# Josh Frost Is Riding Back From Two Shoulder Surgeries

> A world champion bull rider lost a year to his shoulder, and now he is scrapping for the last NFR spots with weeks to go.
- Title: Josh Frost Is Riding Back From Two Shoulder Surgeries
- Summary: A world champion bull rider lost a year to his shoulder, and now he is scrapping for the last NFR spots with weeks to go. Frost sits at No. 13 with weeks…
- Keywords: rodeo, bull riding, josh frost, nfr, comeback, sports, Josh, Frost, Riding, Back, Two, Shoulder
- Source: Rodeo On SI — https://si.com/fannation/rodeo/news/comeback-surge-bull-rider-josh-frost-position-nfr-return
- Published: 2026-09-12T16:00:01+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: rodeo, bull riding, josh frost, nfr, comeback, sports
## He made it look easy
From 2021 to 2024, Josh Frost of Randlett, Utah, rode bulls at a level almost nobody touches. Rodeo's most punishing event looked routine when he was on.

> For years, Josh Frost made one of rodeo's most physically demanding events look easy.
## Three seconds, then gold
Frost finished runner-up in the PRCA three straight seasons before finally winning his first gold buckle in 2024.
## $1.6 million in four years
He won the Wrangler NFR Average twice in that stretch and banked more than $1.6 million across the four seasons.
## Now he is No. 13
With a few weeks left in the regular season, Frost sits 13th in the PRCA World Standings with more than $144,000 earned this year.
## Healthiest he has been
Most riders would call this spot shaky. Frost says his body has never felt better at this point in a season.

> I'm feeling great. This is the healthiest I've ever been this time of year.
## Grinding like a rookie
No qualifications meant no winter majors. He has had to build the year from scratch, entering smaller rodeos and stacking checks.

> I didn't have any qualifications, so I missed all the big stuff in the winter.
## Surgery right after the title
The gold buckle came with a price. Frost had shoulder surgery after 2024, took months off, and did every bit of the physical therapy.
## A detour to the PBR
His 2025 clearance came too late for the PRCA season, so he rode in the PBR team events instead.
## The one percent
Eight months post-surgery, a bull yanked his arm up and forward and the shoulder popped out. Doctors called it a fluke.

> They said if you would've gone a full year without that shoulder coming out, it would've probably never come out again.
## A week later it went again
The rule was simple: one more dislocation meant a second operation. It came out again seven days after the warning.

> They said if it comes out again, we'll have to do the surgery and then a week later it popped out.
## Five more months gone
The second surgery cost him until April. By the time doctors cleared him, the PRCA winter run was over and the window was narrow.
## Two or three bulls a week
He eased back for two months, riding sparingly. Then June arrived and the brakes came off.

> Once June hit, we kind of turned it loose.
## Forty rides, 45 days
ProBullStats recently had Frost down for 40 bull rides in a 45-day span, a pace built to make up lost ground fast.
## $38,000 since August
A win at the Golden Spike Rodeo in Tremonton started it. He also won Plains, Montana, and the Salmon Stampede, and placed second in the Ellensburg average.
## September is the fun part
A $10,000 Xtreme Bulls win at Lewiston jumped him from 15th to 12th overnight. He has never had to close out a season this way, and he wants it.

> This is really the first time in my career rolling into September where I'm right there on that spot, so it's going to be fun to go finish it.
## Key takeaway

Frost sits at No. 13 with weeks left, and a $38,000 late-summer surge is what put him back in reach of Las Vegas.