Keenan Hayes Returns to Championship Form After Missing Year With Injury

After missing the 2025 season due to injury, Hayes is back in full force

Keenan Hayes | PRCA File Photo

Ever since his first year in the PRCA, Keenan Hayes has been a force to be reckoned. The first rookie to ever win a world title in the bareback riding, Hayes has dominated the sport over the last several years. 

That is, until a groin injury caused him to miss the 2025 season. Hayes’ injury originated in June 2024 and continued to worsen throughout the season, he said.

“By the end of the year, I was pretty sored up,” Hayes said. “I went to the circuit finals, still hurt. Then, I went to the NFR, and I was still pretty banged up.”

Despite the injury to his groin, Hayes placed in six of 10 rounds at the 2024 NFR and landed No. 3 in the bareback riding world standings. Still, getting on bucking horses of that caliber will take a toll on any cowboy.

“After those 10 days, it was all I could do to get on,” Hayes said.

Facing the Injury Reality

Fernandon Sam-Sin/@fsamsin

To better set himself up for future years in rodeo, Hayes made the decision to take the 2025 season off to undergo surgery and fully recover. 

“[I had] surgery, and then went right into physical therapy,” Hayes said. “We did a lot of physical movement… just trying to get the groins built back up without scar tissue building up.”

It was a long summer of waiting for Hayes as he watched all of his friends competing while he was stuck at home. 

“It was tough sitting at home and then watching all the boys get to go rodeo,” Hayes said. “I stayed away from watching the Cowboy Channel too much.”

Hayes made great progress in recovery, but the year away raised questions about what his comeback would look like.

“In the back of your head, you're always worried about if everything's going to be the same as it was prior to the injury,” Hayes said. “We really focused on taking the time to get it right, so I can make my career last a little bit longer.”

With the first rodeos of the 2026 season underway, Hayes was finally ready to start entering again. In just his first two rodeos since the injury, there was no questioning whether Hayes would come back at the same level he was pre-injury.

Hayes came back strong with two 85.5-point rides to take the wins at Helldorado Days in Las Vegas, Nev., and the Brawley Cattle Call Rodeo in Brawley, Calif.

The season on the sidelines didn’t seem to rattle Hayes at all. Once he was back behind the bucking chutes, everything was business as usual.

“It was just like it always has been… just like you’re a kid getting on at the practice pen,” Hayes said. “Once you get to that point… everything just goes back into muscle memory.”

Hayes said he’s ready to get back on the road full time, and if the start of his season is any indication, it won’t be long until he’s back on top.

---