“Love Island US” star Taylor Williams is recovering after being trampled by a horse during the Arizona Invitational Black Rodeo.
On Friday, August 29, the 25-year-old reality TV star was competing in the rodeo when he was thrown from his horse and temporarily pinned beneath the animal, AZ Central reported.
According to footage of the incident circulating online, he was competing in a relay race when his horse tripped during the baton pass, throwing him and falling on him before it hopped up. Williams remained on the ground until rodeo officials and fellow riders rushed to his aid. He was then taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The following day, Williams shared an update with his followers in a post to his stories.
“Was in a horse accident last night, but I’m still pulling up tonight injured and all,” he wrote on the post promoting a Labor Day weekend event in Scottsdale, per ENews. “It’s my brother’s bday yk we still turnt!”
Later, he shared a post from his hospital bed with a photo of himself in a neck brace, with both thumbs up.
“Preciate all the love! I’m all good.”
Clarke Carraway, with whom Williams met and formed a connection during Season 7 of “Love Island USA,” shared clips on her Instagram Stories showing him being wheeled out of the hospital. One was set to Maverick City Music’s “The Story I’ll Tell” with the lyric “My God did not fail” queued up alongside her caption, “He never does.” Another showed the couple in matching cowboy hats, with Williams wearing a sling but smiling.
Whether bull riding or on horseback, rodeos are known for being both thrilling and extremely dangerous. The rodeo Williams was participating in was part of the official Black Rodeo USA circuit, which has had shows in six other states, aside from Arizona: Nevada, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Michigan, and Florida.
Williams joined the most recent explosive season of “Love Island USA” as a self-described cowboy and veterinary student hailing from Oklahoma. He talked often about country life and rodeos while on the show. He and Carraway were eliminated together in the penultimate episode after becoming one of the season’s most talked-about couples, and they have continued their relationship long-distance since leaving the villa.
Since settling back into real life, the two have frequented several rodeo events, including one in his native Oklahoma.
“Just a cowboy showing his girl how we do it out here,” he wrote in the caption of a post on Instagram that included several shots of him and Carraway on horseback in the ring.
