Saturday, September 29, 2007
The riders’ parents pace on the sidelines as their children take part.
WAPAKONETA, Ohio (AP) — Scott Davis laughs when friends on his high school’s football team complain about bumps and bruises.
“They don’t know what pain is,” he said.
Davis gave up football for a sport that’s more dangerous — bull riding.
He has been bruised, kicked, stomped and knocked out. “You always hurt,” the 16-year-old said. “Even if you have a good ride.”
High school rodeo is growing in popularity, even though it’s not recognized as a varsity sport in the 41 states where events are held.
The National High School Rodeo Association has about 12,500 competitors, up by about 2,000 in three years.
New York will have its first rodeo season this fall. Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida have associations too.
Davis, who lives in South Lebanon, a suburb north of Cincinnati, lifts weights for a couple of hours after school, then heads to the backyard where he balances on a barrel to practice his riding technique.
“Seven days a week I work out just to get on a bull for eight seconds,” Davis said before competing at a September rodeo at the Auglaize County Fairgrounds.
“It’s kind of like riding a roller coaster,” he said. “You get that feeling like you’re going down the first hill the whole time.”
Except the roller coaster isn’t out to maim you.
Dangerous sport
Davis spent eight weeks in a cast last year after a bull at a rodeo in Oklahoma kicked him into the air, detaching his right femur from his kneecap.
“I’ve tried to get him to quit all the time,” said his father, Tom Davis. “Anytime they climb on a bull, they’re laying their life on the line.”
Concussions are common, and so are broken bones. The danger is accepted — although reluctantly by the parents who can’t hide their anxiety as they pace alongside the rodeo ring.
“I’ve been beat up,” said Cody Stephens, a 16-year-old bareback rider from Hodgenville, Ky., who was kicked in the knee at this year’s national finals. “You gotta love it or you can’t do it.”
Many competitors come from farms and have grown up around animals.
“As long as I’ve been able to sit up, I’ve been riding horses,” said Cayla Cox, of Carrollton, Ga. “I won my first ribbon when I was 3.”
She takes part in all the girl’s events and is the state’s rodeo queen. “Everyone at my school knows me as the rodeo girl,” she said.
Ohio’s high school association puts on 20 rodeos each year in the spring and fall. Events include bareback riding, goat tying, breakaway roping, barrel racing and steer racing.
Families from across the state camp out in tents and trailers. The students play volleyball and go bowling after they’re done with the day’s events.
They don’t compete as teams or for prizes. College scholarships are awarded by the state organization and at the national finals.
Events
Cowgirls astride horses and wearing all shades of plaid shirts chase down calves, trying to rope them within 30 seconds. Cowboys in black and white hats hop off their horses to wrestle steers in the fastest time.
It all takes a lot of time and dedication.
Nicole Hope, who also is a senior cheerleader and pole vaulter, spends five hours a night taking care of her six horses and practicing roping, barrel racing and goat tying at her home in Wilmington.
Allison Walker, of Wilmington, started out in rodeo just three years ago even though she has been riding horses since she was 2. “I had no idea what I was doing,” she said.
Wearing a straw hat with purple and pink ribbons and a matching plaid shirt, she fits in just fine.
She brushed her horse, put on the saddle and wished others good luck before the rodeo got under way. “Everyone cheers everyone,” she said.
There’s no hint of rivalries around the ring.
They share equipment and ride each other’s horses.
They kneel in prayer together before everything starts.
And their friends usually think they’re crazy.
Some have come to watch Philip Davis ride bulls, and a few have even tried it.
“They never want to do it again,” said Davis, who lives in Belle Center. “They say ’What’s wrong with you.’”
Davis, a high school junior, draws on his faith before he rides. He listens to Christian rock on his iPod and prays. After he rides, he always takes a knee once he’s clear of the bull.
“I feel a lot closer to God,” he said. “Bull riding has made me a better person. It gives me a goal.”