A Bunch of Bull

For any of you who have heard of Ponoka, I am sure your first thought is "Ponoka Stampede" or possibly "isn't there a mental hospital there?".  Those are the sorts of questions which I am asked when I mention my home town.

For Ponoka, the town and the residents, the Ponoka Stampede is the biggest function of the year, exponentially increasing the towns population of 6500 to 60,000+.  All of the hotels are filled, tents and holiday trailers fill all open grass areas, and people from everywhere crowd the small stampede grounds.

From the midway to the rodeo, there is something for all ages at the stampede.  This year will be Ponoka Stampede's 75th year in the works, our diamond jubilee.  We will be hosting two concerts, Gord Bamford and Dwight Yoakam will be performing for the big celebration!
The video below gives you a little overview of Ponoka and the Stampede.  If you look closely at roughly 20 seconds in, you will see my roomate and I with my cow Pheebee getting ready for the mile long parade! My cow walked the parade four years in a row, giving all of the spectators a feel for just what 4-Hers in Ponoka get up to!

I love the rodeo.  I don't think there is much better than sitting in the sunshine watching a barrel racer round her last barrel and head home, or to hear the buzzer sound after an 8 second ride.  The thrill and the excitment of the rodeo entertain everyone.

For me, the best part is the bull riding.  I don't know if it is the excitment of seeing a 200 pound man grasp onto a bucking 2000 pound bull or if it is the clown, ducking into his barrel as a bull rolls him across the arena, that make me love it so much.

Luckily for me, right before the Stampede rolls into town, the Jace Harty Memorial Bull Riding takes place.  This year was the 9th year for the memorial ride, and it included 30 top PBR bull riders, as well as a performance from the Denver Daines band!  One of my favorite parts of the Memorial Bull Riding is the bull soccer.  If you have never witnessed bull soccer, you're missing out.  Two teams of people meet in the middle of the dirt, and compete in a soccer match.  But this isn't your regular soccer match.  A couple minutes into the match two bulls are sent into the ring to join in on the game.  However, instead of chasing the ball, the bulls chase the players!  It is so funny to see the players jump onto the fences for safety.  It is dangerous, of course, but that is what makes it so exciting! Check out this video to see the action from the bull soccer last year!

  

For me, having the chance to watch 30 bull riders try out their luck on some wild bulls is an opportunity I won't pass up.  Better yet, the memorial ride is for a great cause.
Jace Harty was a young bull rider who passed away in 2002 in a car accident at the age of 23.  The memorial bull riding has been put on every year since then to carry on his legacy.  And what a legacy it is.  Last night I watched as friends shared stories, as bull riders took the stage in their head to head battle with the bulls.  I witnessed tears and laughter, and I was truly touched by a poem written by Curtis Anderson, as well as the speech that he delivered following the tribute to Jace.  Curtis Anderson was a bull rider injured in 2002 while competing in a bull riding event in Ponoka.  He was brain injured and had to re-learn everything from speaking to walking.  Nine years later Curtis stood up alone and was able to share his story with the audience.  I was touched.  Curtis now hosts a trail ride with Courage Canada to raise money for brain injury awareness.  Just another bull rider touching the lives of thousands.  And it is all for the love of the sport.
To read more about Curtis Anderson's inspiring story, check out this link - http://everything-cowboy.com/tag/curtis-anderson/

If you are unfamiliar with the sport of bull riding, let me fill you in on the basics.
First and foremost, bull riding involves a cowboy (the rider) and a bull (the riden).  The bull rider cannot touch themselves or their bull with their free hand or else they will have no score.
There are two judges who watch the ride.  Each judge gives the rider a score of 1-25, as well, they give the bull a score from 1-25.  A perfect ride would score 100.
The bull rider wraps a braided rope around the bull, and then wraps around their hand, trying their best to secure themselves.  The bullrope is the only thing holding that rider onto the large bull
The main priority of the rider is to stay on for 8 seconds.  This is a task in itself, and last night only six riders out of 30 made the 8 second ride.
Bull riding doesn't only include the rider and the bull.  There are also clowns, and bull fighters in the ring to protect the rider when they leave the back of the bull.  The bulls are not impressed with the riding so they try to take out anything in their sight.  Bull fighters get the lovely job of trying to distract the bull from the rider once the rider hits the ground.  I don't know what would be more scary: being on the bull or being on the ground getting ready to distract the raging bull!
Bull riding isn't only physically challenging, but definitely mentally.  If you are not in the right mind set, the ride will likely not go well.
Bull riding is one of the most loved rodeo events, and even has it's own tour, the PBR (Professional Bull Riding) Tour.  The PBR was started in 1992 by 20 professional bull riders.  PBR now has 1200+ bull riders from United States, Canada, Australia and Brazil (The Sport Journal).

The Brahma breed (imported from India) became popular in the bull ridding because the bull had horns and large humps on their backs.  But the breeds of the bulls don't really matter as much as performance of the bull.  Each bull has to be flexible and want to jump around and be crazy.  After all, the bulls score makes up half of the riders score, so the riders want good bucking bull!

This year at the Canadian Finals Rodeo, a bull gave everyone a bit of a surprise! I was there for this! Check out the clip, it will give you an idea of just how the cowboys prepare, ride and how the bull fighters distract the bull.  It will also show you just how well bulls can jump! Check it out y'all!

So there you have it! Want to learn more about bull riding? Check out this awesome video! Saddle Up To Bull Riding.  I promise it is well worth your time!

Have a great day tomorrow everyone!

As long as there is a sunset there will always be a west.