Show old Rodeo is fun and tremendously exciting —a real thrill every time I’d do it fix nothing And I think when you really love what you’re doing it’s a kx easier to excel at it" In 1990 Murray became the first rodeo cowboy in history to earn more than $200000 in a year By now completing his fifth yex on the circuit he has won more than $700000 in total prize money having broken rodeo records across the country on his way to the top In three successive years be has been the nd world champion — the thing with the animal being so strong and things happening 90 mires an hour is just to stay loose and focused at the same time" Murray shrugs off the topic of whether he’ll win his fourth championship “Me and Cody live pretand ty much he insists “If you just worry about the immediate ride you're fixing to make the rest takes care of itself" Rodeo riders pay their own travel expenses and other costs including entry foes They are loners proud of being nd day-to-d- ay ride-to-nd- e" 1987 champion who was killed in 1989 when a bull attacked before he could pick himself up from the mud "My career could continue for 13 years" Murray says "Or it could be over tonight" Like other rodeo riders he counts his various wounds as simply part of his job—like suffering a broken elbow in 1990 In August this year after a successful bull ride Murrey landed on his feet and found his knee twisting Crucial ligaments were tom and he was stripped in a brace at home in Stephenville Tex where he steadily exercised to work his way back to the circuit by Because of their rodeo experiences Murray and Lambert have come to share a philosophy about life "When we use the word courage" Lambert explains "we mean that whatever comes up that we don’t like we deal with it We deal with each thing as it arises” Murray and Lambert will have en- mid-Octob- er came the youngest champion in the history of the Professional nd Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) Rodeos were organized by the 1920s but the move toward professionalism began in 1936— when 60 cowboys at the Boston Garden walked out demanding fair judging and prize money Today the PRCA has some 10000 members but the vast majority are weekend warriors who hold other jobs e A mere 300 or so work at it Meanwhile major animal-righgroups are against rodeo because of its "inherent cruelty” to the horses bulls and cows Steven Simmons of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says rodeo is "chock foil of abuses” At full-tim- ts the Fund for Animals executive director Wayne Pacelle is “highly critical” of rodeo practices Nonetheless attendance has grown from about 3 million two decades ago to some 16 million last year In 1970 the overall prize money totaled slightly more than $4 million last year the Lsfciy M figure was $183 million And yet despite this growth it remains a pittance compared with the pay grades of other sports in which multimillion-dolla- r :2 contracts are signed by individuals "Most rodeo cowboys tered about 100 rodeos professional cowboy who earned the most money while competing all year in at least two events Now heTs aiming for his fourth title in December at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas this year before the finals To make sure they are among the Barring permanent injury Murrey is onhis way to surpassing the record of six titles achieved by the legendary cowboy Lanry Mahan— the last world champion to ride in all three events more than 20 years ago "Ty is one of the best athletes who ever rodeoed" says Cody Lambert 30 who is Murray’s traveling partner and nd ie y nd program He rode his first bull at 9 reacting in the an intense weight-liftin- g blur of the moment while straddling ISOOpounds of untamed wildness Since then Ire has developed an uncanny Mend of agility and Zenlike concentration "Bull riding is counteracting whatever the bull does" he says in his easygoing drawl "and no matter what you might plan it's different each time So I try not to plan too much The hardest d con- their winnings "We do am of flying on commercial and private planes" says Mur-WI'ray “and we drive about 60000 miles a year We decide where and when we’re going and make all the arrangements I like it a lot Any time you can make a good living and W also his closest competitor in earnings "He’s got balance strength coordination ana determination—and he loves his job He really likes being a real cowboy" Murray is only about 5 feet 8 but he carries a sinewy and powerful body that ripples beneath his jeans and colorful cowboy shirt In high school he became a superb gymnast strictly to prepare himwlf for rodeo and he still maintains year-en- testants in Las Vegas they must keep crisscrossing the country for 1 1 months to build up " travel with your best friend all over the country that ain’t bad" able to do everything by themselves If they go broke no apologies are owed and there is no one else to blame Each s DttstoucoffmecnuKDeoomesoneman risk that he takes by himself The Justin Sportsmedicine Program reports that 961 of 2240 rodeo injuries in a period or 43 percent were incurred by null riders Out of several bull-ridifatalities over the last two decades probably none was more shock10-ye- ar ng ing than the death of Lane Frost the Bora and raised in Arizona Murrey was hooked on rodeo from childhood Hu mother had been a bull-ridiwinner as a girl his frther had tried the rodeo circuit then for 30 years made his living breaking coks At 12 Ty competed in a rodeo—on a bareback bronc— for the first time ng After gaining the National High School Rodeo nd title in 1987 Murray entered Odessa College in Texas He turned professional while still a two-yestudent becoming the 1988 Rookie of the Year and in 1989 he be ar still hardly make any more money than they spend" Lambert says "They risk everything getting on these brorics and bulls but if they don’t win they won't go home with a dime Each time out they risk getting hurt and going broke all at once" Murray who is single lives alone in Stephenville He is utterly dedicated to rodeo but his biggest dream is someday maintaining a ranch of his own "I'd have a cow-ca- lf operation something like that" he says "When I get married and have kids I'd teach ’em torope cattle and do ranch work” Tonight TV Murray straddles his bull the chute blasts open and he is catapulted into the arena Then there is no past future only the eruption beneath him He holds on with one hand the other stretched out as he leans back and begins a duet with the bucking bull With total concentration the Kid is creating a strange and even mystical blend or grace and violence of man and beast But as abruptly as it began— in just a little more than 8 seconds— the ride is over and Murray’s body is ejected into the air He flies up and out before curling downward like a ballet dancer landing on his feet with his boots firmly planted in the mud Even before the announcer can give the judges’ score spectators have no doubt that something special has just occurred They have seen a champion of x “ I |