Not even injury stopping Mackay bull rider Ky Hamilton in US finals

Officials wrote him out of competition contention after he lost consciousness and was bucked off in round 5 of the US National Finals Rodeo competition, but 16 hours later he made not one but two rides, winning the whole $99,000 prize pool in the second, with a broken rib.

Commentators have described the Mackay athlete's effort as history-making.

Although he wasn't expected to compete after a clash with the bull he was on, the 23-year-old got the all clear from medical authorities and left hospital at 7.30 on Wednesday morning, ready to compete in the two competition rounds scheduled.

Ky split third in round 6 with an 85.5-point ride on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics' Love The Grind's Bouchon, then later in the day, claimed victory with an 88-point ride on Duane Kesler's Alberta Prime Devil's Advocate in round 7.

He was the only competitor to make his ride in the latter round, and earned $114,654 for 16 seconds of work in the two rounds.

That means he's now won three of the rounds at the 2023 finals, and is leading the world standings with $516,667, as he aims for his first world title in his fourth NFR appearance.

One of the sweetest sights as Ky was bucking his way to victory on Wednesday was the sight of his injured travelling companion and seven-time world champion Stetson Wright, and fellow Queenslander Damain Brennan, cheering their mate on from the chutes.

Ky told 8 Seconds Media the pair had fired him up, telling him to go out and win.

"So I listened to them," he said. "I just knew I had an opportunity and I had to go out and do my job."

The bull that earnt him the 88 points, Devil's Advocate, he described as a "big, scary, mean sucker".

"I'd seen a lot of videos of him, seen a lot of guys riding him, but I knew he was tricky and would kind of be a handful," he said. "I knew the safest place was in the middle of his back...so I just tried my hardest to stay on."

Speaking about his accident a day earlier, Ky said a lot of people thought the bull had hit him in the head and that he should have had a helmet on.

"Matter of fact, the bull didn't even touch my head," he said. "He just hit me right in the chest, and he hit me hard enough that it knocked me out."

Brain and CT scans in hospital confirmed that he had no brain bleed, but he did have a broken rib and an air pocket in one lung.

After an Xray of the lung on Wednesday morning, which showed it hadn't got worse, he was let out to continue competing.

"I won today by not being a pussy," he said.

"Growing up, cowboys were my heroes, that's all I wanted to be.

"That grit, determination and tough mentality that cowboys have carried me the whole way through."

Injune's Damian Brennan had a good day on Wednesday as well, splitting the round 7 saddle bronc win with Ryder Wright.

Damian, competing in his first NFR finals, had an 89-point ride aboard Powder River Rodeo's Bet the Ranch and Ryder had an identical score on Calgary Stampede's Exotic Warrior.

Damian has now won two rounds in his inaugural appearance.

"I just tried to get a good solid spur out and pick that timing up," he said of his ride on Bet the Ranch.

"That horse really stacked up and allowed me to do my job.

"After getting the win in round 4 it gave me a heap of confidence.

"I'm just trying to keep the ball rolling, keep things simple, and let everything play the course."

Ryder is now fifth in the world standings with $254,750 and Damian is sixth with $234,587.

A fatal shooting on the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus last week, in which three people plus the perpetrator were killed, meant that the NFR's original starting date was cancelled.

To maintain the tradition of ten rounds of competition, two rounds were run on one day on Wednesday.