BULL RIDING 101

 Oh my goodness my goodness ... we are actually heading down to 70+ degree days.  I think the entire area is breathing a sigh of relief.  Except for the dust that is.  It's harvest time in our area and farmers are going full blast to get their crops in before the predicted rain this week.  Believe it or not, they used to pick almonds by hand.  

Machinery now drives up to the tree, grabs it, shakes it to death and down fall all the almonds onto metal platforms which vibrate them into a trailer.  That makes for a crazy amount of dust and dirt thrown into the air, not to mention all over your vehicles, even if they are parked in your garage.  Oh the fun ...

And so I tend to stay inside, not that it helps, because there is just about as much dust INSIDE.  There's nothing I like better than watching the Pendleton Oregon rodeo however ... so it's a win for me.  

For those that are not familiar with this sport, here's BULL RIDING 101.  Geared up in a required bullet proof (but not quite bull proof) vest, along with chaps that really don't help much, they climb on these monsters who are now BRED TO BUCK.  I mean really, it's crazy how high these guys can throw themselves into the air.

The stock guys place a rope around their flanks, which isn't tight and really doesn't make them buck at all ... and one around the bulls midsection like what you see here.  That bull rope handle is all they have to hold on to.  The riders rub very sticky black rosin on the handle and the strap that comes up and over their hand, around the back and through their fingers once again.

One full wrap ... that's all they get.  In the old days they used to lace it through their fingers, but too many guys got hung up because their hand would not come free when they fell off.  As you can imagine, lots of damage was done to the riders.

Also now, depending on your age, you are required to wear a helmet.  It's a good thing because a high percentage of guys get hit in the head by those horns as the bulls buck, and especially when they get bucked off.  

Pendleton is one of the biggest rodeos ever, on the biggest rodeo grounds.  The local Indian population (which is huge) takes part in all the celebrations by setting up an entire village just outside and putting on shows of their dancing and most fabulous deerskin clothing with beading the likes of which you've never seen before.  They also have horse racing ... bareback.  No saddles.

Anyway, back to bull riding ... this is one of the crazy reasons so many people go to this rodeo.  The arena is so huge, they put up a steel titanium PVC pipe fence to keep the bulls in a smaller area.  Yup ... it's lightweight plastic.  As you can tell, it works really good!!!  

The pick-up men on their horses are the saviors of these situations, heading straight for the bull to rope it and drag it away from the 100 folks (most all rodeo participants) sitting in the grass watching the riding.

These two guys in red and blue are the bull fighters.  When the rider gets thrown off, they jump in nose to nose and distract the bull so the kid on the ground has a chance to get away.  Obviously, you have to be a good "reader" of bull flesh.  If you were not raised with cattle and bulls, that's a tall order.  You just have to KNOW where they will go by your instincts from working with them.  You have to read their body language.

This one went right through the steel titanium plastic fence like it was nothing ... which it is.  That's half the excitement of this rodeo.  The thing is, if he comes your way and you are standing by the fence, DO NOT MOVE.  That's what I'm screaming at the TV!!  That's a tall order, but if you move, they will nail you.  If you remain still, they will pass you by.  This guy did NOT remain still.  The second thing ... NEVER EVER RUN.  They will mow you down every time!!

I admit, it's hard to stay quiet when this brute is coming right at you.  No one got hurt, the bull was roped and the fence put back up ... not that that helps at all!

Sorry for the blurry pictures ... my new phone camera doesn't takes pictures near as fast as my old one.

This guy ... he decided to be the star of the show.  The bull ... not the bull fighter.  I will admit, these bulls are MEAN MEAN MEAN.  There are always a few that will chase you down.

Yup that's the bull fighter sitting on the bulls head by the titanium fence!!

and this is the same bull fighter as he goes flying through the air, landing BEHIND the bull.  No worries, no one was hurt ... well maybe his pride.

The bad part about Pendleton this year was the rain.  It rained most of the night, making the grass slick as could be.  Many horses were slipping and falling, including this pickup mans horse as he was heading out to rope the bull.  Yup ... the pickup man is UNDER the horse.  

The horse got up (he was not hurt) and the bull made a bee line for the rider because he was moving.  He got rolled around a bit in the grass before the other riders roped the bull.  Here's another tip.  If you fall down near a bull, you roll up into a ball with hands over your head and DON'T MOVE.

They caught the bull with the help of the bull fighter on the ground because they are better at maneuvering around, and he was pulled back to the plastic fence.  The pickup man got back on his horse to help ... that's him in the lower left corner of the picture.  You learn to be tough if you're a cowboy, and all of these guys are cowboys.  They work on big cattle ranches with lots of cattle and bulls, and are tough as nails.

As my dad would yell ... GET BACK ON THAT HORSE, THE CATTLE ARE GETTNG AWAY!!!  Yup ... that's where tough comes from.

And that's why only three out of 15 cowboys rode those bulls, and every single one of them will be back to do it again.  That's BULL RIDING 101.