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Show city wasNQheyenne, The i comaJ nave 1 wyo., DUi.n of severafhun- 1 1' A J I : ; ; been any one ' .dred sunburned rodeo towns. begun to draw some good bulls, but he was still worried." .Carefully, Wegner lowered his wiry v 140 pounds onto the heavy- muscledvback of the nervous animal and "gripped the handle of the bull rope. He clenched .his gloved left handHBa hard oiLihe rope that his knuckles dug into the - The whistling, shouting spectators, in the crowded grandstand were like rodeo.crowds anywhere bigger.arid noisier, since Chey- enne's week-lon- g Frontier Days flat-wov- en - rodeo pulls in thousands of visitors but no different. " For Bob Wegner, champion bull rider and one of the top rodeo stars of the decade, the arena. and the shouting crowds were only faint, -- distant parts of a worjd that on the wide, hairy withers d and heavy horns of a big, brindle bull named OA, who scattered streamers of white sjobber as he shook 'those horns. animal was in a chutejeadjng .out to the dusty arena. He was a t Brahma cross- - ' huge breed who kept slamming his rump against the worn plank sides of the chute as the cowboys sweated to get' Iariding rope over him. Wegner -- crouched on the top of the chute, waiting calmly for the big animal to steady. . was-focus- ed wild-eye- iThe 1,700-pou- nd hairy hide, then he nodded. The chute men yanked the gate open. OA exploded into the arena. twisting' his head and shoulders his hind hooves flying in the air. The cluster of bells strung on the underside of the rope clanked as nearly a ton of enraged bull bucked and kicked out into the center of the arena and then began to spin in quick, tight turns, scattering clods of earth,and dust, his Wegner rose straight-backefree hand high in the air, intuitively following the movements of the - bull hrough-his legs. The crowds in the grandstand were hollering, but Wegner's entire being was concentrated on the weaving shoulders and bobbing horns of lhe bull, horns that could easily hook and throw a cowboy six feet high in a second. .., THE . d, UPS-AM- D -t- roniHirasram- OA was a mal who could twist his body like, a rubber band and buck hard " enough to crack a rider's clenched - teeth. He rarely had been ridden.. Sixjtimes, Wegner had .drawn him "Tat rodeos, and six times he had i been bucked into the dust But Wegner is a man with "try" on the rodeo . a word old-time- rs m mm - OF A blared ; Wegner dropped his roper the back swung of the bull, and. leaped catlike free of the flailing horns. The big bulL bucked put across the arena toward Lajpdeo clown who was now trying work him to the exit gate." Wegner brushed the dust from' his jeans. Pulling his hat down hard, he ran toward the fence, a small man with a big grin on his face. t. A grin is a rare thing for Bob Wegner, who usually faces the world with a poker face. But when he doea grin, the smile breaks across his face like sunlight and that's how a good ride affects him. Wegner won top money, $2,129, for his ride on OA in Cheyenne T s I o cuitHise-to-describe-ridersjfyhQ perform best when the bulls and broncs are the meanest And this was an important ride for Wegner. Between December and May, he had not made more than $190 riding. Now it was July, and he had high-crown- Bull rider Bob Wegner may not look much like a superman it comes to riding three-quarte- rs a J5Jff$, of ton of twisting, kicking, bucking fury, he has few equals By BOB GAINES Familv WctklurJnl but when. ' : |
