Huron Expositor, 1999-09-22, Page 3416
A day in the '.4e of...
Staffa man likes nothing better than
riding `Z,000 pounds of anger and power'
...a bull rider
Sy Scott Hil .ndorft
Expositor Editor
With one hand strapped on
to 2,000 pounds -of anger and
power. there's nothing else
Trevor Elliott would like to
do than ride bulls.
"I've always wanted to.do
it. right from the get -go." the
.19; year-old from Staffa said:
And even after being taken
away- by. ambulance from his
first hull ride at a rodeo. it
hasn't changed his mind.
h was at Milverton in June
and Elliott scored •a 64 for
completing the eight -second
ride, a great score for a first
rodeo when most first -timers
'get bucked oft.
As he tried to get. off the
•hull.- Elliott said. "I got
--trampled.
"i went through three tanks
of oxygen that day.-- he said.
. That's one of the reasons
the American Sports Writers'
• Association' has named bull
riding the Most dangerous
sport in North. America:
Competitors have died or
been crippled competing in
the sport and emergency,
rooms can-often,be 'kept busy
when a rodeo comes to town.
Elliott's injuries -were not
severe and he was competing.
again the following week'
where he didn't make his
eight second ride and got
stepped on again. This -time,
he did .some damage to the
muscles between his ribs.
. Bull riders are often asked
why they do it and Mere -are
pumper stickers and t -shirts
• that 'spell out the most
common.. answer uniess
you're. a bull- rider. you'll.
'never understand it.
• "You' cant des,cribe it."
.said Elliott. "It feel's -good -
.
eels -good-
being on there. being able to
do it." ...
The bull is pla':ed inside a -
chute at the end of the rodeo
:crena and the rider straps his
hand into what'., calleda bull
rope. a specially -braided rope
with a cowbell on the end
that is wrapped around the
hull The rider then ties his
hand into the specially -
designed rope in a grip that is
firm but can still let the rider
release -his grip and come
free _from the rope„when the
ride is over --must times.
The gate _.1o. the chute is
pen and the rider then holds
on to the bucking bull while
attempting to spur the animal
with his legs in order to score
higher points.
Halt the rider's score
comes Crum how -he rides the
bull: by how much he spurs
and how well he stays with
-theanimal as It bucks around
the arena. The other half.
cones from the bull itself
and how hard it buds, spins
or twists. The harder it is to
ride, the higher the cowboy's
score will be.
-As a : kid. Elliott can
' 'remember being interested in
cowboys and - rodeo.
watching the Calgary
Stampede (the largest rodeo
in Canada) on television and
thinking he wanted to
become one.
"1 used to go to my friend's
place and we'd jump on their
uuwa " Elliott. said,
remembering when he *as
about I p years old.
"We'd be lucks if we got
on he said cit their early
attempts to try "bull riding."
For the past four or five
years. he had been thinking
about finding a way to try the
sport but thought the only
was would be to compete out
e)t where rodeo is a
common sport.
"I just always had a thing
for rodeo," he said..
He never realized the
Ontario Rodeo Association,
which has actually been
around for more than 40.
years. existed until a couple
years.ago. That's when a
friend introduced him to Ed.
DvWittcringt a steer wrestler
froth Exeter.
He learned from.
DeWittcring and other
wrestlers at weekend clinics
and tried out the sport 'at
rodeos last season.
Last winter. Elliott made
•
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meeting the Prince family of
Wingham. Three brothers in
that family ride bulls and
their father is a retired bull
rider. They have weekend
clinics and Elliott learned•to
ride there.)starting our on
cows' before they let_ hint try
'some of the bulls they- have
1 for practicing.
"You feel' a big difference
in power." he said,
remembering the first bull he
-rode there.
- While he hasn't given- up
on steer wrestling, he wants
to concentrate on bull riding.
liking that sport better.
. "There's a rush behind it. It
. makes you feel good." he
said.
He would like to make into
.the Calgary. Stampede Some
day. And -he'd like to try a
professional rodeo in the
• United States but knows he
needs more experience It he
is to have a shot at making 1
some prize money at shat
".level.
'The Ontario Rodeo
Association is considered an
amateur association but has
seen some cowboys go on to
make it to the National Finals
Rodeo in Las Vegas; the
largest rodeo in North
America.
• • Currently. there are • more
than 250 cowboys and
cowgirls in Ontario who
compete at rodeos held
across the province most
weekends throughout the
• summer. At the Ontario. level;
contestants in standard rodeo
events from bull riding to
calf roping. compete for the
championship buckle and for
a buckle in a separate. Dodge
• Rodeo Tour, held at 11) of the
• main season's rodeos. There •
are .-more than .25. rodeos in
this year's season that is
wrapping up in. Hamilton on
Sept. 24,26.
Every cowboy's goal is to
win a championship buckle
for - the association • they
belong • to. • The . National
Finals Rodeo is the final
round for the Professional
Rodeo Cowboy's Association-
PRCA).'
ssociationPRCA).' the major North
American association.
1 This winter. if there arc
opportunities away from the
land excavating work Elliott
does.'he would like to try out
-some of the. bulls:_at_..a_.
different association in the
United States. •
."It would be good
experiehce," he said.
Ultimately. he would like
to make it to the Professional
Bull Riders `finals some day.
Like the PRCA, it features
only bull riding and many or -
the same- PRCA cowboys
'compete there as well.
Cowboys competing at that
,level generally compete full
time, • taking chances on
staying on .a bull for eight
second& to score the highest
points.
A cowboy who does that
takes the chance on riot being
able to pay all his bills or
making more • than S100,000
that year, depending on how
well he rides. tS becomes a
way of life, rating across
country from one rodeo to
another.
"I wish this was,my life,"
said Elliou.
Scott Hilgendorff photos
Trevor Elliott; 19, of Staffa, aims.to become a professional,bull
-rider on the/North American rodeo circuit Above. he
demonstrates his rodeo skills
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