Busting the Bulls in Culpeper

 On Saturday, Elliott and I went to Culpeper, VA, to watch a rodeo. I'd never been to one before and was very excited. It was Culpepr's first rodeo event, so nobody knew what to expect. I was expecting a round arena with bleacher seats surrounding it, as I'd seen on TV, but this wasn't the case,as we topped the hill and looked down on to the arena. But then we had to stand still as the National Anthem was being sung, so we had plenty of time to scope out the field and choose where to sit.

A long rectangle had been carved out of the field, fenced off, and spectators had to bring lawn chairs to sit on a gentle hillside that spread up to shady trees at the top of the hill. Or you could sit in the full sun on the other side, but as the photo shows, not many people wanted to do that. Our view wasn't particularly great, and mine was marred with a huge noggin sporting a baseball cap, so it was very difficult to dodge his moving orb while trying to get a shot as the bulls left the gate, even with my zoom lens.

We had got there early to try and get a decent spot, but not wanting to sit for more than 2 hours until the show began, we opted for a higher perch, where we hoped the fencing surrounding the arena would be low enough from our height to not spoil our photos. We sat with our water, no beer was allowed, and watched a few young girls barrel racing, charging, or trotting, around 3 barrels, with a few losing their stetsons, but nobody falling off. I liked the commentator's vocabulary for the event. The girls' names were called, followed by, "You're on deck!' And if a barrel was knocked over, he yelled out, "You're in the hole!" We sat, people watching, for a while. Small lads raced around in tiny cowboy boots and huge stetsons, and everyone had evidently been through their wardrobes, to pull out any clothing that took on a western theme. Once the racing was over, they 'hauled the pan' to even out the sand and set up for the next event. There was still a while until the actual rodeo began, so I set off for a wander.

I climbed up over the other side of the hill to see some of the horses that had been racing, but most had already packed up and gone. But the bulls were being trailered in and released into pens, so I scurried back down the hill, hoping to see them up close. Which we could, but for a while I was the only one getting right up to the guard rails. I wasn't daft enough to try and touch them, although I was itching to stroke a silky nose, but I soon had to back off, because the boys weren't impressed with their close confines and soon lowered their heads and then began to kick up the ground. Some of this got me pretty good, including some down my boot, so I was very pleased that I backed away quickly since the loose soil and sand was soon accompanied with their own contributions, if you get my drift. But they didn't seem to be too annoyed and were quite accommodating when I wanted a head shot. I chatted to a lady who was also admiring them, and she told me this was a traveling rodeo, so they were used to their routine, which I hadn't been aware of, thinking the bulls and the riders were all local. But the bulls weren't anguished, or acting frightened, and this made me feel better.

I went back up to our chairs so Elliott could have a walkabout, and noticed a group of trucks had parked at one end, with a great view down into the arena. I wished we'd thought of that. And then, eventually, it was time for the rodeo to begin. But first, the announcer asked for all firefighters, serving now or before, to stand, so I did, and then all police and emergency workers, and then the military. I was actually surprised to not see as many standing folk as I'd expected, but was maybe because we were in a rural area. And then the rodeo began. The bull riders walked out, and lined up along each side of the arena in a cloud of smoke from the accompanying fireworks. I don't recall any as having such wonderful names as the bulls, but they soon ran back to the stalls to get ready for lift off.

The bulls and the riders put on some amazing moves, bouncing, kicking, thrusting, leaping, and sometimes simply cavorting around the arena, although most of the action took place as soon as they left the gate. Most riders had been forcefully ejected within a few seconds, and only a couple managed to take their act further out into the ring. The bulls had most excellent names, such as 'Extra Loud', 'Choppin' Block', Cash Out', and 'Cock your Hammer'. 

I had been extremely concerned about how the bulls were treated yet couldn't see any evidence of cruelty at all from our viewpoint, I guess it's all well concealed. But this rodeo made no effort to prevent spectators from walking over and seeing the bulls, so I'm hoping they care for their animals better than some others. But we could easily see the bucking straps, tightened around the bull's abdomen to encourage bucking. I read later that cattle prods are used repeatedly to shock the bulls as they stand trapped in the bucking cages before being released into the arena. To make the bulls more aggressive and stronger, some rodeos inject them with anabolic steroids. As with this rodeo, they are on a tight traveling schedule, with little time for rest or recuperation before the next event. They can sustain injuries and still be expected to perform. Old or injured bulls often end up at the slaughterhouse.

This poor guy managed to hang on for a while but then ended up being dragged around by the bull. He did escape when the rodeo clowns averted the bull's attention, but as he crawled over to the side, he rolled over and was in obvious pain. He was later taken off by an ambulance, hopefully without too much of an injury. I have to admit we didn't see any of the bulls acting like they were hurt.

As it got darker, we weren't able to photograph from such a great distance so gave up. People were starting to pack up and leave so we followed suit. There was another barrel race and bull bucking event, but we'd had enough. I don't think I'll attend another of these and promote the 'sport'. Bulls weren't created to be a man's fun in an arena, I'd rather see them out in the fields.

True Grit Rodeo started up in 1998, and they have a website. More info here.

One of their crew, Click Thompson, has an awesome name and takes superb photos of the events, his page is here.