'It's very emotional': Memorial sculpture of B.C. bull rider finds permanent home

A year after a memorial sculpture of deceased champion bull rider, Ty Pozzobon was unveilled, it has finally found a permanent home in downtown Merritt near the RCMP detachment and Central Park.

The cedar sculpture by Alberta artist Marina Cole, was was made to honour the Merritt-born cowboy after he took his own life in January 2017 at the age of 25.  Doctors later confirmed that Pozzobon was the first confirmed case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a professional bull rider, a disease linked to repetitive brain injury.

"It's important for us that it has a permanent home here because it allows everyone to remember everything that Ty accomplished in his professional career and what an amazing person he was," said Leanne Pozzobon, the late bull rider's mother.

"He loved his hometown and I truly believe he was and still is a Merritt ambassador." 

Whenever her son used to travel as a bull rider, he was always proud to call the southern Interior city his home.

"That's why I feel it's important that his statue is placed in the park, because it's a symbol of Merritt and what we are as a community," said Pozzobon.

'Emotional'

The wooden sculprture depicts Ty standing beside a bull with one hand hanging onto a rope and the other doing his signature hat tip.

The 2016 Pro Bull Riders Canadian champion used to always put his hand to his hat as a way of saying hello to everyone, Pozzobon explained to Daybreak Kamloops' Rob Polson. 

"She did a great job," said Pozzobon about Cole's work. 

"It doesn't look exactly like Ty's face, but Luke and I, my husband, often think that it's better maybe it doesn't. It's hard right for us ... It's very emotional."

The sculpture is inside a gated enclosure that was made by community members, so people can still see it, while still protecting it from vandalism. The gates will be opened for special occasions. 

If her son was alive today, she thinks he would be embarrassed by the attention, but she is sure "he would be proud of it."

Since Ty's death, there has been a lot of attention in the rodeo community put toward the dangers of concussions and head injuries and how they can affect mental health.

"Everyone has just rallied around us and knowing the awareness now with concussions has helped us get through this," said Pozzobon.

"Ty is making a difference."