Courageous comeback

Lucky to be alive!

“I got a lot of that from a lot of people,” Jake Andrews said.

What’s just as remarkable is that less than a year after hearing that from his doctors, family and friends, he’s back at it.

Andrews, 18, will be in action this weekend at the Montana High School Rodeo Association State Finals in Bozeman. He will be wrestling steers, calf roping and team roping.

Andrews is one of nine athletes with the Flathead Valley High School Rodeo Team at the State Finals, which officially gets under way today

“Well, I knew I would (rodeo) again,” he said.

“I didn’t think it would be this fast.”

Andrews was involved in a serious accident on Sept. 30, 2009.

“A garbage truck ran a stop sign coming out of a landfill,” he said. “Hit him going 50 (miles per hour).” 

Andrews was behind the wheel of an older Ford 3/4 ton pickup truck.

“The truck was totaled; the garbage truck was totaled,” he said.

Andrews suffered a broken femur in his left leg. He had 20 stitches in his shin and a broken nose.

He spent a week in the hospital recovering.

“I got off my crutches in December, the second week,” he said.

“I walked with a cane until New Year’s (Day).

“The doctor told me I was two years out to calf rope and steer wrestling, the more aggressive events.”

That prediction didn’t sit very

well with Andrews.

“All it did was drove me to work out harder in physical therapy, eat right,” he said. “Try to get a big comeback.”

 Andrews, a June graduate of Glacier High School, finished the season 10th in the MHSRA all-around standings and tied for 10th place in calf roping.

He was the all-around cowboy champion at the District 5 finals in Drummond last month.

His first high school rodeo after the accident was in Eureka in April.

“I won the team roping with Tucker Marquardt, took second in calf roping,” he said.

He was steer wrestling a month before that at the Montana Champions Steer Wrestling camp in Dillon.

“I was cleared by the doctor,” he said.

“He thought I was crazy to want to do that.”

Andrews now competes with a rod running from his knee to his hip because of the accident. His left leg is also 5/8 of an inch shorter than his right one.

“The left leg being shorter gives me problems every once in a while,” he said.

“My hip will bug me after steer wrestling a little bit.”

He says that pain is tolerable. Not being able to compete would have hurt more.

“It’s the steer wrestling,” he said of what he enjoys the most.

“It’s the most physical event that I do. The fact you get physical with an animal. Definitely a lot more adrenaline rush than calf roping and team roping.”

Andrews will be competing at state for the third straight year. And in multiple events again

“I think it’s better,” he said of tackling more than one event.

“You don’t over-think about one event.

“Rodeos are pretty long, so you have a lot of time to think about it, psyche yourself out of it.”

Andrews didn’t join the FVHSRT until his sophomore year.

“I’m a late bloomer,” he said.

“I’ve always been interested in it. We’ve had horses, but didn’t have performance horses before.”

Prior to that he focused on the more traditional sports — baseball, basketball and football.

“Rodeo is just different,” he said.

“Just the fact it wasn’t a team sport. It’s more about you and the clock rather than a coach.”

Andrews termed his first year of high school rodeos as being slow.

“The second year I started to progress, getting better in every event.”

Despite some early setbacks, he didn’t give up.

“Honestly, no,” he said of whether he had ever thought of quitting.

“I figured that’s where I belonged, so I stuck with it.”

Andrews will be riding his trusty horse Walt, a 10-year-old chestnut quarter horse in steer wrestling at the finals. He will be on Gus, an 8-year-old gray quarter horse, for calf roping and Dallas, a 16-year-old chestnut quarter horse, for the team roping.

His state partner is Marquardt.

“I don’t want to jinx myself, but hopefully (I’ll win state),” he said of the competition.

If he places high enough in Bozeman, a trip to nationals will follow.

“We just have to do good at state. Make good runs, get on steers, get our steers caught and be deliberate. Draw a couple good steers, post some good solid runs and see how everybody else does.”

Andrews plans to stay busy this summer, competing in Northern Rodeo Association and open rodeos and Wrangler Team Roping events.

How long he will continue with the sport?

“As far as the family will support me and my finances will take me,” he said. “As long as I have a good horse, too. That’s big.”