Breaking it Down by Speed Williams – June 2026
It’s been about year since I had a horse wreck that changed me and the way I look at things. In 2025, on June 7th, my horse fell with me in the arena. I broke some ribs and had bleeding on the brain earning me a helicopter ride to Dallas.
When I did come to in the hospital I was talking to Gabe, and he seemed to be annoyed with me. He said, “Dad, you need to snap out of it. You’ve told me the same thing 40 times and you’ve talked to mom 20 times to tell her she didn’t need to fly home. She’ll be landing in Dallas any minute now.” I would tell him I was okay, and he would assure me I wasn’t.
They let me go home after CT scans and MRIs showed the bleeding on the brain had stopped. Evidently, I broke ribs on both sides, and it was extremely painful, and I couldn’t sleep. I told myself that once I could sit in my massage chair without hurting, I would start getting on a horse. That ended up being 4-1/2 weeks.
All I did was get on a horse to haze for some clients who were following steers to the back. Someone must have told on me, because my mother was raising hell with me for getting back on before seeing a doctor. I said, “Mom, my ribs feel fine.” She said, “I’m not worried about your ribs, you had bleeding on the brain and should not get back on a horse until you get checked out.”
Apparently someone in my family tattled on me to Shawn Scott. He’s been my chiropractor since 1999 and now days he’s with the PBR. He’s kept me going for over 25 years. He texted and said, “I’ll be at your house tomorrow to check you out.”
He put me through all kinds of tests. He took the flashlight and looked at my eyes and said, “You’re grounded. You don’t get to rope or ride; your eyes are not attached.”
I didn’t especially agree, but that night they turned the calves out and left the wrong gates open. I jumped on the 4-wheeler and evidently went too fast because it felt like someone poured water inside my head. I lost all balance and didn’t have much control over my body. Fortunately, I didn’t fall off.
When I stopped it took me 30 or 45 seconds to get my balance. I shut the gate and went to the house. I talked to Shawn and told him what happened. He didn’t even have to say, “I told you so.” I do listen, even when I don’t agree. Somehow, he’s always been right.
After that I didn’t do much for about 90 days. When I had clients, I worked the chute and analyzed the video. I was taking the medicine Shawn had gotten, but my brain was a little foggy. I’ve always been good with numbers and doing math in my head. That wasn’t working anymore. I was started to get a little down. I couldn’t ride or rope and had no idea how long I would be this way.
Every night when I get in bed, I usually have the lamp on the nightstand turned on. This one night I didn’t have it on and sat on my bed after turning all the lights off. I sat on the covers and tried to pull them from underneath me and got off balance. I fell back, hit the headboard and knocked the hell out of the right side of my head.
Not just a little ding – I hit it HARD. I curled up in a ball because it hurt so bad. I thought, “What have I done to myself?” When the sun came up and I opened my eyes, before I ever moved, I knew I was well. I could process, I could add, divide and run numbers. There was no more fog.
I texted Shawn to call me ASAP. I explained what happened and how I felt. Shawn said there’s documented cases where people have had the cranial bone in their skull out of place for 15 or 20 years and then have a car wreck or some other hard jolt and it fixes it.
That day I had three headers at the house and drove the 4-wheeler up to 22 mph and felt fine. Since that day I’ve had no problem with my balance, and my brain works, but it’s taken me up to the last couple of months for my reaction, heading or heeling, to feel somewhat normal.
I learned a lot in those 90 days about patience and learning to appreciate getting to rope. I love to rope and love teaching others something I have studied my whole life. I also learned if you have bleeding on the brain, get checked out by the doctor before getting back on a horse. Apparently, you can feel fine, but without being checked you could be putting yourself in danger.
