This past weekend I re-visited a page from my book of past experiences and did a little rodeo-ing. Ok, so maybe I didn't actually do any rodeo-ing...but I did go watch some great bullriding in my hometown (Bonifay, FL) with the hubby. And as an added bonus my bff since 3rd grade and her daughter joined us. Aren't we quite the crew? :)
I don't care much for many sports anymore, but bull riding has always been one of my favorites. I'm sure part of the reason is that I grew up in Bonifay where one of the biggest events of the year was the annual Northwest Florida Championship Rodeo held each year during the first weekend of October. The Bonifay Kiwanis hosts the event as a fundraiser and since it's part of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy's Association (PRCA - Home Page) cowboys come from all over to participate in hopes of earning prize money and points toward a national championship.
For a peek at the history of the Northwest Florida Championship Rodeo check out this link:
Bonifay Rodeo History
For a variety of reasons (enough to fill up many blog posts) I haven't been to the Rodeo in YEARS...but my love for the sport of bull riding has remained a part of me. Bull riding was always my favorite portion of the rodeo. I'm sure it was a favorite for many since it was strategically placed as the last portion of the Rodeo, meaning that attendees would stay for the entire event so they could watch the bull riding.
Shortly after watching the movie The Longest Ride I saw an ad for the 2015 PBR Spring Bull Jam in Bonifay (nice timing huh?). The hubby and I decided to go check it out. Thankfully, we were not disappointed!
The participants of this event are part of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Touring Pro Division which is a minor-league tour of the PBR (and yes, there was even a connection to the movie The Longest Ride...more on that later in this post). The tour offers up-and-coming bull riders (and riders not competing on the elite Built Ford Tough Series) the opportonuty to compete in PBR-sanctioned events while earning money and points to qualify them for the BFTS and the World Finals. You can find all kinds of information about the PBR, including their schedule, by following this link: http://www.pbr.com/
Watching the cowboy's compete is exciting! It's amazing how tense 8 seconds can be watching from the stands. I can only imagine how much adrenaline is flowing through each of the riders as they take a ride of their life. I've seen many riders get hurt (including at this recent event - he was able to walk out), yet they continue to get right back in the saddle at the first opportunity. Talk about determination and dedication. A lot can be said about that kind of resilence!
The way the scores are is interesting to me too...so much goes into it. It's not just IF they can stay on the bull for 8 seconds, but the quality of the ride and the bull that matters too. A qualified ride is 8 seconds. The clock starts when the bull's shoulder or flank breaks the plane of the gate and ends when the rider's hand comes out of the rope, the rider touches the ground, or the rider's free arm touches the bull. Judges look for a rider to control the bull. A successful ride earns a score of 0-100 points. There are occasions that a re-ride takes place. This happens if the bull's performance is sub-par or if a foul occurs during the ride
The bull is also scored. His score is based on his degree of difficulty (the better the bull the better the bull score). When judging the bull the judges look for drop in the front end, kick in the back, spin, and direction changes. A bull receives a score even if the rider is bucked off.
The score of the rider and the bull is combined together with some magic formula to give the final ride score somewhere between 0-100. And let's not forget that the rider is under pressure even before the ride itself when they face the chute clock. They only have 60 seconds from the time they begin to pull their rope until they nod their head to begin the ride. If the chute clock reaches 60 seconds before the rider nods his head the judge may disqualify either the rider or the bull. If the bull is disqualified the rider will get a re-ride bull. If the rider is disqualified he's done for that round and no score is given.
Scoring gets even more difficult when an event is held over more than one day. Plus the scores are averaged in to all the other events. Way too complicated for me...LOL. Just go check out more info on it here: Scoring and Judging
Here's the standings after the Bonifay Bull Jam:
Let me take a minute to clarify something. Many people think that the reason the bull bucks is because he is being harmed. One particular story I have been told all my life is that the bull (as well as bucking broncos) buck because they have a strap tied around their genitals. Now I can't say with 100% certainity that this is not true (it's not something I plan to check personally)...but I can say that from all the research I've done this is not what makes them buck. According to the PBR: The bull's bucking has absolutely nothing to do with irritation to the genitals. The success of bucking bull breeding programs has proven that genetics are the main factor in determining a bull's desire and ability to buck. The bulls will kick their hind legs out at the height of their bucking action in an effort to dislodge the flank rope which encircles their body around bull's flank, in front of their hips. The flank strap never comes in contact with the bull's genitals. (PBR: Animal Welfare)
The PBR uses over 70 different stock contractors across the US, each of them owning 20-200 bulls. While the bulls travel to events the PBR frequently uses local bulls from their stock contractors located close to the event. The bulls have to be in top-notch shape to perform. A huge shout out to the stock contractors who keep the bulls in prime condition.
And now for what the rider wears. I will be the first person to tell you that on the right body there aren't many things better than a pair of well fitting Wranglers. Top the look off with a nice hat (I would suggest Stetson) and a pair of boots and you have a winner for sure. Lately, a lot of riders have started wearing helmets and other safety equipment. While I prefer the look of the regular cowboy attire, I can certainly understand the need for the safety equipment. Bull riding is a dangerous sport!! I read somewhere that riders get injured or die at a higher rate than athletes in any other sport. Currently there are no requirements so wearing the safety equipment is optional and the decision is entirely up to the rider. I am a firm believer in safety so I completely support the riders wearing the safety equipment. Just one request...as soon as that ride is over, take off that extra stuff so we can see that cowboy form. :)
I took a whole bunch of pictures but they didn't turn out so great. It turns out that it's just not that easy to get great shots of bucking bulls from bleachers that are shaking (from people clapping and stomping their feet). Towards the end of the event I did manage to shoot a few videos also.
Here are a few highlights from the event:
Waiting for it to start... (and check out the hair on that guy behind us!)
They started out with a little pyro. Since I wasn't overhead I couldn't get a great shot of this but it said PBR in fire.
This guy cracked me up!! If you've seen the movie The Longest Ride then you've seen him in action too. He's Professional Rodeo and Bull Rider Entertainer Matt Merritt. He did a FANTASTIC job keeping the crowd entertained in the down time...as well as a little bull wrangling!!!
Notice his shirt says Ridin' Dirty....like it? You can get your very own Ridin' Dirty stuff here (also seen in the movie The Longest Ride): Ridin' Dirty Clothing Check out the movie clip when you're on the Ridin' Dirty page for a glimpse of Matt Merritt in action.
Check out my video of Matt in action here:
And here are some videos of a few of the rides:
I have often wondered why you don't see many women in the sport of bull riding. I honestly don't think I have every seen any perform live. I'm not sure why this is but if you do a little research you will find that that there are some out there. Check 'em out and show 'em some support!
From my research it appears that Maggie Parker is the only female bull rider in the US: PRCA - Maggie Parker - if anybody knows of others let me know.
A few other related things you might find interesting...
The Longest Ride stunt double talks about movie: Sam Matthews video clip
Some info from the PBR from filming of The Longest Ride: PBR News
Bull Riding: Wikipedia
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