Court Upholds Dismissal of Lawsuit Against San Angelo Rodeo

AMARILLO, TX — A decision to dismiss a negligence lawsuit against the San Angelo Rodeo was upheld recently by the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo.

The court upheld an earlier ruling that dismissed barrel racer Danica Wilde’s lawsuit against the San Angelo Rodeo after she was injured during a fall while competing in a match horse race Oct. 29, 2023, at the Cinch Roping Fiesta.

Wilde, 37, is from San Angelo and graduated from Wall High School.

The case was unique because Wilde was not injured in a typical rodeo event. She was competing in a straight sprint between two horses that covered a distance less than one furlong (660 feet), which was held in an enclosure at the Cinch Roping Arena, 200 W. 43rd St.

As the horses finished the race, the short length of the enclosed track at the roping arena forced the riders to veer to the left to slow and avoid running into the fence that enclosed the end of the track, according to the lawsuit.

Positioned on the outside of the horse she was racing, Wilde was blocked by the competing horse from steering her own horse to the left, and was forced to cut behind the other horse and rider. Left without enough room to stop, Wilde pulled back on the reins to try to slow her horse, and the horse decelerated abruptly, throwing Wilde headfirst into the border fence and causing her to crash to the ground, the lawsuit stated.

Wilde claims she sustained “serious personal injuries” as a result of the incident. She was seeking more than $250,000, but not more than $1 million, in damages.

The San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo’s attorney, Jon Mark Hogg, filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was granted Oct. 30, 2024, by Judge Carmen Dusek.

The motion to dismiss cited Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code Section 87.003, which states, in part, that “all persons, including a farm animal activity sponsor . . . are not liable for property damages or damages from the personal injury or death of a participant in a farm animal activity or livestock show if the property damage, injury, or death results from the dangers of conditions that are an inherent risk of a farm animal activity…”

Wilde’s lawsuit stated she was an invited entrant in the match horse racing event being held on the grounds of the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo Association, and she was therefore an invitee on the defendant’s premises under Texas law.