So I went to the Professional Bull Riding New York invitational finals with my Dad over the weekend. You see, my Dad was born in Missouri so he’s always been a country boy at heart and he’s all about these coughredneckcough things. In case you thought bull riding was no big deal, I’ll have you know that the bull riding season lasts pretty much all year, starting in November and ending in October, and tours all over the country. So here it is in the middle of New York City at Madison Square Garden:
We got there really early, so that’s why the seats weren’t filled yet, but I’d say the stadium filled up about 90% by the time the show got started. Here’s Dad:
And here’s me:
They started off the event with a prayer. That’s right, a prayer in the middle of New York City. And amazingly enough as much as everyone likes to believe New Yorkers are a bunch of elitist heathens, the place didn’t immediately burst into flame. Then some country star who everyone but me and my Dad knew sang the national anthem. I was secretly hoping it would be Jewel since her husband was a bull rider and is now a commentator, but no such luck. They also brought out a flag that was from Ground Zero and sewn back together which was nice.
Then the show started and they made it really fun with show effects and tons of pop music. I’m talking Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and a ton of others, which carried on throughout the event even as the cowboys were riding the bulls. There’s nothing quite like seeing a cowboy get bucked around to a Miley Cyrus song. The music really surprised me (come on, you know I was expecting lame country music) but it made the whole event really fun.
I took this next picture because I thought it was really neat that they had just as many posters featuring the bulls as they did the cowboys. The crowd even cheered for their favorite bulls more than their favorite cowboys, which I thought was really unexpected. Just to be clear, the longest the cowboy tries to stay on a bull is 8 seconds before he jumps off, and bulls can only be ridden once a day. The bulls are never hurt or goaded into bucking. I think it’s just about not being comfortable when someone is sitting on them, so they buck around for 8 seconds (I’d say 60% of the cowboys made it to 8 seconds), then when the cowboy either gets bucked off, or jumps off, the bull is totally fine and prances back to their pen. I’d say that the cruelest thing these bulls have to face is the names they’re given like Uncle Buck, Drill Baby Drill, and Fagbuster. Okay, I’m kidding about Fagbuster, but Drill Baby Drill was totally one of the bull’s names. But there was also one named Pinball Wizard, and you just know he was totally getting it on with the other bulls backstage.
Although they did have this guy on hand to guide the bulls to the pen in the event they didn’t go themselves:
Dad spent most of the time behind the pair of binoculars so he could get a better look. I’ve never been a binoculars kinda guy at sporting events. I like seeing the whole picture, but I would imagine when lightsaber death matches become a national sport, I’d be more interested in seeing the action up close.
I have a ton of pictures that look like this one, but I think you only need to see the one to get an idea.
This next picture was by far my favorite part of the event. Wool Riding! My Dad had told me that they sometimes have kids riding sheep, but I just imagined it like the bull riding, only smaller. But I was totally wrong! It was pretty much the most adorable thing ever as kids from the audience were bundled up and held onto sheep as tight as they could as the sheep b-lined ridiculously fast from a pen on one side of the arena, to a pen on the other side. Most of the kids fell off about halfway across, but two kids, including this little girl who won, made it all the way across. After they were ridden the sheep just kinda stood around eating hay being all like WTF was that?
So yeah, I’m just as surprised as you are that I had such a great time, but it really was a lot of fun and I told my Dad we’d make it a yearly tradition.
am i missing something? not one mention of chaps!?
Animal cruelty! Someone call PETA.
Okay, not really, just trying to bump the comment count up so Polt can comment from work.
So glad you had a good time. I would have loved to see it. Politically incorrect though it may be, I do enjoy a good rodeo. Must be the country girl in me. Those kids sound adorable.
A very interesting race is called the wild horse race where teams of 4 guys get a saddle and a wild horse and they have to catch it, get a saddle on it and one man and get it into the marked square. Funny as hell. Also dangerous. A family friend had one of his teeth knocked out when the horse head butted him and I’ve heard scarier stories but that’s part of the adrenalin kick I guess.
Sounds like you had a great time together. Maybe next year you can wear matching cowboy hats : ).
Finally, damn work computer, with help from my friends I have managed to get around your stupid commenting-on-Puntabulous rules and I can leave the comment I’ve been wanting to!
“There’s nothing quite like seeing a cowboy get bucked around to a Miley Cyrus song.” Ah yes, Craiggers, I too LOVE seeing this. And yet, I’ve never been to a rodeo or bull riding or anything ever in my life.
…………..ya know, now I’m not even sure if that comment was worth all the trouble…
HUGS….
This is one of the strangest things I have ever read, but it sounds super exciting. I saw a bull riding contest at a country fair one time and one of the guys who fell off got hurt, so I haven’t seen one since. But This sounds very interesting, and I’m glad you and your dad had a great time!
Michelle M.: I hope Cowboy Craig is the next picture going to GwiP.
Sounds like a great time, sometimes it workes out when you expand your horizons.
The wool riding sounds like a blast! I would try that if I didn’t think the poor thing would collapse and die from my fatness.
Yay for pop muzak! They should have had a bunch of carousel horses circled around the arena to recreate the cover/theme of P!nk’s “Funhouse!!”
This is awesome.
I’m so glad you had such a great time hanging with your dad. Next time I wear that wool sweater, I’ll think of little children desperately clinging to the back of it.
Being born and raised in Montana, I’ve seen my fair share of rodeos and the mutton bustin’ (sheep riding) is hands-down my favorite part.
Heidi called it: Mutton Busting! I first heard the term when the Mrs. came home last year from a conference in Texas and she had attended a rodeo. She laughed for days. You tube has a few videos that are worth the time to watch.
Glad you and Dad had a good time.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure mutton bustin’ is me new favorite phrase.
Here in north Spain, besides the more recognised bull-fighting, there is a kind called “corrida vasco-landesa” that’s really fun. The guys run towards the bulls and take flying artistic leaps (like floor gymnastics) over the beasts, which don’t get killed afterwards- in this modality at least.http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlos_octavio/4256746453/ Loads of fun! Mutton-bustin’ sounds like fun to watch, but I don’t think you’d get me on the back of a sheep. Probably popular in Wales, though!
I’ve been following the National Center for Lesbian Rights’s coverage of the Prop. 8 trial. I’m experiencing a lot of cognitive dissonance because one of the backers of Prop. 8 was a guy named Tam. Whenever they mention something he said, I always have a moment of thinking “Tam wouldn’t say that” before remembering that it is a different Tam. Tam should trademark her name.
Ewwww. He’s a loser. What the hell kind of guy name is Tam anyway. I’m all up for everyone being married and miserable like I was.
Equal opportunity, I’m all about it. (Also known as “don’t make me suffer alone”.)
Bulls don’t like someone sitting on their backs, but they also don’t like the bucking strap, which is a belt wrapped around the belly behind where the rider sits and then cinched up to irritate the bulls into bucking higher. I’m ambivalent about them, but a top bull is a huge financial asset for the owner, both in terms of prize money and frozen semen sales for breeding purposes. There was even an episode of CSI about it, in which my cousin got to be the one to identify the electro-ejaculator.
It sounds like an interesting experience. My experience with bull riding is limited to what I have come across as I was flipping channels on TV.
I would imagine it takes some real skill to be consistently good at staying on a bucking bull. You need to be able to read and respond to the actions of the animals whole musculature. I wonder if that makes cowboys better in bed.
While Craig may not have a cowboy photo (yet), I do: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=12304756&albumID=799843&imageID=10729561
I like that picture Chris. You look very laid back and “western”, despite living in Jersey.
Chris – you make one cute cowboy. I love the half smile. It looks like you’re ready to draw your gun, er, cell phone.
Based on Ugly Betty, holding onto a tree with your legs is not equivalent to bull riding.
I went bull riding in Mexico! Oh wait, no I didn’t. I just let the bull charge at me, then peaced out and was scared! yay!
Uhhh, as for the not poked and prodded comment, that’s not particularly true. I’m not trying to burst your bubble, but you should probably know the facts!
The facts: The flank, or “bucking,” strap or rope—which is used to make horses and bulls buck—is tightly cinched around their abdomens, which causes the animals to “buck vigorously to try to rid themselves of the torment.” The flank strap, when paired with spurring, causes the animals to buck even more violently, often resulting in serious injuries.
Yo!: Your comment would normally be informative and appreciated, especially from someone like me who helped form an animal rights group in high school (FACT: Fighting Animal Cruelty Together!). But it is covered in anonymity and condescension so I’m just gonna stick with thinking you’re a lame internet troll.
Googling “buck vigorously to try to rid themselves of the torment” brings me to loads of PETA websites so it seems like you’re just spouting off rhetoric that has been passed onto you from the powers that be.
And let’s face it, 8 seconds a day is 8 seconds a day in an otherwise normal existence where these animals are taken care of by the millionaires that own them. Sounds better than being served up with a side of fries if you ask me.
Not to beat a dead horse…LOL. Here is an excerpt from the PRCA handbook for the humane treatment of animals:
The flank strap:
Bucking animals are born, not made, and the flank strap cannot magically turn a placid animal into a championship bucker, according to experts. When placed on an animal naturally inclined to buck, the flank strap simply augments the bucking action, encouraging a bucking bronc or bull to kick high with its back feet.
PRCA rules stipulate that flank straps must be lined with sheepskin or Neoprene and must utilize a quick-release fastener. No sharp or cutting objects may be placed between the strap and the animal, and the sheepskin-covered portion must be placed over both flanks and the belly of the animal. The straps never cover the genitalia or fasten so tightly as to cause pain.
Equine experts, both with and without ties to rodeo, agree on use of the flank strap. “The flank strap produces mild pressure on the flanks, but not so much as to hurt the animal,” said Dr. Doug Corey, a large animal veterinarian from Pendleton, Ore. “It might be compared to wearing a snug belt. Bucking is simply the horse’s action to rid itself of a foreign object.” The flank straps used in rodeo are never tight enough to immobilize or cause pain, and they don’t injure an animal. A horse has 18 ribs, which protect its kidneys. The flank strap is placed behind the rib cage, eliminating any chance that the strap might injure the kidneys.
“The flank straps cause absolutely no harm to the horses or cattle, fitting much like a snug belt around our waist,” said Dr. Jim Furman, a mixedpractice veterinarian in Alliance, Neb. Dr. Ben Espy, an equine veterinarian who practices in both San Antonio, Texas, and Lexington, Ky., said, “The flank strap does not interfere with any of the external genitalia that are actually in between the back legs, not in the flank area where the strap is.”
Craig, I think it’s wonderful you kept such an open mind and joined your dad. Looks like a fun time! (and “not to beat a dead horse” made me laugh
)
The fact that your Dad is from Missouri gives me a new respect for the McAnally genome. Awesome! You’re almost a southerner.
Google IGRA, it would be cool if you could take your Dad to a gay rodeo. Not as gay as it sounds, serious rodeo cowboys. It would be like the circle of life.
Your comment about rodeo being a year-round pastime would be more impressive if they were in Yankee Stadium in January instead of MSG.
Looks like you had fun, though!