Ransom Vance at the controls of the mechanical bull at Uncle Ron's. The former rodeo bull rider retired from the sport when he married and now runs a business bringing his mechanical bulls to bars, fairs, parties and corporate functions. (William Lauer)
By CARA PESEK / Lincoln Journal Star
Monday, Dec 04, 2006 - 11:14:58 am CST
Before she hands over her five dollars or signs the scary-sounding waiver or steps into a padded ring containing a mechanical bull, Andrea Morales tells Ransom Vance she is scared.
Vance, the owner of the mechanical bull, assures her she’s in no danger. He enlists an experienced mechanical bull rider to explain how fun and safe riding the bull is.
Vance smiles, he charms, he wins her over. Morales signs the waiver, hands over her money and climbs onto the bull on the second floor of Uncle Ron’s Wild West Saloon. She rides. She slides off. She rides again. This is Vance’s full-time job.
It has been for the past five years.
Before that, he spent 12 years as a professional bull rider. He won a national title in 1997.
But in 2001, he got married to a woman named Robyn, whom he met in the stands at a rodeo in North Platte. She didn’t want to be married to someone who rode bulls for a living, so he bought a mechanical one and went into business for himself.
He booked birthday parties and county fairs and post-prom parties, company picnics and fund raisers. For a year now, he’s been at Uncle Ron’s every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Sometimes he gives pointers (“It’s all balance, but there’s a little muscle to it”) to the regulars.
He spends most of spring and summer on the road, taking the bulls to Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado.
In that way, it’s not so different from rodeo life.
Each of his two bulls has $1 million worth of insurance.
Each also has a small silver fish on its left rump, which Vance views as another form of insurance.
“I pray over the bull before I run it every time,” he said.
After Morales’ ride, a man named Steve Ruhe rides the bull as hard and fast as it will go. After that, four girls in bikinis take turns.
Vance makes the bull go faster and buck harder until they almost fall off. Then he slows it down. He smiles.
This isn’t, he admits, as good as being a professional bull rider. But it’s the next best thing.
Reach Cara Pesek at 473-7361 or cpesek@journalstar.com.
Copyright 2003 - 2010 Ride-A-Bull, LLC.