I finally did it! Signed up for a bull riding school (trip report in this thread)

[Ber Rabbit]

Hey gang! I'm back and alive I have a few bruises on my leg from getting stepped on, a goose-egg lump on the side of my right wrist from getting thrown to the left side three times in a row and I'm a little stiff but I'm none the worse for wear. I've gone home from dive trips feeling worse. I'll do a brief report for right now and when I'm not so busy I'll break out my journal and put the entries here.

I did meet Amy and she said she got some great shots of me, she said they would be on the Toledo Blade web page later. My husband and sister didn't get many good photos, the camera wasn't cooperating; hubby got some great video footage though and he's going to put it on DVD for me. I'll be sure to bring that to the underwater pumpkin carving. The school also videotapes all the rides as a learning tool and I purchased a copy of that video which should arrive in about 2 weeks so I may be able to bring that to the carving as well.

I got on 7 times (4 different bulls) this weekend. They recommended that new people only ride one bull on Friday so I went with the recommendation--and the helmet. I got on 3 times (2 different bulls) Saturday and 3 times (1 bull) Sunday. I "stepped off" of the first one on Friday and got thrown off of the other 6.

I felt pretty unprepared for my first ride. We were issued gear and had about 3 hours of lecture then 90 seconds on the practice dummy and it was time to get on the real thing. There were 2 junior bull riders, 11 and 12 years old I believe who went first then they were going to load the senior bulls in the chutes. One of those kids got plowed by his junior bull and I thought "What have I gotten myself into?" I was unsuccessfully trying to rosin my rope when Lyle Sankey came up and said he needed me to get moving because my bull was already in the chute. He told me not to be intimidated then said "Look in chute #1, that's your bull." The biggest bull I had ever seen in my life was in that chute, if I were standing beside him I would not be able to see over his back. Lyle says, "Don't be intimidated by his size, he's a gentle bull and as a vote of confidence we think you're the one who has the best chance of riding him." He was referring to the other 2 girls in the class. I'm thinking, "You really mean I'm the most athletic and the least likely to get killed by him." I decided his size would make him slower--Lyle said he's an easy 1600 pounds--and figured I'd rather have a big lumbering bull than a little bull that was more agile. Okay so big doesn't always mean slow in the bull world, Bodacious was about 2000 pounds, but it was a positive mental picture for me.

They helped me get my rope on him and get into position. He was a calm bull in the chute even though I plopped down on him hard rather than gently easing onto him--OOPS! I was in position and not sure what to think and they said "nod" so I did and out we went. Well, out he went then I followed a few milliseconds later which meant I was no longer in position on my rope and things started to go wrong quickly so after 3-4 seconds I stepped off of him onto my feet and headed for the fence. Lyle approached me for my review after the bull (Joe) had left the arena and said, "You have to overcome the urge to step off the bull when things start going wrong." I'm thinking, "Soooo you want me to turn off my survival instinct?" The lecture after the video review was "Great cowboys don't land on their feet." It means you keep trying until the whistle blows or you get thrown. I didn't land on my feet the rest of the weekend, luckily none of the other bulls were as tall as Joe so I didn't have as far to fall.

I did learn that cowboys have a different definition of injury than normal people. I learned the sign for "bring the medics" when I saw one guy's bull turn as it came out of the chute and the rider got off balance and ended up getting his head smashed between the bull and the inside of the chute. They originally thought it knocked him out but he got up and climbed the fence. The impact twisted part of his helmet and he had a nice goose-egg on his shoulder and a couple of scrapes but he thought the whole incident was funny. It looks horrifying on tape and it was worse live because you heard the impact, he would have crushed his skull without a helmet. I saw that wreck and knew I had to learn to leave the chute the same time the bull did, not milliseconds behind him. Some of the bulls wanted to fight or lay down in the chutes so they taught us what to do in that case. Basically you stay on them and let them know who's boss by keeping your hand on the rail and your head behind their shoulders so they can't hit you in the face. When they lay down you stay in position and nod, he'll get up when the gate opens you just have to be ready for the movement. Luckily they didn't put me on anything that fought or laid down, my third bull started to lay down but I nodded as soon as I felt his front start dropping to get the gate open and change his mind.

I don't think I stayed on anything longer than 4 seconds the entire weekend but I improved some aspect of my ride with every bull I got on.

More later!
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[H2Andy]

holy cow!

that sounds awesome!

thanks for the report

 

[Missdirected]

I've have been looking forward to this report all weekend! Way to go!

:wave-smil

So how was it for you? Were you having fun? You lasted the whole time so you were in it for something or reason! Well...?

 

[Ber Rabbit]

So how was it for you? Were you having fun? You lasted the whole time so you were in it for something or reason! Well...?

Imagine being a brand new scuba student, you've seen the shows now you want to try it so you take a class. You have a three hour lecture about the gear and the basic way to use it. You are told how to clear a mask & regulator & how to retrieve it if you drop it but you're in the classroom and not holding the gear you are simply taking notes. You get 90 seconds in the pool with the gear to practice whatever skills you want while being observed for techniqe then they put you on a boat and the instructor says "Let's go, todays dive will be on a wreck in a 3-knot current in 65 degree water now giant stride in." If you can put yourself in that scene and get a gut wrenching "holy cow" response you know exactly how I felt. I was flat out terrified at first though not of the bulls, I simply don't learn fast enough to put together a complex set of information in such a short period of time. The first bull I forgot to grab my vest, Lyle saw that and told me to grab a small one. My second bull of the class was on Saturday morning. I had reviewed my notes and practiced my moves both on the dummy and in my hotel room but really didn't understand all the parts of the chute procedure going into the second bull. Making matters worse they wanted us to make sure we found our own partner to pull our rope and we had to put the rope on the bull ourself; now I was going to have to rely on picking someone who had more of a clue than I did to help me because I was on the verge of a panic attack. It's one thing to have the instructor and staff guiding you, it's another to start relying on yourself so early. I picked a good partner but this time my bull was in the lane rather than the chute when the rope went on so the procedure was a little different than the one I had experience with and that ended up throwing me off--WAY off! My bull gets to the chute and I'm getting ready to step on when I realize I don't have a vest and mention that to Jay, my chosen helper who had just ridden a bull of his own then hurried back behind the chute to help me get on mine. He said, "What size?" and when I said, "Small" he said "Mine's a medium."

The instructors may well have been yelling helpful things at me but I was too stressed to understand them, all I heard was yelling and I thought they were after me to hurry up--that's what would happen in a real rodeo. I don't know if they ever noticed I was getting ready to get on the bull with NO protective gear, Jay hadn't noticed but he was just a cowboy taking the class. I honestly never heard a word of what they were yelling at me, I just heard the tone. I tell Jay "I have an extra sweatshirt on today the medium should fit." He loans me his personal vest and I get on my bull. I'm thinking I have to put the rope on and get back off of him until it's my turn to ride because that's what I did Friday so I leave my helmet and mouthpiece on the platform beside the chute. Jay starts to pull my rope and I realize I'm getting ready to leave the chute on this bull sans helmet and mouthpiece and I tell him I need those and am surprised the instructors hadn't said anything. They may have, there was still yelling going on but I had no idea what was being said. Jay hands me the helmet and mouthpiece and I manage to drop the mouthpiece in the chute. Ed, one of the instructors, reaches under the gate and grabs it. There's a little dirt on the front but I say, "I don't care about the dirt, give it to me!" I shove it in my mouth dirt (at least I hope it was dirt) and all and Jay helps me get my helmet fastened. He pulls my rope and I take my wrap and nod. I get out "behind" the bull again and end up planted in the dirt on my back rather quickly. I was WAYYY stressed the whole time and it screwed me up completely. The evaluation "You have to hold the gate while it opens and leave the chute with the bull then keep your free hand up and in front of you." I'm emotionally drained and thinking, "No, I have to get my act together in the chute, get familiar with the pre-ride stuff get ahold of my emotions and THEN focus on what my free hand is doing." I went back to the practice dummy and cried while doing the moves I was supposed to be doing. I can do them in practice and the frustration of not being able to apply them to the real thing was making me angry, I cry when angry or frustrated so I used the practice dummy to work the frustrations out and have a good cry.

Back to the pen I went this time with Christa the only other girl left in the class, I don't know where the third girl went after the first day. It was Christa's first bull of the day and she was really nervous. Talking to her to help her calm down gave me something to focus on to keep my emotions in check. I remembered to grab a vest and reminded her to get one then figured out how to adjust it for her because it didn't fit and we'd never been shown the adjustments. I grabbed one of the guys to help get my rope on my bull in the lane, a black bull with down-turned horns. I paid close attention to what was going on in the chutes and learned a few things while my mind was calm rather than in the midst of panic. My bull got in the chute, this time the gate was on my right. My helper reminded me to warm up the rosin before putting my hand in, I had forgotten--not that it would matter if the rope and handle were sticky at my skill level. I got in position and the bull started to lay down so I nodded and ended up coming out "behind" him again. He planted me hard on my back and the back of my head. I was temporarily blinded and I heard Lyle say "Get up and let the bull fighter do his job." Great advice but at the moment I wasn't sure where up was and couldn't see anyway. I was only down 1-2 seconds before my sight came back and I could get up to get away. The review, "Get up and out of the way after you get off. Hold onto the rail as the gate opens and stay with the bull as he leaves the chute. Keep your elbow bent with free hand up and in front of you." Same stuff different bull. Back to the practice dummy I go, relieved that I finally have control of my emotions and seem to be getting the hang of this chute stuff.
Ber

 

[Walter]

I just appreciated the voice mail telling me you lived through the experience.

 

[RumBum]

What an adventure!!! Great job!

[beware... philosophical meandering is next...]
You seem to be a little hard on yourself, though. Like most other sports, some people spend their whole lives mastering bullriding. You got out there, you worked your butt off, and you proved to yourself that you could do it! Now you can either check it off your "to do" list or go back and work on it some more, either way you should be very proud of yourself that you took that first giant stride!

I also have a list of adventures to complete; each one turns out to be much harder than it looks in the movies . There are tons of people on this earth who never leave the safety of go-to-work, go-home, watch-TV, repeat session... not you! Congradulations!

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I just appreciated the voice mail telling me you lived through the experience.

I figured you would, that's why I calledftroest:


I was working on the practice dummy when this kid saunters up and says, "You're crossing over in front, keep your elbow on the left side." My 5 year old nephew is bigger than this kid so I wasn't sure how old he was and I momentarily thought, "Great I'm so bad at this the little kids are telling me how to do it." I remembered the 18-year-old instructors here on the board who mentioned they sometimes have a hard time getting adults to take them seriously. I asked the boy, Ian, how old he was and he said he was 10. I asked if he rides and he drawled, "I used to." "Junior bulls or steers?" I said. "Rode some steers then I rode a couple of junior bulls, gave it up though now I'm a bull fighter." The kid was so calm with a quiet knowledgeable manner, not like any 10 year old I've ever met. He said "You want me to buck you?" The practice trainers have a handle on the back where someone can make it bounce all different directions, it's a bit of work and this little 10 year old will have his work cut out for him with me on the dummy. I said, "Sure!" and he bucked the thing and coached me on my hand position until my legs were too tired to grip the thing and I had to have him stop. His peaceful manner was such an inspiration to me, I can't even describe how valuable the patient wisdom of a 10 year old who had "been there" was to me at that moment. The instructors are good but they bear the responsibility when something goes wrong, it's not like scuba where you can simply grab hold of a student and have a chance at controlling a situation. There isn't much they can do if you screw something up past a certain point, they'll jump in and do all they can but it's not like they can pull you off the bull when things get ugly. Ian didn't have that responsibility on his shoulders so I wasn't sensing the stress that comes with knowing all of the students are your responsibility like I was with the instructors. They tended to be a little tense and rightly so and I was picking up on that tension and it just fed my anxiety.

Christa and I went to get on one more bull after I did the practice session with Ian. I was going to be on the same bull as before. I got my rope on him in the lane with a little bit of help. I was more relaxed in the chute than I had been so far. I took my wrap and scooted forward when Lyle got right in my face and said "You're not hearing what we're telling you. Don't scoot your butt on that bull, reach forward and grab the rail, move your feet forward then pick your butt up and put it on your rope and nod." I felt like someone had smacked me. I had been concentrating so hard on watching the bull's shoulders like I had been told that I wasn't hearing anything else they were trying to tell me. When he got in my face he finally managed to get through to me and at that moment I felt more confident in my knowledge of the chute procedures--I finally "got it." I took my position and nodded and when the gate opened the bull and I left at the same time. I still had no clue where my free hand was but I stayed on the bull a little longer because I wasn't behind from the start. There was a huge difference in the way that exit felt compared to the others. I finally felt myself drive forward over the bull's shoulders like Ian and I had worked on with the dummy. The dismount still wasn't pretty, I got slammed on my back and my left hip made an awful popping noise but I got up immediately and ran for the fence. My guts hurt but there wasn't any pain in my hip. Lyle was very pleased with the exit from the chute, he said "You're going to like that one when you see it on video." The review: Keep your elbow bent and your arm in front.

I left the arena and went to thank Ian for all of his help. Without his help I would not have made that much progress between bulls. Christa rode right after I did and had an extremely rough landing that left her chest hurting. When I asked she said it hurt all the time but hurt really bad when she would take a deep breath but she never complained to anyone.

The stress was starting to go out of the experience and the determination to do better had really set in. I didn't sleep very well Saturday night, I kept running the procedures through my head and getting up to practice the moves. My husband and sister would be there Sunday, if they weren't coming I might not have gotten on any bulls. I honestly wished they had come Saturday so I wouldn't have to ride Sunday, I was really torn between wanting to ride well and not wanting to experience the rough landings some of the others took. It was a long night and by morning I had giant butterflies in my stomach and was mentally exhausted.
Ber

 

[CBulla]

Ber - I am in awe at how you were able to learn and how open you were to learning from anyone there. Huzzah to you on your accomplishments and what sounds like a GREAT weekend!

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Sunday morning the junior bull riders were scheduled to start getting on bulls at 8:45am with the senior bulls loading immediately afterward. I packed my stuff, loaded the car and checked out of the hotel a little after 8:00am. The gigantic butterflies were bounding around in my stomach and my stress level was jacked way into the stratosphere. I was so tense I could hardly breathe, I knew I needed to release the tension before I could hope to function on a bull in front of my family. I had purchased Rodney Atkins CD "If You're Going Through Hell" last week to have something new to listen to on the drive to Van Wert. I put the CD in and skipped to the title track and when he came to the chorus I started crying, a good stress relieving soul cleansing cry. I felt the meaning of the words "If you're going through hell keep on going, don't slow down if you're scared don't show it you might get out before the devil even knows your there. If you're going through hell keep on moving, face that fire, walk right through it you might get out before the devil knows you're there." The class had been a mental nightmare for me not because bulls are large potentially dangerous animals but because there was SO MUCH to learn in a very short time frame. You were being prepared to enter the world of rodeo whether you were there to become a better bull rider or just to experience the one weekend of bull riding. It's like preparing a "Discover Scuba" student to do advanced dives; if you've got a good student it can be done but they need to have the drive to go out on their own and practice what you told them then come back and try the dive again. I guess I was expecting a little more hand holding since I had told them I had never done this and did not intend to do it again. "Welcome to Rodeo" if you have the drive and ambition to do it you will without having your hand held and that's going to apply whether you are in it to compete or not. Actually that's something that's going to apply to anything in life, Lyle's saying was "Winners do the things losers aren't willing to do." Crying allowed me to release all the tension and free the butterflies in my stomach so when I walked into that arena I was mentally ready and confident in my ability to get the job done. I briefly spoke with Bruce and Mandy then it was time to get my gear ready and get a couple of practice bulls in before the "ride-off." I went behind the chutes and Lyle pointed at a bull for me. I saw one of the guys loading bulls get a concerned look on his face and I perked up immediately. I heard him say "Isn't that one a little bucky for her?" to Lyle. I trotted over to Lyle and said, "Is that an easy bull?" He said, "Ber you have to get over the mental obstacle of wanting an easy bull when you start signing up to ride in rodeo's." "I'm not planning to compete." I said. Now it was Lyle's turn to look like someone had smacked him, "Oh...that's right I knew you were a Vision Quest student you're just so intense and competitive and so easy to coach that I forgot. You listen and make eye contact and you're fun to teach. I figured you were going to go ahead and compete, you could compete in women's rodeo you know, heck you could compete in some men's rodeo's." That was high praise for me and provided the answer to the question that had driven me to the class in the first place. When I was about 14 my cousin who was about 4 years older and a bull rider from the time he was 12 until he was 18 said, "You have a bull rider's seat." while helping me train my horse. He tried to talk my dad into letting me compete in high school rodeo in the bull riding--Dad was having NONE of that. I've wondered for over 20 years if what he said was true and Lyle Sankey, one of ONLY four men to ever qualify for the National Finals Rodeo in Bare Back, Saddle Bronc and Bull Riding had just confirmed that I have the potential to compete in bull riding. I was riding high as a kite when he assigned me a different, and easier, bull. He said it's his nature to step up the challenge when riders are so focused and competitive, I told him I appreciated the confidence but since I hadn't made the whistle on the easy bulls yet I didn't want to step up.

More later...
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[RumBum]

It's like a soap opera... except with horns.