Russell Cardoza will not compete in the 35th edition of the Lazy E Arena’s 2019 Cinch Timed Event Championships in Guthrie, Oklahoma, because he is recovering from hip replacement surgery, the Lazy E announced last week.
“At Pendleton, I couldn’t walk,” Cardoza, who has competed at nine Cinch Timed Event Championships and finished the 2018 edition with a Round 5 win, said. “It turns out I had a fractured him from avascular necrosis—where the blood flow to my hip just shut off and the hip basically dies. They said in 70 percent of cases, they know why it happens, either from an infection or a break or something. But I was that 30 percent where they have no idea why it happened.”
Cardoza, a 32-year-old six-time NFR heeler, was able to slip in for hip-replacement surgery Nov. 6 after his doctor had a cancellation. He will be able to compete in ProRodeo competition most of this season, but will not be able to physically prepare for rodeo’s Ironman—the Cinch Timed Event Championship—because of its grueling demands on the body over five events: heading, heeling, calf roping, steer wrestling and steer roping.
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Cardoza has amassed $68,000 in Cinch Timed Event Earnings in his career, with his highest placing coming in 2012 when he finished second. Cardoza has $1,190,020 in PRCA career earnings and is looking forward to pairing back up with fellow-former Cinch Timed Event Championship cowboy, Cut Bank, Montana’s Dustin Bird. He roped with two-time NFR header Garrett Rogers for most of 2018.
Rhome, Texas’ Joel Bach will step in for Cardoza at the March 8 through 10 Cinch Timed Event Championship. Bach, who has $461,672 in PRCA career earnings, is a 9 header and 9.5 heeler and won the all-around at the Los Fresnos (Texas) PRCA Rodeo, with Tommy Zuniga in 2015. In 2018 he won the Henderson County Go Texan Rodeo heelig for Tyler Wade, and has a Pendleton Round-Up heading title with his dad Allen Bach.
The Team Roping Journal and the Lazy E Arena are offering fans a chance at a VIP Experience at the 2019 Cinch Timed Event Championship. Click here to win.
