Tough Enough to Wear Pink Has Personal Meaning for NFR Bareback Rider

No matter the rodeo, the bareback rider is always ready to highlight the importance of breast cancer awareness and research.

In honor of his mother's two bouts with breast cancer, Shane O'Connell has a pink ribbon proudly displayed on his chaps. / Alex Riley/Sports Illustrated

The moment Shane O’Connell got the buckle, he wanted to let his mom know he had joined the club. 

Back in 2018, the Rapid City, S.D., bareback rider won the eighth-round at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo thanks to an 89-point ride on Powder River Rodeo bucking horse Black Leg. Winning a round in ProRodeo’s season-culminating event earns a competitor a buckle and O’Connell was certainly proud to have his. 

Of course, that only pulled him even with the matriarch of his family. 

“When I won my buckle at the NFR, that was the first thing I said was, ‘Man, I finally got an NFR buckle like my mom does,’” Shane said with a laugh. “She actually won an NFR buckle before I did. She got picked during breast cancer night at the NFR to get a Tough Enough to Wear Pink buckle at the Finals.”

Anne O’Connell has never ridden competitively inside Thomas and Mack Arena, but her fighting spirit was certainly recognized by the rodeo community. 

In 2016, she was honored by the Tough Enough to Wear Pink program with an NFR buckle to commemorate her health journey and recovery. Anne has battled breast cancer twice, once in 2008 and again in 2016. Both times, she was able to enter remission. 

While Anne O'Connell wasn't able to be in Las Vegas back in 2016, she was honored with a commemorative buckle during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by Tough Enough to Wear Pink for her inspirational journey through two bouts of breast cancer. / Molly Morrow/PRCA photo

The illness has hit the O’Connell family particularly hard. Along with Anne’s two bouts of breast cancer, the disease also claimed one of Shane’s cousins a few years back. 

Established in 2004, the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign was founded within the western sports community to bring awareness and support causes in the fight against the disease. In the years since, more than $41 million has been raised for breast cancer-related charities across the country according to the organization's website. 

That’s why the movement hits home for Shane. And it’s why he’s always ready to take part. 

While many competitors and fans will throw on a pink shirt during a rodeo highlighting the cause, Shane is always shining a light on awareness. His chaps feature a pink ribbon at the bottom corner on each side, a tribute to his mother’s determination and grit. 

“That’s one thing that’s made me a pretty tough person too is watching my mom go through that. Heck, it didn’t even phase her and she’s done it twice,” Shane said. 

As more and more rodeos add Tough Enough to Wear Pink events, Shane is always ready to take part and proud to share his family’s story. 

Seeing an arena full of pink shirts from both participants and spectators is a reminder of his family’s journey and the support network within ProRodeo. To many, it might just be a piece of pink clothing. To Shane, it’s something that contributed to his mother’s fight for survival. 

“It kind of hits a guy pretty deep. Even just talking about it right now, it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up because my mama probably wouldn’t be here without all that stuff,” Shane said. “If you’re tough enough to wear pink, you rock it. It’s hit everybody in one way or another.”