) and see where it goes from there.”
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