6/26/09 - Calgary Herald - Lindsay Sears, struggling to recover from a broken leg, took the early lead in the barrel racing on the opening day of the Ponoka Stampede.

And, the world champion from Nanton was so quick, she might still be the frontrunner when they go into the championship round on Wednesday of next week.

Sears, aboard her wonder horse Martha, clocked a blistering time of 16.93 seconds. It's the fastest time at this rodeo in at least the last two years.

Brittany Pharr, the 2007 world champion from Texas, is second at 17.36.

Sears was fitted with a brace to protect her crushed fibula, but didn't wear it because she felt it was too bulky. Instead she protected the leg with a plaster half cast and told her mom Sue she felt no pain during the run.

She'll compete this morning at Williams Lake, B.C., then fly to Reno, Nev., for that rodeo's championship final.

Sears won the first qualifying round, leads the second and is No. 1 in the aggregate going into the Saturday showdown.

6/25/09 - Calgary Herald - The doubt is no longer there; Lindsay Sears will compete in tonight's opening performance of the Ponoka Stampede.

The world champion Nanton barrel racer, who fractured the smaller bone in her left leg at the High River Rodeo last weekend, tested out a brace Wednesday that's designed to protect the fracture.

"It felt good, better than I thought it would," Sears said. "I can't squeeze with my thigh as much as I want to and that makes me sit a little awkwardly on the horse. I'll ride with the brace at first and if it doesn't feel comfortable we'll modify it or find some kind of protective shell as an alternative."

Sears is scheduled to ride at Williams Lake, B. C., on Friday and Reno, Nev., on Saturday.

6/24/09 - Calgary Herald - Lindsay Sears will crawl on a horse today with a newly fitted brace on her broken leg.

But, only after that will the world champion barrel racer from Nanton learn if she'll be back on the rodeo trail this week.

An MRI was done on Tuesday and the pictures weren't all that pretty.

"It showed my fibula--the smaller bone between the knee and ankle --is, as they put it, crushed into several pieces at the very top," Sears reported. "They decided they aren't going to cast it. The pieces are all where they are supposed to be and should heal just fine."

Sears slammed her leg into an out-gate as she was completing her run during Sunday's closing performance of the High River rodeo.

Her itinerary calls for her to compete in Thursday night's opening performance of the Ponoka Stampede.

"The fibula is not a weight-bearing bone and problems with the motion in my knee are probably related to the fact the break is so close it," Sears said. "It's stiff and swollen, but I can definitely bend it enough to sit on a horse."

The brace extends from immediately below the knee to the middle of her calf muscle.

Sears warned her trip to Ponoka, followed by rodeos the next two days at Williams Lake, B. C., and Reno, Nev., isn't yet a slam-dunk.

6/23/09 - Calgary Herald - World champion barrel racer Lindsay Sears sustained a fractured left leg while leaving the infield during Sunday’s closing performance of the High River rodeo.

The accident happened when her leg slammed into an outgate that had been partially closed.

Sears managed to stay in her saddle until help arrived and she could be lifted off her yellow mare that she calls Hankey.

She was taken to the High River hospital where the leg was partially casted and is now recovering at her parents’ home near Nanton.

“The fracture is on the outside at the top of the fibula,” Sears said of the smaller of the two bones that run from the knee to the ankle.

The horse was not injured.

Sears said she will consult with a doctor today for a second opinion to determine if she if she can be fit enough to ride this weekend.

She is scheduled to compete at Ponoka on Thursday, Williams Lake, B.C., on Friday and Reno, Nev., on Saturday, where she is leading both qualifying rounds and stands to win as much as $10,000.

Her left leg is the one that comes closest to the barrels.

“With the fracture on the outside of the leg, I’ll have to make sure I stay off the barrels,” Sears explained. “It should give me some incentive to keep the barrels standing.”

She admitted the injury hurts, “but I’ve felt worse pain in my life.

“If I get a positive feedback from the doctor, I’ll try a couple of practice runs here at home on Wednesday,” she reported. “Right now I’m hopeful I can ride this weekend and run at the Calgary Stampede next month.”

Sears is third in the world standings with more than $45,000 in earnings and went into the weekend seventh in Canada.

She was shut out at Sundre, High River and Wainwright riding her backup horses. She left her world champion sorrel mare Martha in Reno.

Sears won the Calgary Stampede barrel racing last year and went on to have an astounding $437,000 season.

She was the second high profile Alberta rodeo contestant to be injured on the weekend.

NOTE: From the WPRA Office, Lindsay you are in our thoughts and prayers...we wish you a speedy recovery!!!