12/26/2024
CARLEE OTERO: By Wild Rides Tracy Hammond
Imagine that you are catching up on your Christmas shopping at the local Texas Costco. And sitting in the checkout line in front of you is this tiny, blonde, cowgirl in a wheelchair cart.
Is she supposed to be on crutches right now? The answer is yes, she is. And you may not know it but this classy cowgirl just finished running five go-rounds on a high-powered barrel horse at the NATIONAL FINALS RODEO in Las Vegas, NV with a broken pelvis.
Perrin, Texas cowgirl Carlee Otero qualified for her fourth NFR this year. And Otero is no stranger to the professional rodeo arena. She has been chasing those white highway stripes down the rodeo trail for eleven years.
Twenty minutes before she ran her main horse, six-year-old “Sly” down the alley at the famous Thomas & Mack Arena, she was standing between her two geldings when five-year-old Leroy sent out a double barrel kick to Sly. Leroy missed and in true authentic cowgirl fashion Carlee said, “Thank goodness it was me he hit and not Sly”.
Carlee was examined to make sure there was no internal bleeding. She also reminded the Justin Sports Medicine team that bull riders had ridden before with broken backs.
Right now, Carlee’s husband, Michael who also happens to be a professional calf roper is keeping her elite equine team legged up and winded. Meanwhile, Carlee is still selling real estate and rehabbing her body with plans to run at the Odessa, Texas Rodeo that starts on January 6th and runs until the 13th of January. From there it is the road to Denver and Fort Worth with a game plan to win a world title in 2025. That's even though her medically suggested “down-time" is supposed to be at least six weeks.
When I asked her about her “Why” in reference to her next goal, her immediate response was that she wanted to promote “Sly”.
“Some horses have the IT FACTOR and he’s got it," she said.
PHOTO: PRCA/WPRA WORLD STANDINGS
