Jeremy Maisonneuve Returns from Injury with Championship Goals Still in Sight

AIRDRIE, Alta. – "I feel like there's not a bull in the world that can buck me off."

Those are the words of standout PBR Canada rookie bull rider Jeremy Maisonneuve who will make his return to competition this week after a major injury suffered in late May required surgery and a lengthy recovery.

Maisonneuve fractured his jaw during a practice pen at the compound of PBR Canada stock contractor Jim Thompson. The injury halted the Quebec native's torrid climb up the PBR Canada national standings and cost him an opportunity at The American Rodeo and its $1 million bonus.

But even knowing the cost of the injury during one of the busiest stretches of the season, Maisonneuve said he would not have done anything differently.

"I would do the exact same thing any day of the week. Every time you climb on a bull, you take the chance to get hurt," Maisonneuve said.

"If you're a bull rider and you do that, you do it for a reason. You know it's part of it, and I should have rode that bull. It's bull riding, you're going to get hurt and shit's going to happen, but I wouldn't change it any other way. You can't drive a car only looking at the rear-view mirror. So living your life saying 'what if' isn't going to get you nowhere."

With nearly three months away from the sport, the time spent recovering from his injury was a rollercoaster. Immediately after, Maisonneuve was disappointed, and he said the liquid diet was one of the toughest parts of the process.

Still, the positives outweighed the costs.

The time away showed him how many people were in his corner, and his own drive to return to bull riding as quickly as possible helped make the recovery manageable.

"The not eating part, I'm already not a big guy to begin with, I could just see all my muscles disappear and I was always, always hungry. I couldn't talk. I drank water and drooled on myself. That was the hardest part," he explained.

"What I'm most grateful for is everybody in my corner: my parents, my girlfriend, everybody that supported me and helped me, driving me to appointments or just cooking me some food that I could put through a syringe. I'm not going to lie, I was a little hair-trigger after it happened.

"I was always consistently hungry and tired and wouldn't sleep. But at the same time, it made me realize how much I love bull riding and how much I love the grind of it. I've honestly busted my ass off to come back the way I have, and nobody really knows about it, but I do. And that's all that matters."

Maisonneuve earned his first PBR Canada Cup Series win only a week before the injury and was sitting in a strong position at second in the 2026 PBR Canada Championship race. His pace before the injury was impressive, and the success he had already built kept him firmly in a qualifying position.

With plenty of events still left in the season, including several PBR Canada Cup Series stops with major points available, Maisonneuve said becoming the first rookie PBR Canada Champion, and the first Champion from Quebec, remains the primary goal.

"Man, pedal to the metal," he said.

"We aren’t stopping. If I could be at a bull riding or a rodeo every day of the week, I'd be the happiest guy ever. I'm just going to get back to where I was when I won Brandon and just do a whole lot of the same, and that's winning."

His first PBR event back will be held in Raymond, Alberta, on August 19, and confidence is beaming from the 19-year-old cowboy. With lots of bulls left in 2026, Maisonneuve plans to attack the schedule on both the PBR Canada and pro rodeo sides.

"I can barely sleep the day before I go to a bull riding I'm so excited. This morning I see my draw and I got a big red bull of Slim Wilson drawn and I'm going to be about 85 points and then I'm going to go out and pick a rank short round bull and win it. My body and my head is in the right place right now. A bull's going to have to do backflips to get me off his back. That's the mentality I got going through it and never letting go," Maisonneuve said.

"My goal is to stay as consistent as I can. It's not a race, it's a marathon and we will see who's going to be the best at the end of the year in Edmonton."

As for his competition, which has been grinding away and collecting points while he was sidelined, Maisonneuve had one comment when asked about watching from the sidelines.

"Good for them for making all that money and them points while I was gone, but now I'm back and it's going to go all to me. That's what I got in my head right now."