Seven-and-a-half seconds.
For 15-year-old Logan Harter, it was the longest bull ride of his life.
It was also likely his last.
During an amateur bull riding event at the Calhoun County Fairgrounds in Marshall on June 29, Harter got caught under the bull he was riding.
Logan Harter, 15, at Bronson Children's Hospital in Kalamazoo recovering from injuries sustained while bull riding. (Photo: Courtesy of Kristy Harter)
He was kicked and stepped on.
The first blow fractured his skull above his ear and the bone above his right eye. The second broke a rib, causing his lung to collapse.
He was airlifted to Bronson Children's Hospital in Kalamazoo and, the next day, had emergency surgery to have a blood clot in his brain removed. The trauma to his body put him in a coma for six days.
Today, Harter is rehabilitating at Mary Free Bed in Grand Rapids, and his family is grateful he is alive, due largely to the fact he opted to wear a helmet.
"Please let him be a lesson. If he hadn’t had his helmet on, he wouldn’t be here right now," said Kristy Harter, Logan's mother. "His injuries were that severe, and it could have been way worse.”
'Freak accident'
Logan Harter, 15, rides a bull during Lost Nation Rodeo's Friday Nights Under the Lights amateur bull riding at the Calhoun County Fairgrounds on June 29, 2018. (Photo: Courtesy of Jeff Wilson/Marshall Event Photography)
Logan and his older brother, Tyler Harter, were competing in the last of six Lost Nations Rodeo Friday Night Under the Lights Amateur Bull Riding events held at the fairgrounds during the summer. Both opted to wear hockey helmets.
Logan and his family understood the risks associated with bull riding. Because he is a minor, Logan needed an adult family member to be present to sign him up to compete. And he had been injured in the sport before, once by the same bull that knocked him out on that 90-degree day in Marshall.
Logan and his brother had ridden the bull — nicknamed "Brindle" by riders because of its color — multiple times prior to their last encounter. And since riders choose which bulls they ride, Ryan Harter said his son had his eye on a certain bovine.
"I walked with (Logan), and we went past Brindle," Ryan Harter said. "He said, 'You’re mine. I win tonight.'"
Logan, who rides left-handed, stayed on Brindle for 7.5 seconds. When he was finally bucked at the center of the ring, he got sideways on his rope and was unable to pull himself up.
He opted to dismount and drop, and, when he did, got temporarily stuck in his rope before being kicked and then stepped on.
Tyler Harter, 19, was set to ride later that night. He rushed from the grandstand and jumped over the fence to get to his brother. He tried to lift Logan up by his vest before being pushed away by first responders.
“I knew it was serious as soon as I got there, seeing bleeding at the top of his head and he wasn’t awake," Tyler said. "When I moved him, his body went limp."
Logan's parents say neither he nor the bull is to blame for the accident. And, while they weren't thrilled with the idea of him bull riding in the first place, he knew the risks, and they weren't willing to take away something he had a passion for.
“I know it’s a freak accident. They all know the dangers that could happen," Kristy Harter said. "It’s not the bull’s fault. He’s just doing what he’s been trained to do."
Helmets not required
Logan Harter is stepped on for a second time by the bull he was riding at the Calhoun County Fairgrounds on June 29, 2018. (Photo: Courtesy of Carol Tucker)
According to Lost Nations Rodeo owner Shyloh Walden, his promotion follows guidelines and regulations set up by other rodeo governing bodies like the Professional Bull Riders. All riders are required to wear protective vests, but helmets remain optional.
"I can make you wear a vest. I can't make you wear that helmet," Walden said, citing liability issues if a helmet were to cause injury. "I encourage them, but never say you’ve got to wear one. It’s a pretty good piece of safety equipment. When I was a kid, I never wore them, helmets were brand new. I’d like to see them all wear helmets."
Logan Harter lays motionless after being stepped on by a bull at Lost Nations Rodeo in Marshall on June 29, 2018. (Photo: Courtesy of Jeff Wilson/Marshall Event Photography)
The Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine published in 2005 a statement from the International Rodeo and Clinical Care Conference saying that "Bull riders and steer riders 18 years and older at all levels of participation should be encouraged to wear head and facial protection," while bull and steer riders younger than 18 years "should be required by schools, organizations, and promoters to wear head and facial protection."
According to the Professional Bull Riders, helmets were made mandatory beginning in the 2013 season for any contestant born on or after Oct. 15, 1994. Riders born before that date can choose their to wear headgear or not.
But there is no age-related helmet requirements for the amateur circuit. Chaps, which protect riders' legs from being gored or stepped on, are also optional.
"I’ve been doing this my whole life, and (Logan's injury) is the worst injury I've seen," Walden said. "I don’t want to see nobody get hurt, but it’s a reality of our sport. We all care for each other."
Support and recovery
Logan Harter shoots a basketball as part of his rehabilitation at Mary Free Bed in Grand Rapids on July 19, 2018. (Photo: Courtesy of Kristy Harter)
Logan is slowly getting back on his feet.
He won't return home from Mary Free Bed for at least another couple of weeks. He was set to begin ninth grade at Pennfield High School, but, given the severity of his injuries, his parents said they are considering home schooling for at least a semester.
Logan continues to improve daily, which comes as no surprise to his family given his fighting nature.
"He ain’t going to give up. He’ll fight the whole time about everything," Ryan Harter said. "It’s going to be a long road to a full recovery, but he’s going to do it and in some time, he will look back and say, 'This happened to me, and I escaped the edges of it, and I’m a better person because of it.'"
To help his family cover medical expenses, a friend set up a GoFundMe page. There is also a benefit dinner scheduled for August 5 at the Bedford Area Lions Club between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., including a showing of his favorite move, the bull-riding film "8 Seconds."
Tyler Harter asked Logan if he should "hang up my rope for good" and give up bull riding. He's the father of a 3-year-old and has another baby due in January. He said he was strongly considering ending his bull riding days even before seeing his little brother get hurt.
Tyler Harter (left) is in tears being comforted by his cousin, Trinity Towery, as he watches first responders aid his brother, Logan Harter following a bull riding accident. (Photo: Courtesy of Jeff Wilson/Marshall Event Photography)
On July 14, Tyler Harter did his final bull ride at the 3 Bar Rodeo in Adrian. He and fellow riders wore burgundy shirts - Logan's favorite color - and he wore a vest and chaps that had 'Ride for Logan' engraved on them.
Brindle - the bull that injured Logan - had already been sold prior to the accident, and was at 3 Bar that night.
"Brindle is here, so I’m riding him," Tyler said. "He knew exactly who I was. I looked at him and said, 'You're mine tonight and you know why.'
“It was nerve-wracking. I know it wasn’t Brindle’s fault, but at the same time, you hurt my brother."
While Tyler Harter is ready to give up bull riding, his little brother is eager to get back in the chute.
“He did (want to keep riding) up until today when I had a talk with him," Tyler said. "If he has one more bad hit to the head, it could really mess him up and possibly kill him. Before I left Mary Free Bed, I said, ‘Do me a favor, hang it up, life is more important."
Nick Buckley can be reached at nbuckley@battlecreekenquirer.com or 269-966-9652.Follow him on Twitter:@NickJBuckley
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