Shad Mayfield’s Road to Resilience: Overcoming Injuries in Pro Rodeo
Shad Mayfield has battled through intense injuries to stay at the top of his game. Photo by Kaycie Timm
Shad Mayfield was born to rodeo. As the son of two-time NFR qualifying calf roper Sylvester Mayfield, Shad was destined for greatness from the start.
“I come from a long, long line of rodeo guys,” Shad shares. “My dad got me into the sport, and I grew up going to some of the bigger rodeos with him as a little kid.”
With rodeo in his blood on both sides of his family, Shad always knew his future would always include a rope in his hand.
“I remember being three or four years old sitting under the bleachers swinging a rope,” Shad recalls. “It was something that I always knew I wanted to do, and my dad was always with me every step of the way.”
Shad came up through the ranks of the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA), got his pro card, and qualified for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 2019 at just 19 years old. Since then, he’s made six consecutive trips to Las Vegas, winning two Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world titles in the process.
The Learning Curve
Although his career thus far has been incredibly successful, Shad’s path hasn’t been free of struggles. Like many rodeo athletes, the physicality of his sport has taken a toll on his body, even at the young age of 24 years old.
“I’ve never ever had the most flexibility in my hips,” Shad admits. Even as a young kid, I was always pretty tight. I never really thought anything of it until, over time, it kept getting tighter and started to get painful.”
After his fifth trip to the NFR in 2023, the pain went from bad to worse, limited his ability to perform at his usual caliber. A trip to the doctor in January 2024 revealed torn labrums in both of Shad’s hips as well as femoral impingement.
When injury strikes, rodeo athletes must make the tough call to sit out a season or find ways to manage their pain while competing. Photo by Kaycie Timm
“At first, I thought I’d sit the season out and go have surgery,” Shad reveals. “But as the season escalated, I was winning a lot—I won Fort Worth, San Antonio, and the American. So, I decided to push through the year again.”
As he continued competing, the pain continued to worsen, making it increasingly difficult to earn the money he needed to stay at the top of the world standings. After Cheyenne, in the heat of Cowboy Christmas, Shad went home for a week and half to rest and try to find a solution for the pain.
“I didn't know how to take care of myself and keep myself going,” Shad admits. “I started seeing a chiropractor and some physical therapists, and I started feeling better. I realized that once I started taking care of myself, it helped a lot.”
Shad has learned that taking care of his body allows him to compete at the top of his game. Photo by Kaycie Timm
With that realization, Shad hit the road again and doubled down on his efforts to improve his nutrition and physical fitness. As he learned more about the impact his daily routine had on his performance in the arena, Shad realized he’d found the key to managing his injuries: taking care of his body.
“When you’re young, you never have to think about some of the things that I'm having to do now,” Shad explains. “The nutrition you put into your body, what you eat, drinking water—that all reflects on how my hips feel. There's so much that goes into it that people don't realize.”
Guided by the help of experts in nutrition and physical therapy, Shad found himself reaching new heights in the arena, culminating in the 2024 PRCA All-Around title.
Rodeo is a physically and mentally demanding sport, which requires intense physical and mental preparation. Photo by Kaycie Timm
“People think that rodeo cowboys don't have to take care of themselves,” Shad shares. “But that’s crazy. We should be taking care of our bodies even more than other professional athletes in so many ways. That's what I've been aiming towards now, and that's why I've been feeling better to where I can go out and still compete at a high level.”
Essential Support
Despite his newfound knowledge, maintaining those healthy habits still poses a challenge with the lifestyle of a rodeo athlete.
“It's hard being out on the road, especially in the summertime when you're traveling every day,” Shad shares. “With the long overnight drives, a lot of times the only place to pull in is a McDonald's. It’s hard to find places to stop and get worked on. It really depends on the amount of discipline and effort that you have in taking care of your body.”
Unlike in other professional sports, rodeo athletes don’t have a network of doctors, dietitians, and physical therapists at their disposal—it’s up to individual athletes to find and afford the help they need.
“As rodeo cowboys, we're professional athletes as well,” Shad states. “When you talk with other professional athletes that are in the NFL, NBA, or MLB, they are provided every type of therapy. They don’t have to seek it out it for themselves.”
Rodeo athletes deserve the same level of care received by pro athletes in other sports. Photo by Kaycie Timm
“That's what the Western Sports Foundation provides for us,” he continues. “For anybody who doesn't know much about nutrition or how to take care of themselves, WSF is able to help.”
For many rodeo athletes like Shad, just knowing that support is available can make the difference between a life-changing injury and a long-lasting career in rodeo.
“As cowboys, we're raised a little different than most,” Shad explains. “We’re told we can tough it out. Nobody's really trying to take the time to study their body or how to take care of the body. That's what Western Sports Foundation is there for: to guide us and help further our careers.”