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Show Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo stfeors octe,, "D'op honors Danny Brady of Henderson, Nev., pocketed first place bareback bronc honors in the 1981 version of the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo with a score of 81 and the cowboy has done fairly well in some early rodeo in 1982. The 32nd annual Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo is set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Uintah County Fairgrounds in Vernal at 7:30 p.m. Brady captured first place in the Springville, California rodeo on April 24-25 with a bareback bronc score of 79. Brady won $442.96. Lewis Feild placed second at 76 and Bob Logue netted third at 75. Bruce Ford nabbed fourth at 72. Feild, Logue and Ford are former Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo contestants. Brady split with Pat Kirby for first place in the bareback event at the Thousand Oaks Rodeo, May 1-2 with a score of 67. Mickey Young and Brady split second place in the Woodlake Rodeo bareback contest at 78. J.C. Trujillo, Steamboat Springs, placed first at 80 and Ford grabbed fourth at 77. Trujillo and Young are former Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo contestants. Dixon Hamilton of Wellsville, Utah, captured first place in 1981 Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo's saddle bronc event with a score of 88. Glen Younger, Grand Junction, nabbed first place in the bull riding at 81. Lance Robinson, Farmington, placed first in the calf roping at 9.9 and Ralph Betz of Rock Springs won the steer wrestling title with a time of 5.3. Allen Bach and Jake Barnes, Livingston, Calif., and Bret Tonizzi, Fruita, Colo., and Jake Milton, Meeker, Colo., tied for first place in the team roping at 7.1. . Hamilton pocketed a fourth place tie with Mike Marvel at 73 in a rodeo at Sonora, May 8-9. Jerry 0. Sullivan placed first in the saddle bronc at 76 and David Bothum placed second at 75. Eddie Bennett nabbed third at 74. Utah cowboy Feild has won a number of honors in rodeos so far this year. : Feild nabbed the all-around title in the Missoula, Montana, rodeo, May 2. He placed first in the saddle bronc at 77 and placed third in the bareback at 72. Feild and Don Hopes placed fourth in the team roping at 13.0. Feild nabbed second in the Springville, California rodeo in the bareback at 76 and placed fourth in the Hayward Rodeo at 73. The events in the 32nd annual Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo will be bull riding, saddle bronc, bareback bronc riding, calf roping, team roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing. Experiencing unprecedented growth , and recognition in the past decade, rodeos have come to rival other major sports in appeal.' But, despite its century old heritage, rodeo lacks an official birth certificate. No documents ;are on hand to establish its exact birthplace, though several western towns claim various "firsts" in the sport. Originating from the great cattle drives of the 1860s and 1880s, rodeo's first riding and roping contests were held as various ranch outfits met in trails and at railheads, informally matching their top cowboys in spontaneous exhibitions of skill. The contests were usually held without benefit of corrals or fences. Later, it became customary for large ranches to "give a rodeo." This festivity often included food and dancing, a welcome relief from the hard and lonely life the cowboys led. And though the contests were loosely organized a tradition was born. Rodeo remains unique with skills deriving from a working environment. There is something awe inspiring about watching a cowboy on top of a writhing, massive bull for an eight second ride and the escape is equally impressive. Donnie Gay, winner of the world championship in bull riding seven times, finds this a unique aspect of his event. "In bull riding," he says, "you are not down when you get off the bull, you still have to make your escape." The cowboy is protected and aided in his effort to get away from the bull by a bull fighter; a matador in baggy pants that distracts the unpredictable bull from fallen cowboys and frees any riders that get hung up in their bull ropes. A bull bucks differently than a horse, so a bull rider must be prepared for the downward thrust as the animal tries to throw the cpwboy over his head. Gay puts it this way, "You are holding on to 1,600 pounds of animal going in different directions with nothing but a bull rope to hold on to." The toughest bulls to ride are the ones that spin when they buck. While on the bull, the rider's free hand must not come in contact with the bull, any equipment or the rider himself as in the other riding events. The factor judges consider most important in bull riding is control. This means a cowboy who stays upright throughout the ride will be given a higher score than one who is hanging off the side for part of the ride. Extra points are awarded for spurring, although it is not required. The bull rope is the primary piece of equipment for the bull rider. This rope has been unraveled and then plaited flat, with a hand hold. A bell is attached to the bottom of the rope and after the cowboy turns the rope loose, it falls off the bull due to the weight of the bell. A leather glove and spurs round out the rider's equipment. Resin is used on both the rope and the glove. Like saddle bronc, bareback riding is a spurring contest, where the cowboys must make an eight second ride. The contestants must mark the horse out of the chute, but once in the arena the major difference becomes clear: there are no stirrups and no bronc rein for the - rider to hang on to. The tremendous strain placed on the riding hand produces a medical phenomenon knows and hypertrophy, an enlargement of a bone in the forearm. J.C. Trujillo, a world champion bareback bronc rider, says, "Bareback is the wildest and most physical of all the events. Because of this it is the second most popular event . with fans, next to bull riding." The rider must do more than just use brute strength to stay on the horse if he wants to score well. A short, snappy type of spurring is employed by the cowboys, ranging from the horse's neck to the rigging. Judging in bareback is based n k out of the toes, the amount ofev to the power of the horsT proficiency of the spurring ami iT much the rider is in control TV J? must not let the free hand , kf anything. ma The rigging is the most im piece of the bareback tu equipment. Made completely rf iZr 1 and rawhide the rigging fiU ariimal s back, specifically over withers. 3 ver " Kodeo's oldest event, saddle h riding, is an exercise in style .2 finesse, which demands nearJz timing. For a qualified ride theS must spur over the point of the lW shoulders as the animal's front J the ground. The first jump out chute is called "Marking him out "ni contestant then uses his upper C balance, while his feet move h7 smooth arc from the horse's neck to point near the back of the saddle il score a rider must remain mounted fr! eight seconds. " Two-time world champion rider Monty Henson feels balance is a verv important factor. "Saddle bronc ritf is more of a balance event than! contest of strength," he explain. "Lifting the rein and spurrins aggressively helps keep you in . saddle." Henson fells it is also important to know where to hold the reins so u horse will not buck the rider over its head and will perform at its best. In the riding event the cowboys can score up to 100 points. Two judges awarded from one to 25 points each for' the rider and the animal. The animal a judged on how hard it bucks, while the cowboy is judged differently for each event. In the saddle bronc riding event, the rider is judged by how much he spurs, the degree to which his toes are tuned out and if he is in control of the horse, The smoother and more rhythmic the ride, the higher the score. To compete in saddle bronc riding i cowboy must use a PRCA saddle built with certain specifications on an approved tree. The rider may use only one hand to hold onto the six-foot braided rein. His free hand may not touch the animal, any equipment or his person. |