Christy Bridges is no stranger to facing the obstacles rodeo can bring. A mother and business owner, she put her breakaway roping career on hold eight years ago when her horse suffered a career-ending injury and focused instead on goals outside the arena. This summer however, she wasted no time in returning to the top of her game. Just three weeks after purchasing her new rope horse, she qualified for RFD-TV’s The American, no small feat. Although as difficult as that was, she felt up for the challenge because she has been overcoming obstacles her entire life. Christy was born with Hereditary Optic Atrophy and is legally blind.