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 lower leg 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 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.
