Wild Ride
Witnessing Eight Seconds Of Pure Adrenalin
Story and photos by Reid Neureiter
For the GPHN
The Professional Bull Riders organization or “PBR” brought its top riders to the Denver Coliseum for three nights of heart-stopping performances from Jan. 8-10 at the National Western Stock Show.
Park Hill resident Ellie Wroble Re and her husband Chris had front row seats for the Jan. 8 preliminary rounds of competition. “It’s not January until I go to the Stock Show,” said Wroble Re. “I have gone almost every year of my life and I love that every day has a different focus. As a city resident, but someone who would love to live on a farm, I learn something new every year.”
And about the bull riding, during which a cowboy tries to hold on to a raging 1,800-pound animal for eight mandatory seconds needed to achieve a “qualifying ride,” Wroble Re had this to say:
“[It] is an insane display of strength and athleticism. I spent the evening partly horrified, somewhat terrified and mostly in complete awe. The risks that they go through are shocking, however I greatly admire the history of rodeo families and the legacy and tradition that they pass down.”
Wroble Re is not wrong about the risks bull riders face. According to the Journal of San Francisco Medical Society, statistical comparisons made between injury rates of bull riders and other athletes show the injury rate of bull riders to be 1,440 injuries per 1,000 exposure hours. Bull riding injury rates are more than 10 times those in American football, and 13 times the rate of injury in ice hockey.
PBR bull riders are required to wear protective flack jackets in case they are gored or stomped. Many forego the traditional cowboy hat for a protective helmet and face-shield, not unlike a lacrosse helmet. Three professional bullfighters (not the rodeo “clowns” of yore) step in quickly to distract and divert the bull if a rider is thrown.
The Denver PBR event was won by 19-year-old Cort McFadden of Novice, Texas. McFadden was awarded $20,984.97 for his victory.