‘We’re ready to help him’: Community helping man trampled by bucking bull at rodeo event

WEST, Texas (KWTX/Gray News) - A Texas man is making a miraculous recovery after being trampled by a bucking bull while helping at a rodeo event.

Austin Patterson grew up in the rodeo and has always loved bull riding as he has been doing it for most of his life.

According to his fiancée Megan Shoonmaker, Patterson had to stop riding bulls in 2019 after he broke his neck while riding.

“Doctors pretty much told him that if he got on a bull again and fell off, even the slightest bit wrong, that would paralyze him or kill him,” she said.

But that didn’t stop him from being around what he loves, and he went on to raise and train bucking bulls while helping other riders.

Sonny Barthold, a good friend of Patterson’s in the bull riding community, said he has always been there to help others.

“He’s one of those kinds of guys who always helps everyone at our events,” he said.

Patterson was doing just that on Nov. 2 when things suddenly took a turn for the worse.

“We just went to watch Austin being Austin but they were struggling to get a bull into the lead, so he jumped in and things kind of went south from there,” Shoonmaker shared.

Cody and Heather South have known Patterson for years. They said he told them that he just slipped that day, and the bull got over him.

“You know once you get underneath one it’s hard to get out,” Cody South said.

Shoonmaker and another friend immediately rushed him to the hospital, learning later that he had broken 5 ribs, his sternum and pelvis, had a collapsed lung and a lacerated liver.

“Talking to Austin, he said he never felt like he was going to die before, but he felt like he was that night. It was really scary,” she said.

But thanks to his doctors and all the encouragement from family and friends, Patterson has been making an incredible recovery.

“The first thing he said to us in the ER when they wanted to move him to ICU was that he couldn’t go up there as he had a wedding on Saturday,” Shoonmaker said.

However, Patterson still faces a long road to recovery and Barthold has started an auction benefit to help him.

“He’s not going to get to work as much as he’s used to working and you know we want to keep his bills paid for him,” Barthold said, “We have such a strong group of people. We’re ready to help him.”

According to Barthold, they’ve already raised more than $60,000 with plans to raise more.

“I’ve told Sonny a handful of times, there really aren’t words to describe how thankful and appreciative we are,” Shoonmaker said.

Loved ones have also set up a GoFundMe to further assist Patterson.