By Ted Harbin

Photo Courtesy of James Phifer

All-around cowboy Taylor Santos spent more than 24 months on the mend.

It’s sometimes a necessary part of rodeo. The rugged sport instigates its fair share of injuries. Ankles sprain. Ligaments tear. Bone spurs develop. Cowboys are known for their toughness, but sometimes the pain is too much.

That’s where Santos was five seasons ago. He’d just earned his first qualification to the National Finals Steer Roping while also making the National Finals Rodeo for the second time in 2021. It was in Las Vegas that he noticed something off. He was experiencing trouble with his hips.

“I tried to rodeo in ’22 and ’23,” he said.

He actually excelled in one of his two primary events. He finished seventh in the steer roping world standings in 2022 and was ninth the next year. The injuries, though, hampered his ability. He was down the money list in tie-down roping both seasons, so he opted to get things fixed. He had surgeries on both hips in 2024, then had a knee repaired in 2025.

Santos re-entered competition this past October and built himself into shape so he could battle at the Cinch Timed Event Championship, a unique showcase of all-around talent in which 25 competitors show their grit in all five timed-event disciplines. Santos won it in 2020, just before the world was shut down by the pandemic. His return to the Lazy E was triumphant. He won his second “Ironman” title.

“That does good things for your confidence,” said Santos, 31, of Creston, California.

He followed two weeks later by winning the stand-alone steer roping in Andrews, Texas. He’s back among the best in the world already, sitting ninth on the money list. Riding a borrowed horse, he’s going to try to return this fall to Mulvane, Kansas, home of the steer roping finale.

When he’s not rodeoing, he’ll be at home training horses. He’s got two that are unseasoned: one that is for steer roping, and one that is for tie-down roping. When he knew there would be extended time on injured reserve, he sold the good horses he had so that someone else could take advantage of that equine talent. He’s rebuilding a herd.

“I just didn’t have $150,000 to go buy a calf horse good enough to make the finals on,” he said.

Whether it’s one he trains or has the opportunity to purchase, Santos will someday have the horse he needs to feed the competitive fire that stirs. That’s what professional cowboys do.