Last night, Cowboy Joe and I saddled up and went to the Professional Bull Riders rodeo here in Casper. This is one of the events that I had looked forward to for quite awhile. Yee haw, what a blast that was! I used to watch bull riding on the television every opportunity while living in Georgia and here was my chance to see it in person and I was not disappointed. Through the excitement of attending this event, I even forgot to take pictures of Cowboy Joe complete with his cowboy hat and cowboy shirt. He did strike quite a handsome pose though.
This picture was taken at the beginning of the rodeo where the initials PBR were outlined with fire during the opening ceremonies and the presentation of some of the special bull riders.
One of the special riders was Cord McCoy who is currently one of the participants in the television show "Amazing Race" which I watch every Sunday evening. Though he might be a celebrity, unfortunately it didn't help him stay on his bulls any better than anyone else.
These pictures show some of the action that took place - complete with some of the slinging bull snot. We were sitting the 5th row from the bottom so we had some of the action quite close up.
Then there were the bulls with names like Chicken on a Chain, Fender Bender, Nasty Mike and Code Blue. Some of these bulls decided they didn't want to go back into the chutes after bucking off the rider. They would paw the ground like a Spanish bull waiting to take out the toreador, take several laps around the arena, avoided the arm-waving antics of the "bullfighters" and even escaped the lasso of the horse rider. This is a picture of one such bull, as well as the video posted below. This is the bull that decided to romp about an additional five minutes or so...
You might ask "What makes a bull buck"? Apparently genetics is key in determining a bull’s desire and ability to kick up his hooves. In other words, he is born with attitude. But what about that strap tied around the hips of each bull? And, one of the most common misconceptions about bull riding is that the rope used by the rider is connected to the animal’s private parts. In truth, this soft rope is tied between each animal's ribs and hips to enhance kicking. And the rope is loose. The ornery bull has usually flung the thing by the time he exits the ring, usually with a victorious swagger (like the bull in the video).
What a fun event!!! Gotta love it when the riders get thrown or get tangled up or get tossed like a wet dishcloth over the railing or run for their lives from a 2000 lb. charging bull! That's what makes it an event and I will make plans to attend more of these in the future.
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