Friday, February 7, 2014

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2014.02.07

The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo kicks off today. It's been voted the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s (PRCA) Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year for nine consecutive years, and this year it's aiming for #10.

My older son flirted with bull riding for a while. That ended pretty quick when he got thrown and a bull stepped on his face. No major damage, but he still has a couple of scars around one eye. It could have been much worse.

The video below shows what is arguably the greatest bucking bull of all time - Bodacious. Watch how many riders come away injured.

Bodacious was an old-school bull. He lived from 1988-2000 and was dubbed "The World's Most Dangerous Bull." That title came about thanks to his signature move of bringing his rear up with his head to the ground, forcing a rider to shift his weight forward. Bodacious would then lift his head up full force, smashing the rider's face - a bovine version of head butting.

After riding (or rather trying to ride) Bodacious, many cowboys no longer had the faces they were born with. In 1995, rider Scott Breding tried wearing a hockey mask. It didn't work. Bodacious headbutted Breding, breaking his nose and bursting his eye sockets.

A few days later, Bodacious was retired from professional bull riding for being "too dangerous" to ride - as far as I know, the only bull to receive that designation.

(Material for the above from here and here.)


So when you get a chance, lift your glass to all those cowboys who had the courage to climb aboard that bad-ass bull. And then lift it again in tribute to Bodacious - "The World's Most Dangerous Bull."

No comments: