After bull ride, Battle Creek teen spent 6 days in a coma.
Logan Harter spent six days in a coma after he suffered a fractured skull and collapsed lung during an amateur bull riding event.
Author: Nick Buckley (Battle Creek Enquirer)
Published: 2:44 PM EDT July 20, 2018
Updated: 2:45 PM EDT July 20, 2018
Seven-and-a-half seconds.
For 15-year-old Logan Harter, it was the longest bull ride of his life.
It was also likely his last.
During an amateur bull riding event at the Calhoun County Fairgrounds in Marshall on June 29, Harter got caught under the bull he was riding.
He was kicked and stepped on.
The first blow fractured his skull above his ear and the bone above his right eye. The second broke a rib, causing his lung to collapse.
He was airlifted to Bronson Children’s Hospital in Kalamazoo and, the next day, had emergency surgery to have a blood clot in his brain removed. The trauma to his body put him in a coma for six days.
Today, Harter is rehabilitating at Mary Free Bed in Grand Rapids, and his family is grateful he is alive, due largely to the fact he opted to wear a helmet.
“Please let him be a lesson. If he hadn’t had his helmet on, he wouldn’t be here right now,” said Kristy Harter, Logan’s mother. “His injuries were that severe, and it could have been way worse.”
Logan and his older brother, Tyler Harter, were competing in the last of six Lost Nations Rodeo Friday Night Under the Lights Amateur Bull Riding events held at the fairgrounds during the summer. Both opted to wear hockey helmets.
Logan and his family understood the risks associated with bull riding. Because he is a minor, Logan needed an adult family member to be present to sign him up to compete. And he had been injured in the sport before, once by the same bull that knocked him out on that 90-degree day in Marshall.
Logan and his brother had ridden the bull — nicknamed “Brindle” by riders because of its color — multiple times prior to their last encounter. And since riders choose which bulls they ride, Ryan Harter said his son had his eye on a certain bovine.
“I walked with (Logan), and we went past Brindle,” Ryan Harter said. “He said, ‘You’re mine. I win tonight.'”
Logan, who rides left-handed, stayed on Brindle for 7.5 seconds. When he was finally bucked at the center of the ring, he got sideways on his rope and was unable to pull himself up.
He opted to dismount and drop, and, when he did, got temporarily stuck in his rope before being kicked and then stepped on.
Tyler Harter, 19, was set to ride later that night. He rushed from the grandstand and jumped over the fence to get to his brother. He tried to lift Logan up by his vest before being pushed away by first responders.
“I knew it was serious as soon as I got there, seeing bleeding at the top of his head and he wasn’t awake,” Tyler said. “When I moved him, his body went limp.”
Logan’s parents say neither he nor the bull is to blame for the accident. And, while they weren’t thrilled with the idea of him bull riding in the first place, he knew the risks, and they weren’t willing to take away something he had a passion for.
“I know it’s a freak accident. They all know the dangers that could happen,” Kristy Harter said. “It’s not the bull’s fault. He’s just doing what he’s been trained to do.”
Helmets not required
Logan Harter is stepped on for a second time by the
Logan Harter is stepped on for a second time by the bull he was riding at the Calhoun County Fairgrounds on June 29, 2018. (Photo: Courtesy of Carol Tucker)
According to Lost Nations Rodeo owner Shyloh Walden, his promotion follows guidelines and regulations set up by other rodeo governing bodies like the Professional Bull Riders. All riders are required to wear protective vests, but helmets remain optional.
“I can make you wear a vest. I can’t make you wear that helmet,” Walden said, citing liability issues if a helmet were to cause injury. “I encourage them, but never say you’ve got to wear one. It’s a pretty good piece of safety equipment. When I was a kid, I never wore them, helmets were brand new. I’d like to see them all wear helmets.”
