Read
this disclaimer before reading text
This
newsletter expresses the opinions and ideas of Bryan McDonald based on his
experiences in professional rodeo and professional bull riding. That
experience includes but is not limited to: being selected as PRCA Bull Riding
director for several terms, First president of the Central Entry system,
former PRCA Rodeo Administrator, Former Commissioner of the Winston Pro Tour,
Served on the National Finals Rodeo Commission, Served on the PRCA Television
Committee and PRCA Budget Committee for more than a decade, and was one of
the founders of Professional Bull Riders, Inc (PBR). He proposed and
co-authored the sponsor patch program. He was the first person to propose a
cowboy retirement program. He is the author of the day money system,
percentage qualifications, compensation rules, judges using stopwatches, the
three-four man buddy system, progressive go rounds, the Feature Event rule,
horn tipping specifications, and many other rules and procedures designed to
benefit or protect bull riders other contestants. He also initiated the
Exceptional Rodeo Program and has been a member of the Justin Cowboy Crisis
Fund board of directors since it’s inception.
The
expressed opinions may be correct or incorrect, valid or invalid. References
to PRCA rules or operating procedures should be verified with the PRCA/PROCOM
and the 2000 PRCA rule book.
The
following newsletter may contain profanity, exaggeration, sarcasm, attempts
at dry wit, and hyperbole. It is not the author’s intent to offend any
individual, group of individuals, organization, or business entity.
If a reader is sensitive to any of the aforementioned, that reader
should not to read any further.
This
newsletter WILL contain spelling errors, missing words, extra words,
incomplete sentences, some “they’s” will be missing the “Y”….
and lots of bad grammar. While
the author achieved a Masters Degree, unfortunately for you - it was not in
journalism.
This
newsletter is written specifically for and ONLY for the active PRCA bull
riders. Distribution to any other party is strictly prohibited.
Probullstats
Newsletter - June 2000
Indisputable
facts
Fact
#1....
In
the world of professional rodeo, bull riders are the BEST.
They are the bravest, smartest, handsomest and have the nicest breath.
Born babe magnets, virtually since birth they have been irresistible
to the female members of our species. They will experience more beautiful
girlfriends and as a result of that experience, marry the best wives.
Fact
#2....
In
the world of rodeo, bull riders are the GOOD GUYS.
If rodeo was a movie, bull riders would be wearing white hats and
riding white horses. Since bull
riders are THE good guys the it must be true that anyone else would be less
good...ie. the bad guys.
In the rodeo movie there are a lot more bad guys than good guys.
Fact
#3....
Bull
riders are the last of the GREAT HEROES. In a time of overpaid, spoiled athletes, bull riders are the
REAL DEAL. They ARE heroic characters that actors can only portray.
Fact
#4....
Bull
Riding and auto racing are the two most dangerous sports in the world.
However, bulls are neither oval nor standard. Racers are surrounded by specialists, the best technology,
and safety features. Riders have only themselves.
Fact
#5....
Bull
riding is the most popular event in rodeo.
Fact
#6....
Any
packaging of bull riding with other events does nothing to enhance the
product. The bull riding event
is THE DRAW. Adding other events
only increases production costs and reduces the amount of money the bull
riders should’ve received.
Fact
#7....
Bull
riding is THE ONLY event that can stand alone.
Fact
#8....
Remove
the bull riding event from rodeo and the sport of rodeo as we know it –
would die
So
why even put the time into doing one of these Newsletters?
Well,
When I was first BR rep, we could write our opinions in the Sports News.
After I did that a few times, it was decided that we couldn’t do that
anymore. Instead we could each have three mailings and say whatever the heck
we wanted. Free Speech – not party line RCA/PRCA stuff. Since then, I’ve
tried to do that. I feel that it comes with the job. It is a responsibility.
I
write about: things I get asked about, things I think you need to know,
things I think about, things I think YOU need to think about, things I think
you need to better understand, things other people feel and talk about –
but only in private because they fear repercussions. I try to encourage
future changes, or stop unacceptable practices, policies or behavior by
increasing awareness.
It
always angers me when people smugly say or imply that cowboys are dumb. Most
of the time, cowboys are just uninformed. They do not have enough
information.
If
each reader finds even one thing that helps them, or increases their
knowledge, or assists them in understanding something – then this
newsletter will have served it’s purpose.
In
the area of coolness….
Being
a Pro Bull Rider is the coolest thing you can possibly be. A quiet, timid
insecure guy who looks like Don Knotts can pick up a bull rope, and something
magical happens. First of all, he feels like John Wayne. Second, to even the
most beautiful women, he looks like Brad Pitt. That’s really cool.
back to top
Cowboy
Christmas.... The ultimate train wreck
Ever
been up at nine rodeos on the same day? And never even double entered? Just didn’t get traded?
No big deal...only about $2,000 in entry fees. Well, the 4th of July
run is coming up and chances are if you enter even three of four rodeos you’re
at risk to be up the same time at two places. Enter ten and you may find
yourself up at six of them on the 4th of July.
How come? Lots of guys
will be entering and they’ll be going for the prime perfs.
You won’t get traded and you’ll get dumped in the performances no
one is asking for. Plus, there are two rodeos with finals on the 4th. and
because most of the rodeos END on the 4th, Ranch Headquarters can’t
move you at those other $5000 or more added rodeos if you make one of
those finals. In the land of nuts and bolts...you’re screwed.
It
happens every year. There are
quite a few big money rodeos and both NFR runners and circuit guys HAVE to
enter and unfortunately they overlap. Because
the PRCA has never philosophically believed that it should SET certain people
up, the full timers, the part timers, and the one rodeo a year guys are all
thrown into the PROCOM blender. It’s
a FAIR recipe but also a recipe for an awful omelet.
No matter how well you handle business, you are still going to get
messed up on occasion.
So what can you do to may-be help yourself? That is a BIG darned “maybe”.
You can do everything right but come out low on the priority list and
still get creamed.. But...here is what I’d do.. Not that I’m an expert
but I am relatively familiar with the entry system. There is a reason
(besides low pay) why PROCOM doesn’t get operators back for a second
summer. STRESS. Hour after hour taking calls as fast as they can… Under
lots of pressure because if they screw up, they screw up some cowboys…..
Fries their brains. Just about the time they are getting to understand rodeo
a little it’s August, and they duck out and head for college or a better
job. The Golden Arches would be a career advancement pay wise.
But anyway, I’ve seen guys come out high on the priority list time after
time while others seemed to always be low.
I’ve seen lots of guys really get smoked over the 4th of July.
Some guys got so broke that the July run ended their NFR run or PRCA
rodeoing for that year( and sometimes forever).
Unpaid fees, fines, collection fees...it can really add up fast. It is
a kinder, more forgiving system these days but you still can’t roll the
dice and hope for the best.
There are several rules that can help you that we didn’t used to have.
Like the RETRADE rule, the REPLACE ME rule and the OUT IF SLACK rule.
Borrow a rulebook from a judge and if it isn’t marked up too much
with crayons...read those rules. If
you have any questions call PROCOM or the PRCA.
These rules are in place in to save cowboys money.
Use them.
back to top
Entering
You
really need to have someone who handles business… doing your entering. We’ve
had some wives who were really adept. The risk there is that if marital bliss goes awry, your buddy
group may be up Friday in Vancouver, WA and Saturday in Davie Florida.
Or maybe you won’t even know that you were entered at twenty-six
$500 added rodeos one weekend in August… until you go ineligible
If someone has your PRCA number...YOU are responsible.
There
are some smart cookies who consistently improve their odds with intelligent
entering. There are a lot of
guys who ride good enough to make the NFR.
In the PRCA riding is the EASY part...getting up right is the HARD
part.
Lets
talk basic strategy.
First
of all, at the qualification rodeos, unless you are certain to make the
qualification...don’t buddy. If
you know you’re going to get in and need to buddy in order to cut
expenses...pick someone who also is a lock to get in.. Someone you can count
on.. Keep it to one other person.. Do a blood brother ritual before you even
enter and make the deal that wherever you’re going you’re going together.
None of that weak-hearted, cut out on the other guy stuff.
One
year a famous bull rider leased a VERY expensive plane for an elaborate run.
He was entering three other guys( younger - with less operating capital).
He enters everyone up at something like 19 rodeos for a 5 day
period...they don’t get traded...he draws sorry...he sulls up and DR’s....they
get stuck with the plane. They didn’t know where they were entered or what
they had.
So
buddy with someone you know and can count on.
The key word in that sentence is someONE.
Not two or three other guys. Over
the fourth of July, at rodeos that buck only 12’s, three and four man buddy
groups have a far greater chance of not getting traded.
If there are two holes left in the perf when the comes to your 3-4 man
buddy group....you go UN traded on that pass through the priority list.
You
can start with four man group when you know you are all going to get in the
rodeo but after you get your positions at your first rodeo, unless no one is
entering for the perf you want at the next rodeo(s) you enter, you better be
splitting that buddy group to two 2’s. You can keep your four man group together at rodeos where
they buck lots of bulls in the perfs or in Special Sections.. Check our
website if you need to find out how many they bucked the previous year.
While
I’m thinking about it....here’s some advice for you fuzzy chinned smurfs......If
you’re going to be flying and aren’t old enough to rent a car...buddy
with someone who can. Rodeoing
by bus, while socially enlightening, isn’t very effective.
Speaking
of buses there last year there was an airport shuttle at DIA that would
deliver you anywhere in Greeley...even to the Greeley rodeo grounds. Seems
like it was $15 -$20 each way. I think there are also shuttles to from DIA to
Cheyenne. You’ll find them
down near the baggage carousels.
No
matter how many guys are entering, you (they) better give an intelligent
FIRST preference. At the bigger
qualification type rodeos- it is pretty much a one shot deal anymore.
See....as the PROCOM computer goes down the priority list, if your
first preference is filled it skips you and goes on down processing all the
first preferences before it goes back to the top of the list and starts
looking at second preferences. Most
of the time by the time it gets to your second preference, it is already
filled by first preferences...so off to the side you go again only to
eventually get dumped in wherever there is a hole(which over the 4th is most
likely going to be on the 4th of July). Over the fourth, riding event guys
get spilled into lot’s of rodeos that they can’t possibly get to. Kinda
like toxic waste.
Unfortunately,
if you make a finals, there aren’t many $5.000 added rodeos that conflict
with the day and night of the 4th where they can move you to the next
available performance. Most of the big rodeos get over on the 4th too. Thats
why its really important to give a SMART first preference.
If
you are trying to win FIRSTS, SECONDS, and THIRDS, you are going to need to
be up when the good ones are out. Everyone
trades for the obvious premo performances. BUT, sometimes the best bulls are
out more than once at a rodeo. Check
the BR website....www.probullstats.com and look at last years rodeos and find
when the good ones were out. Contractors are creatures......of habit. The
site is nothing fancy and not all rodeos are on there but may of the larger
ones are. We try to get a couple of rodeos for every contractor posted.
You can also see which performances had the most turn-outs (good day
monies). All the big airports have internet machines. If you don’t know
what you have, you might spend a couple of bucks to see if his performance
records are on the site. If he’s a dud, those are going to be some awfully
expensive honey-roasted peanuts.
It
is pretty tough to put a nice easy run at the big money together over the
4th. You may have to try to
catch the best pen of bulls the other time they are out. It may cost you more in travel costs but at this time of year
it is critical that you rack up lots of points.
Fortunately, the larger rodeos close early enough that you can get a
decent airfare. If you’re going to fly, it might be smart to figure on
going no matter what you draw. Over the 4th you might place on some mediocre
draws. There are so many
turnouts due to conflicts that at many of the bigger rodeos, they usually
only ride a couple of really good bulls.
Lots of money is won on
19 to 19+ bulls. That means that
you can often get by in strong herds by being up in the less prime
performances. And due to the TO’s the day monies can also be really good in
the ranker herds.
For
the circuit guys...just try to be up some where every day and not in a
conflict. ride what you draw and
your chances are pretty good.
Don’t
go nuts entering. It’s almost too easy to enter. There was a time when the
books were open for only 6 hours. One line and one real mean rodeo secretary
answering it.
I’ve
also seen lots guys so pressured-up or tired from all the travel stress( and
the entry fees they were trying to cover) over the 4th that they rode like
crap. They were so freaked and
tense about hauling BUTT, they couldn’t ride a pregnant goat. What good is
it to make eight rodeos if you roll of eight bulls?
Maybe
it would be better to just pick 3-4 rodeos on an easy run that you can make
in a car and try to ride every bull. Sometimes if you’ll stop chasing –
it seems like rodeo fortunes will shift in your favor.
It’s
pretty easy to get caught up in the Cowboy Christmas B.S.
Actually, if you’re running at an NFR berth, a lot will be
determined based on what you win in July AFTER the 4th run. There is also a
big point run in early to mid August. If it doesn’t look good by then, you
may as well back off and concentrate on making your circuit finals or winning
enough to make the qualifications next year.
I’m
guessing it should take less a little less money to make the NFR this year.
Last year it took $56, 411. With $30,00 won by August 1st,
you’ll probably have to average $1,600-1,800 a week for the
remaining fourteen weeks of the season.
Back
to entering....
Contestants
have 30 minutes after the entries close to change preferences so whoever you
have doing the entering better be on the phone with PROCOM checking on how
guys are entering. Cell phones which work in mountains and deserts are a
must.
Over
the 4th, the basic strategy for the NFR runners has been to enter the 3-4
biggest rodeos and try to fill in around them.. Like we already talked
about...you’ll usually have just one shot per rodeo so give a smart first
preference.
back to top
The
Living SPLITS....
The
strategy behind splitting up into two 2-man groups is you have a better
chance of getting into prime perfs at BIG rodeos. Second, it gives you
someone to EASILY and QUICKLY RETRADE with if things get hairy.
If everything is cool, both groups will get traded, but likely as not,
if you are entering very many rodeos each 2 man group is going to be doubled
up or scattered all over the place. You
know....Ponoka to Greely…. back to Ponoka…. to Pecos….to Cody…to
Springdale….to St. Paul… to Prescott…. to Molalla…. To Window Rock….
To Livingston… to Kissimmee… to Oakley…. now there’s about $2,500 in
airfares or two sets of tires on your 1978 Merc’.
But
when I said to split, I meant for you to still have the same guy who was
entering you as a 4-man group enter BOTH 2-man groups.
That way he can set up the retrades and enter the next rodeo(s). You
aren’t eligible to retrade if you created the conflict. Only one person in
the trade has to have a conflict but they both have to call in on the Retrade
line 719-548-4877 and confirm it.. It’s a 24 hour line.
Trying
to get up right can get pretty discouraging at times.. While Part-Timers can
do pretty well supplementing their job income, few kick butt rodeoing full
time. Rodeo kicks Butt. Too may
rodeos....too many headaches....too many things you have no control over, too
many miles...too much time and money wasted.
If
we were smart we’d just count the points for the NFR at the top 30-40
rodeos. Then really bear down and work on the stock at those rodeos. We
really wouldn’t have to change the qualifications much – just cut the
random % and fill it with more guys from the world standings. Use the other
rodeos as a means of moving up. Roll some guys in and out June 1st
and at seasons end. That’s what we did when we started the PBR. It would
work here too. Within a couple of years, you’d have 30-40 rodeos that would
have $10,000 to $50,000 up in the bull riding. They’d use the feature event
rule to jack up the purse.
But
as it is, rodeoing is one big Excedrin Headache.
We could probably use a sports psychologist with a trailer going to
our rodeos. Need a big danged
trailer and lots of white jackets with tie down sleeves.
If
you’re a big dog NFR runner you might make arrangements with circuit system
cowboys who can be up any time, to retrade with you if you end up in a
conflict at their circuit’s rodeo. Have
them enter the same way you do. That
way if they get traded and you don’t and have a conflict...you’ll still
get up when you need to be. Make
sure they are certain to get in on the circuit %.
Don’t rely on the random draw guys. Thats hit and mostly miss.
Be
sure to make arrangements before entries open and have them near a phone at
the start of position call backs. Its too tough to have to call PROCOM on the
local line at 719-548-4800 and get a list of names and then start
dialing.....trying to beg someone to trade with you. There isn’t enough time. What would be great is if the PRCA
would post positions and stock draw on their website right away. But they don’t.
This
is business. Handle business. Being up at two rodeos at the same time has two
penalties. The first is....you are out your entry fees (in all the other
events you also get turn out fine). The
second penalty is evne more severe....you can’t win anything at the rodeo
you can’t get to.
For
circuit system guys...being up the same time at two of your circuit’s
rodeos can really hurt you, especially if you are in a circuit without many
rodeos. Not only is it
expensive, they are your best shot of making the circuit finals winning your
circuit. To protect yourself you
need to find guys in your circuit who will trade with you if you have a
conflict.. They help you this time and you return the favor whenever they
have a conflict. But do it before entries even open.
back to top
The
Lone Ranger
If
you are trying for the random draw part of the formula, you have a better
chance entering as an individual. Yeah, it’s going to cost you more to go,
but you can’t win if you can’t get entered.
If
you can just get in the rodeo, chances are that you can catch rides. You
might even catch a ride with a barrel racer and get to kick back in a nice
air conditioned rig with a refrigerator, microwave, and DVD movies. They
NEVER let a bull rider drive.
You
can try the bulldoggers. However, while they also won’t make you drive, you’ll
be sandwiched in a sardine can between three tons of beef. SWEATY.
Questionable breath. Wear your vest. Them boys roll over and you’ll be
squished. And, they dress rather leisurely. Lots of things hang out on those
big boys.
If
it comes down to team ropers….. Heck…..turn out. Cross-dressers. Two
straws in their colas. Hard to sleep – too much whining. Like traveling
with a pack of gut-shot coyotes.
Calf
ropers? Nah. They’ll have you up at 4 AM loading all that FREE hay they
seem to find almost anywhere they go. Some of them could find free hay in New
York City.
Bareback
riders? You better like denim, BO, and strange behavior. Take some Band-aids
– they spur in their sleep.
Bronc
guys? Who wants to travel with guys who never ever buck off? Boring. Rockin
chair Grannies. Slim Whitman’s Greatest Hits Vol. I and II in their
8-tracks. Ride 500 miles with them lifting on their reins. Now there’s
entertainment for you.
Bull
Riders? They’ll be in a LEAR jet surrounded by big bosomed playmates. Wall
to wall bosoms. There won’t be room for you. Heck, they even leave their
rigging bags behind.
Permit
holders, on the other hand are usually good rides. Nice rigs… pretty
girlfriends…. And too impressed to ask you for money for all those gas
stops you slept through or for the bucket of chicken you scarfed all the
white meat out of – leaving only chicken necks for the others. Of course
your full tum tum made you sleepy and you missed the next fill up.
Next?
Okay… let’s say you’re up right at 3 rodeos and now you’re trying to
fill holes. (days you can be up) Usually you have only one perf when you can
be there. 39 guys are entering for one of those 12 positions. You better be
giving a “please replace me if I don’t get traded” parameter when you
enter. That doesn’t mean you WILL get replaced. Call back to make sure.
The
flip side is that it can be a great opportunity for an individual enter-er
who isn’t going to make the world standings or circuit percentages. Be sure
to enter for the performances that the least amount of people are wanting.
The way it works is that they look for replacements among the guys who didn’t
make the original draw. If there is more than one candidate, they random draw
at all of them.
There
should be some replacement holes open on the day and night of the fourth, so
that might be a good opportunity for guys trying to get in one of their
circuits largest rodeos but aren’t going to make it in on the circuit
percentage. To be safe, call PROCOM within that thirty minute period after
entries close and see how guys have entered and change your preference if you
need to.
Lots
of untraded guys get dumped into conflicts all the time. Over the fourth or
in the midst of a big run of BIG NFR point rodeos, you can’t afford to be
off a day. And you need to be getting on something you can win a top hole on.
That means that at certain rodeos, if you have a conflict in prime
performances you might not want to get replaced or unofficial either one of
them.
back to top
Rodeo
Math
Do
the math. You have 125 Bullets (big clip…) in your NFR gun. Some of them
may need to be used as double shots. Let’s speculate that it might take
$52,000 to $58,000 to make the NFR. Go to all 125 rodeos, and ride all your
bulls and you’ll only have to average less than $500 per rodeo. That’s a
do-able deal. But turn out at 25% and buck off at 25%, and you’re going to
need some big checks along the way. Anytime you can win $2000-$4000 at a big
one header or in a finals and average – be sure to toss your
hat/helmet/mask in the ring. If you are going to take chances on “maybes”
do it where the money is up. After you have $50,000 won, you can use smaller
rodeos to fill on out.
It’s
a tough deal trying to make the NFR $1000 at a crack. A few guys have managed to do it but things
have to go right, you have to
restrict your rodeoing to herds that are even but have very few bulls that
can buck you off, and you will probably spend 200 days on the road.
It
could be worse. Before we had the 125 rodeo rule, some guys entered 220-240
rodeos. Everyone was broke. Whether trying to win the world, or just make the
NFR all it took was one guy on either end who was willing to throw money out
there. That guy would break everyone else. It was only taking $35,000 to make
the NFR. The problem was that the cost per rodeo entered still ran $250-$350.
You figure it out…. 200 X $250 = $50,000. So you made the NFR with $35,000,
but you spent $50,000 doing it. How irresponsible was that? With no limit on
rodeos there was also no incentive for rodeos to add more money trying to
entice the cowboys. A $1000 added rodeo was just as likely to get the stars
as a $5000 added rodeo. That was bad business for the cowboys.
One
year we had two guys vying for the world title. One had entered more than 220
and been to probably 180-190 and the other guy had entered 60 and been to 40.
Who was the better bull rider?
It
seems to me that today a person WHO CAN RIDE could still get on at 35-40
rodeos and still be in the top 5. He’d have to draw bulls to place high on,
and ride 80% but it has been done more than once. That type of guy might have
$5000 to $10,000 invested in entry fees at rodeos he didn’t go to, though.
That’s a risky game unless you ride really good, can ride rank bulls
consistently, and have the money to roll the dice.
If
you are lacking any of these three, it can get real messy. Too many guys
THINK they ride that good…. Enter everything….turn out the more difficult
bulls that might buck them off, don’t take chances on many “maybes”….
Then go to a few rodeos and buck off buckers. Boy, are they broke. They are
beyond broke.
It’s
cool to play river boat gambler unless you end up at the bottom of the river
with turtles gnawing on your dingaling. Of course, on a bull rider, a big
turtle would have to gnaw a few WEEKS. In fact, if the worlds largest Snappin’
Turtle attacked the bull riding director, there would likely be turtle soup
on the menu for a year or two. On the other hand, if that turtle got lucky,
he’d have a year or two worth of grub.
It
is important to be honest with yourself. YOU might need to GO TO most of the
125 rodeos you count for points in order to make the NFR. If a guy GOT ON at
100-125 rodeos – gosh he’d have to win a lot more than $56,000, wouldn’t
he? Study the pay-off chart I put in this newsletter. You might be surprised
at what size rodeo you should be concentrating on. The key is concentrating
on the TOTAL PURSE, not necessarily the ADDED money. The number of entries
and the break points are important considerations. Don’t forget that entry
fees are at least half the purse at most rodeos. Smaller rodeos that take
lots of entries end up paying BIG.
If
you are going to go to 125, you better be able to ride 75-80% of what you
crawl on. With the pay-off now back to paying fewer places and higher break
points, a person could go broke going and going and going – especially to
the wrong size of rodeo. It is a different game than last year. Learn how to
play IT… or IT will play YOU.
Oh
yeah, the next time you go to the bathroom at a rodeo and see bull riders
ducking into stalls, it isn’t that they are going # 2 – the turtles got
‘em. If they DO try to stand at the urinal, be sure to give them plenty of
room.
Final
Go Rounds
So
what do you do about entering rodeos with finals? Some NFR runners simply don’t
enter them. My opinion is that you cover that day IF there is a rodeo out
there that will pay as much as you could win in the short go and average.
There aren’t many that will. If you make the finals you’ll have to
consider what you have drawn, what hole you are going in, how strong the
finals herd is… then make your choice. The thing is, you only have to beat
11 other guys in most finals. Just getting one covered might be enough to win
a lot of money. And, your chances of drawing something you can win on are
better than at most of the other rodeos.
I
look at it as the long go being a decent one-header. But if you make the
short go it’s like getting a FREE BONUS rodeo where you can win
$1500-$2500. Get in half a dozen finals, and you’ve picked up six rodeos.
The
Buckers
My
general theory on short go bulls is that you put the buckinest bulls at that
rodeo in the short go. That
means high marked bulls whether they be the biggest baddest cats or super
spinners. There are, of course,
exceptions. For instance… the judges will 22-24 a bull in two jumps that
you know will be an 18 if you ride him. A short go bull ought to be at least
a 20 if you can get by him.
Yes,
sometimes it means that the pen will not be EVEN but no pen ends up being
even once the gates start cracking. Certain
guys fit certain bulls better. What is a tough bull for one guy is a day off
for another. The qualifiers are not equal in ability.
The
long go's aren't even and if a bucking SOB was in the long go and everyone
drew at him‑-he should also be in the short go.
How Come? Well ...
in the long go that bull might've bucked off guys who were competing against
the guys who made the finals for a circuit finals championship a circuit
finals birth, an NFR birth, a Tour Finals birth ... or even sponsor awards and bonuses.
Filling
a short go with a bunch of nice spinners makes no sense.
The established stars are going to beat you most of the time‑-that
is just the way it is. That
type of deal favors them and they don't need any favors.
The luck of the draw evens the playing field when you put ranker bulls
in the short gos.
If
it comes down to a choice between a bull that no one is likely to ride and a
duck spinner - the ranker bull ought to go in because if ridden it's going to
be first place. Judges
mark difficulty these days. Toss
the little quacker in a short go and you are just GIVING someone money that
everyone else has to earn. You
might as well just toss him a mask and a 9 MM and point him toward a
convenience store - it's stealing.
There
have been guys who made the NFR and never rode one rank bull all year.
They turned a lot of them out.
But why make the NFR if you are only going to embarrass yourself and
everyone who has ever known you? It
comparable to getting on the MILLIONAIRE SHOW and burning all your life lines
before you get to $1,000-- and then missing the $1,000 question.
“UH... WHAT COLOR IS A GREEN FROG.”
And
how does young talent develop if not challenged?
What
about those wily old veterans ... over here collecting retirement checks and
picking bulls like a two‑year old selects boogers? (Actually two
year-olds eat about any booger). The
veterans know what their bodies can take.
Unlike PBR, in rodeo you can pick and choose what you get on.
That makes it attractive to guys trying to prolong their career.
I think that’s great. In
fact more of the older PBR guys ought to be rodeoing a little more--at least
going to the biggies and the Tour/TV rodeos if they have open dates. Careers
are short and a person needs to earn as much as they can--while they can. A
little extra effort now might mean a lot less hard work later.
The
bull riding event has created more opportunities than has any other event.
Why? Because it's dangerous.
It's the little guy underdog against the big bad beast.
It's the NO GUTS--NO GLORY mentality.
It’s anteing when you are scared – and in the bull riding you
either always are or should be a little scared. Bull riding and life are both
about conquering things that scare you.
In
order to preserve the integrity of the event you put in the rankest bulls at
that rodeo and let the cream ride to the top.
Let the guys with the most WANT TO‑get the glory. That's the way
the sport was intended. If we take care of our event, our event will continue
to provide great opportunities.
THE
BIG “P”
The
other day I overheard a contestant telling his buddies that for contestants
the “P” in the PRCA stands for PAY. You pay dues... you pay user fees.... you pay fines...
you pay entry fees.... you entertain hundreds of thousands of people... you
make a lot of people money... you create jobs... you fund retirement programs
for lots of people you don't know .... you fund scholarships for kids‑-none
of which are yours... you build wonderful arenas... you provide unusual but
colorful clothes and recreational beverages for people you don't know.... you
support charities you've never heard of....
and as a professional athlete you give some of your most productive
years to the rodeo business.
You
PAY plenty. On the other hand,
you OWE none of the aforementioned business entities ANYTHING except good
manners and professional conduct.
You
do, however, owe the bull riding event EVERYTHING.
It's a great event. Not
many people can do it or even choose to.
It makes you special. It
makes you a hero at a time when we really need them.
If you never win much riding bulls but you show up and ante every
time---then you are a bonafide hero. While
the outside world may look at rodeo via the money won standings, the INSIDE
of the rodeo world respects try and effort more.
Guys with lots of talent but no guts are far down the list from guys
who try hard on anything they get on. Mr. Talent may win more money but the
other guy will get more out of life. There isn’t enough money in the world
to justify riding bulls. But being a bull rider isn’t about what you do, it’s
about what you ARE – even if sometimes you’d prefer not to be.
back to top
|
