A year, a month, a week, a day, a minute—we often forget how quickly life can change. August 2023 was a whirlwind of trying to survive the unimaginable for the Montero family.
On Thursday, August 10th, it was like any other day. Trenten Montero was home with his wife, Maria, and their newborn son, Noah, getting ready to leave for Homedale, Idaho. At the Owyhee County Rodeo, Trenten got ready, talking with his friends behind the chutes. The NFR bareback rider had drawn Half Crow from Macza Pro Rodeo. He rode the horse for 79 points to end up second. That’s when an average day turned into the beginning of Trenten’s fight for life.
After the whistle, Half Crow jumped up, kicked to the side, and lost footing while Trenten tried to dismount. This was the catalyst to catastrophe. With his hand still in the riggin, the gravity of the fall of the horse and Trenten’s weight all collided. His riggin was driven into his chest. The impact caused a hemorrhaged aorta, a ruptured pancreas, a lacerated spleen, a fractured sternum and pelvis, a punctured lung, and broken ribs. Life-long friend Joe Harper was the first one in the arena when it happened, saying, “Trenten was the toughest human I have ever met. Regardless of the outcome, he always got down on one knee to pray after a ride. After the wreck, he got up and stumbled down to his knee. When he tried to get up and then stumbled again, I knew something was wrong.” Harper jumped over the back of the chutes and ran to his friend, helping to shoulder him out of the arena for EMTs to do a checkup & monitor him.
He opted for Maria to take him to the hospital when the bronc riding had started, and he still couldn’t catch his breath. The next twenty days at Saint Alphonsus Trauma Center in Boise brought excruciating times for Trenten, his family, and his friends. He suffered through over eleven surgeries. Maria said, “It was like being on the worst rollercoaster of my life. The doctors would come in telling us about another surgery that Trent needed and that the chance of survival was very low. They would try to find case studies, and most of the time, there were none.”
On August 30th, Trenten was scheduled to go into his 11th surgery, where they were going to have to remove more of his intestines. According to the family, when the surgeons opened him up, the necrosis was past the point of repair. They called friends and family to allow them to say their goodbyes over the phone. At the age of 31, Trenten went to be with the Lord, leaving behind his wife and newborn son. He is one of a few NFR cowboys to succumb to an in-arena injury since Lane Frost in 1989.
Trenten Montero, at photographer Roseanna Sales’ Wedding.
The series of events caused rodeo committees to ask what could’ve been done differently to prevent this from happening. We all know that in this sport, it’s not if injuries arise; it’s when and how bad. According to Professional Rodeo Athletic trainer Devin Dice, the common theme is that there needs to be qualified professionals who know and understand the risks of this very niche sport of rodeo on location in addition to the EMTs. He went on to say, “There are over 700 rodeos within the PRCA, and roughly 150 are covered by Justin Sports Medicine, with my company (Rodeo Sports Medicine) covering another 15 rodeos. There should be more than this for the safety and protection of the contestants.” Committees, like the Owyhee County Rodeo, have begun to do just that, bringing in experienced rodeo sports medicine professionals so when accidents do arise, they understand where the highest risk of injury came from.
Trenten had a larger-than-life personality. To know him was to love him. Whether it was dedication to the western way of life (ranching and rodeo alike), his zest for life, his kindness, his goofy demeanor, or his joyful faith, you were always drawn to this incredible man. No matter what kind of mood you were in, Trenten always made it his mission to make you smile. It was the type of joyful kindness that followed you around for the rest of the day. His joy and love for life will not be forgotten. This is why his loss has been felt so deeply by so many. Now, it is our job to continue his kindhearted legacy.
The loss of this wonderful man is felt throughout the world. Over 850 letters from all across the globe, Australia, Mexico, and Canada, were mailed to the Monteros, stating that they heard Trenten’s story and were praying for him. Since his passing, rodeo committees and contestants have found various ways to honor Trenten. On the final day of the 2023 Walla Walla Frontier Days (Walla Walla, WA), over $25,000 was donated in less than an hour by various patrons from the community that were in attendance at the rodeo. That money went to take care of Trenten’s family. Haley Proctor and the Ellensburg Rodeo (Ellensburg, WA) dedicated one of Haley’s trick-riding performances to him. The Jerome County Fair & Rodeo (Jerome, ID – where Trenten lived) and the Silver State Stampede (Elko, NV) have created awards in Trenten’s memory to go to a bareback rider each year at their rodeos. NFR bareback rider Mason Clements has led the charge, along with many of Trenten’s close friends, in building the Trenten Montero Foundation. Austin Foss, also an NFR bareback rider, put together a bareback riding and saddle bronc riding school, in conjunction with Legacy Pro Rodeo, to continue Trenten’s legacy. These are just a few of the many wonderful gestures people around the world have made to love on Trenten, his family, and his memory.
Trenten Montero praying after a successful ride. -Photo Courtesy of Roseanna Sales
After the passing of his best friend, Joe Harper wrote a beautiful cowboy poem in remembrance of Trenten. Later that fall, he recorded the poem to be edited it into a video with music written and performed by Joe’s dad.
I apologize if today I can’t seem to see quite straight,
You see there’s a empty riggin sitting over there, resting on the gate,
A set of silver spurs hanging, that have some bronc-hair caught,
And I’m sorry if I’m so lost in broken-hearted thought-
There’s a set of bluish chaps that are folded up half neat,
And a hat that’s a little crumpled up from the afternoon heat,
The Nevada sky has lost some of its usual brightened hue,There’s a little less color, and a lot more blue,
For our hero and our brother who’s no longer here,
A man without equal, Rodeo hand without fear.Kind and gentle with a giants heart and movie star’s smile,
If you needed anything, he would drive at least a thousand miles,
Just to give you the shirt off his back and his last dollar.
He was the one behind the chutes giving you a encouraging holler,A man who showed us how to unconditionally love,
With his Maria at his side and his God up above.
With A goofy grin and an unforgettable swagger, he walked,
He’d drive cross the country when the others baulked
At the broncs, they had drawn and entry fees bought,
He was Riding the ones that were ridden and the ones that were not.
He was a warrior that seemed to be of the unlikeliest sort,
A man who cared more about his buddies than just the love of the sport.
And Even when it put him 500 miles out of his way,
If you called him up he’d be there with in the day.
We had to say farewell to our hero a little too soon,
With saddened hearts and mournful, lonely tune,You see he got the callback to a rodeo that’s a lot higher than down here on earth,
Where horses have wings, the entries are paid, and the final Judge has already proven his worth.
This month marks one year since we lost Trenten. While it is always the loss of the best cowboys that causes us to wonder why they are taken from us so soon, we find ways to keep their memories alive, seeing them in the little things in life, sending up a grateful prayer for the time that we had with them, and, in this case, asking how we can be more like Trenten.•
Photo Courtesy of Roseanna Sales
