20-year-old saddle bronc rider from Cody dies at Jackson Hole Rodeo

Saddle bronc rider dies at Jackson Hole Rodeo

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A 20-year-old saddle bronc rider whose spur got tangled in his saddle died from a skull fracture during the Jackson Hole Rodeo, officials said Thursday.

Teton County Coroner Bob Campbell said the horse stepped on or rolled over on Nicolas Gillett of Cody, causing a rare rodeo fatality.

Phil Wilson, owner of the rodeo, declined to comment on Wednesday’s incident.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family,” Wilson said. “The family is just devastated, and we are too.”

Jackson police Lt. Bob Gilliam said Gillett’s left spur got caught on his saddle after he came out of the gate.

“The horse drug him for a while… and, according to one of the witnesses, may have stepped on him,” Gilliam said. “The victim came free of the horse, and the horse rolled over the right side and crushed him; that’s my understanding of what happened.”

The emergency responders who were called to the scene at 8:40 p.m. found Gillett seriously injured and transported him to St. John’s Hospital in Jackson, where he was pronounced dead.

Fatalities in rodeo are rare, and most come in bullriding, said Jim Bainbridge, senior public relations coordinator with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in Colorado Springs, Colo. PRCA-sanctioned rodeos have suffered three fatalities since 2000, all in bullriding, Bainbridge said.

The Jackson Hole Rodeo is not a PRCA-sanctioned event, and Gillett was not a PRCA member, Bainbridge said.

Bainbridge said he was aware of a contestant dying at a non-sanctioned junior rodeo last year in Colorado.

“You’re talking thousands and thousands of performances a year,” he said. “And there’s always the possibility of serious injury every time they climb onto a roughstock animal, but paying the ultimate price like this is very rare.”