Congratulations to Justin McBride, the Professional Bull Riders 2005 World Champion.  The handsome, lean cowboy showed that he has the ‘try’ that is required to be a champion.  He is truly an asset to the sport.

            Historically, bull riding or steer riding, as it was called at many early rodeos was a very “ho-hum” event.  The producer would put cowboys on the backs of steers, bulls, or whatever bovine he could find that had horns, hoping to show the audience that a cowboy could ride anything with hair on it.  Eventually the mundane event rarely kept the fans in their seats.  Rodeo producers,  Verne Elliott and Eddie McCarty decided to try the Brahma-type bull at the Fort Worth rodeo.  The Brahma had a nasty disposition and he made it clear he didn’t want a cowboy on his back.  He even proved that once the cowboy dismounted he’d like to run him down, gore him, stomp him or whatever it took to ‘destroy’ this adversary.  The mundane, “ho-hum” earlier event became one of the most exciting parts of rodeo.

The last few nights watching the PBR Finals brought to mind the early days of bull riding and some of the cowboys that made a name for themselves with their ‘try’ and determination on the back of a bull.. 

SMOKY SNYDER:  Born in Cripple Creek , Colorado in 1908 then the family moved to Washington and on to British Columbia , Canada .  He entered his first rodeo at Hussar , Alberta , Canada , and spent the next twenty-three years in the rodeo arena competing in all three roughstock events.  He was World Champion Bull Rider in 1931 and 1932, and again from 1935 through 1937.  He was very instrumental in helping the Cowboy’s Turtle Association begin and was an early day representative for the Cowboy’s Turtle Association.

KID FLETCHER:  Born in Competition, Missouri , in 1914.  His family moved a few years later to Hugo, Colorado, where they had a dairy, however Kid’s ability to milk cows was too boring for this young cowboy and he went ‘out to see the world’ instead.  He joined Clyde Miller’s Wild West Show and was found to be a good bull rider.  In 1938 he won the Rodeo Association of America World Champion Bull Rider title.  In 1945 he was the National Rodeo Association’s All Around Cowboy.

DICK GRIFFITH:  Born in Canton , Oklahoma , in 1913, and living with his grandparents while his dad. Curly Griffith , rodeoed.  When Curly came home, however, he always taught Dick to trick ride and Roman ride and by the age of seven Dick accompanied his dad on the rodeo circuit and performed his own act.  At the age of 12 Dick watched his dad get kicked in the face and was injured so badly he died the next day.  His grandparents forced him to leave rodeo and come home.  At the age of eighteen Dick returned to rodeo.  At Fort Worth he used the money he made trick riding to enter the competition and won the bull riding.  He was a World Champion Trick Rider as well as the World Champion Bull Rider for the Rodeo Cowboy’s Association from 1939 through 1942.  Some old-timers have said Dick Griffith was a natural in bull riding.

JIM SHOULDERS:  Born in Tulsa , Oklahoma , in 1928.  He began  riding when he was 13 years of age.  Taking his bride, Sharon, to Madison Square Garden rodeo for their honeymoon, he got everyone’s attention by winning the bull riding and the bareback riding competitions.  The next January at the RCA convention in Denver , Colorado , the Blue Bell representatives signed Shoulders as a Wrangler representative.  It is known that his association with the Wrangler company is the longest time any celebrity has represented a product, nearing sixty years!  Shoulders was known for having a “perfect seat” on a bull.  Despite injuries Shoulders competed, once bending a steel pin that had been placed in his shoulder a few rodeos earlier.  He tore the palm of his riding hand, with a deadening agent, rubber glove inside his regular glove he still rode.  ‘TRY seemed to be his middle name.  Shoulders won sixteen World titles in professional rodeo and is still one of the best representative of the sport.

FRECKLES BROWN:  Born in 1921 in Wheatland , Wyoming he rode his first bull at Willcox , Arizona in 1937.  He became World Champion Bull Rider of RCA in 1962.  In 1967 at the National Finals in Oklahoma City the aging bull rider drew the unridden bull, Tornado, owned by Jim Shoulders, and rode him to a standing ovation.  A witness said if there had been a vote that night, Brown would have been voted in as Governor of the State of Oklahoma !  His longevity in the bull riding game is well known, he rode his last bull  in 1972 at the age of 51.

RONNIE ROSSEN:  Born in Ogallala , Nebraska , in 1937, the second of five boys full of ‘spit and vinegar’.  He was a ‘tough’ kid whether playing football or riding bulls. All of his front teeth were knocked out before he finished high school.   He joined RCA in 1956 and at his first National Finals he broke his jaw when a bull hit him in the face, but won money the last night with his jaw wired shut.  He had tremendous strength and had the ability to completely ignore pain.  He won the World Championship in 1961.  He lost his life riding a bull in the Old Timer’s Rodeo competition at Rocky Ford, Colorado , when he was stepped on.  He was fifty-five years old.

DON GAY:     Born in Texas in 1954.   Neal Gay, Don’s dad, and well-known stock contractor and originator of the Mesquite Rodeo, does not hesitate to say, “Don Gay is the best bull rider – ever.”  He won eight World Champion Bull Riding title and has not been equaled in that fete.  Don Gay says he worked at being a good bull rider as he did not have the natural ability.  His mentors were Jim Shoulders and Harry Tompkins the top bull riders in the game.  Today as a commentator at bull ridings throughout the country Gay can critique properly and give more knowledge to the listening fan than anyone in the business.  He’s been there, done that, and has studied the bulls until he is qualified to have a PhD in ‘bull-ology’.

LARRY MAHAN:  Born in 1943 on a farm near Salem , Oregon .  He changed the way people saw rodeo cowboys.  Mahan spent his time between rodeo performances at the gym, flew his own plane, and worked on his mental attitude.  Winner of the All-Around title six times, 1966 through 1970 and again in 1973.  And he won the Bull Riding Championship in 1965 and 1967.  I guess he proved his form of exercise, mental focus and travel choice worked toward success..

TY MURRAY :  Born near Phoenix , Arizona in 1969.  Who doesn’t know that Ty rode his mother’s portable sewing machine case in the family living room when he was barely able to walk.  When he was just a kid he worked at the race track with his dad until he had enough money to buy a bucking bull machine.  He rode that machine until the inside of his legs were rubbed raw, but he still rode.  Mahan saw him ride as a Little Britches competitor and said he was riding as good as he had when he (Mahan) was a champion and had total mind control.  “Zen-like,” said Mahan.  Murray took bull riding and professional rodeo by storm, and yet he methodically knocked off the Championships one by one, until he retired.  The ultimate compliment for Murray comes from his competitors who have always been amazed at his “try”, his concentration and his courage.  Will his seven time All-Around World Championships and his Bull Riding World Titles be surpassed?

Each one of these cowboys has had the “try” and gave bull riding everything they had.  The 1920s era had very different obstacles to over come than the ones faced in the 1950s or today in 2005.  Whether is was a notorious bull like Sharky at Pendleton, “00”,  Red Wolf,  Bodacious or Little Yellow Jacket, the challenge is enormous and the riders outcome is unknown until the eight second whistle blows and the judge has marked his score.    What a great accomplishment in the world of rodeo – BULL RIDING – from a “ho-hum” event to the most extreme and dangerous sport in the game!