Justin sportsmedicine team®
Comprehensive Sports Medicine Services.
In the sport of rodeo there are no guaranteed salaries, no coaches or equipment managers to prepare the athletes for competition. The closest thing rodeo contestants have in common with other mainstream professional athletes is the services of the Justin Sportsmedicine Team® (JST).
The comprehensive medical services of the JST are available to all athletes at more than 100 Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) sanctioned events.
Justin Boots has been the sole sponsor of this state-of-the-art mobile sports medicine program since 1981. Through its medical services and educational programs, the JST® program is widely credited with improving the level of rodeo competition, extending contestant careers and even saving lives.
How it works
This innovative concept connects a national network of over 750 physicians, orthopedists, trauma specialists, athletic trainers, physical therapists and massage therapists, as well as hospitals to provide onsite medical assistance to professional rodeo athletes. The team provides thousands of treatments at more than 550 rodeo performances across the country annually. All free of charge to the rodeo athlete.
How it began
During his time as the team physician for the Dallas Cowboys, Dr. J. Pat Evans was asked to extend his medical services by football legend Walt Garrison, who spent the off seasons competing in rodeos. While helping Garrison at a rodeo in 1979, Evans saw the need for a sports medicine program that would provide care to these athletes at competitions.
He mentioned the idea to athletic trainer Don Andrews and in 1980, the two proposed the concept to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). In 1981, the program received a sponsorship from the Justin Boot Company which has fully funded the program ever since.
In rodeo, the question is not “Will you get hurt?” The question is, “When and how bad?”
Since then, the Justin Sportsmedicine Team® has provided onsite, comprehensive medical assistance to injured athletes at rodeo competitions across the country free of charge to PRCA and WPRA members.
The Justin Sportsmedicine Team® is always on standby to give a helping hand.
From left to right: Bill Zeigler (ATC/career MLB Trainer), Larry Gardner (ATC), Dr. Evans from the Dallas Cowboys and Bill Chambers (ATC) standing inside the first Justin Sportsmedicine® trailer.
Justin sportsmedicine team today®
What began with 11 rodeos and an El Camino, has evolved into helping 8,000 athletes at more than 550 rodeo competitions annually. The JST mobile centers are fully equipped with medical technologies and injury reporting software that can be exchanged with JST doctors at future competitions or the contestant’s primary physician.
Today, under the guidance of medical director Dr. Tandy Freeman, the JST works hard to ensure that competitors are healthy and that injuries occurred are treated with the highest level of immediate care and attention.