‘I just started praying to God’: Bull rider shares story of faith during his brush with death

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB/Gray News) - A 24-year-old bull rider is thanking his faith and community for helping him survive a serious injury while participating in a recent rodeo event.

Zachary Naegele has been riding bulls for nearly a decade. He said he was addicted to the sport right from the beginning.

“I was a freshman in high school and was pretty much hooked,” he said.

Naegele says you must not only be physically strong but mentally tough as well. He says the camaraderie of the sport is part of what makes it so special.

”It’s really just a way of life. You’ve got so many friends you meet in so many different states,“ he said. ”Everybody is willing to help out. Especially when an injury happens.“

Naegele said his most serious injury happened on Feb. 7 at the Conley Invitational Bull Rie in Palmetto, Florida.

Something that happened in just seconds.

”I came out, the bull started bucking. He was a little bit flat and when he backed up under himself, he pulled me over his head," Naegele said

The bull gored him in the neck.

“When I stood straight up, that’s when I saw blood kind of squirting,” he said. “I was like this isn’t good. I just started praying to God.”

First responders ended up plugging the six-inch gash in his neck.

Naegele said he lost lots of blood and is lucky to be alive after going through multiple surgeries.

The 24-year-old says he was also eager to return to where he belongs.

“This is home with all my friends and family,” Naegele said. “Louisiana is home. I was 12 hours away and I was in that hospital ... I kind of felt a little bit alone.”

Naegele feels complete when returning to the Cross Brand Cowboy Church, a place that first introduced him to the sport of bull riding.

“That’s what the main purpose of this church is. We do a ministry through the bull riding and after bulls, we come in here and learn about God,” Naegele said. “That’s why our pastor started this place, for guys like us.”

The church not only brought Naegele closer to God but to the people around him, like his best friend Blayde.

“We just stuck together, and he taught me how to ride bulls and now we’re traveling together,” Blayde said.

Naegele says he’s been to 42 states and it’s an expensive sport, but the church and his friends have instilled a passion that runs as deep as his faith.

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