You Can't Keep a Good Cowboy Down

August 9, 2006, 1:41pm

Carson, CA August 4, 2006 – With grit and determination that would have made John Wayne proud, “Cowboy” Kenny Bartram wasn’t going to let something like a badly dislocated wrist, a broken rib and a separated shoulder stop him from finishing the first ever Rally competition which was added to the Summer X Games this year.

photo: Jason Jones

During a practice session for Freestyle Motocross on Friday, Bartram came up short on a 115-foot ramp to dirt jump collapsing his left wrist, bucking him over the handlebars and onto the dirt where his body broke the fall of his 230lb bike. A shaken Bartram was taken to UCLA Harbor Hospital where x-rays revealed a lower left rib fracture, the scaphoid and lunate bones in the left wrist were dislodged (the lunate bone was turned 180 degrees), and he suffered a grade two ac separation. “This is the worst dislocation I’ve ever seen,” stated Dr. David Chao, X Games Chief Medical Officer, regarding Bartram’s wrist. Bartram underwent surgery on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 in Los Angeles, CA.

While injuries eliminated Bartram from all of the weekend’s FMX disciplines, the pain never came close to extinguishing his enthusiasm for his latest passion, Rally Car. Bartram entered the sport of Rally earlier this year in the production class, and was undefeated on the season to this point. His determination and patience in the X Games Rally race was paying off and with a comfortable lead after finishing the first eight stages on Wednesday, he wasn’t about to sit the rest of this one out. So from his gurney in the emergency room Bartram found himself simultaneously inquiring about both the seriousness of his injuries and the rules of Rally that could prohibit him from competition due to his upper body limitations. Bartram made it obvious that he was determined to be in his Rally Car on Saturday. The only solution was a closed reduction (pushing the wrist bones back into place) therefore allowing him to delay the surgery temporarily and immobilizing the shoulder with a sling. Pending medical clearance from the ESPN Medical staff, Bartram’s next challenge was moving his co-driver (and cousin), Dennis Hotson, who had never driven a Rally Car before, to the driver’s seat. “I still don’t know the results as far as times go, but I’d chalk this one up as a win.” said Bartram after the race. “Dennis stepped up to the plate for me without ever racing before, and did a great job. If anyone had questions about how serious I am about racing Rally Cars before this week, they should all be pretty well answered by now.’