Josh Brown | staff photographer
Many bull riders have begun wearing helmets to provide some protection against injuries. For most, bull riders, it is not a matter of whether they will be hurt, but when.
The 8-second challenge
Editor
A standing-room only crowd flocked to Canton this Friday night for rodeo action featuring plenty of rodeo’s most popular spectator sport — bull riding.
What many of the rodeo fans didn’t see is the behind-the scenes drama that accompanies almost every rodeo. Friday night was no different.
Jonathan Creek bull riders Rocky Sanford, Steven Hall and Chris Rogers call themselves “The Three Amigos” and spend almost every weekend riding in rodeos somewhere in the region. Sanford, who the others call the ringleader, has several bulls the group uses for practice during the week.
At rodeos, they assist each other before the ride, making sure all is ready at the crucial moment when the chute gate opens.
Drawing a bull that bucks well is always the goal as a rider is scored not only on his ability to stay on for 8 seconds, but on how tough the ride was. Often times the riders are familiar with bulls on the circuit. They know how they move and what to expect from the ride. Friday night, however, Hall drew a bull that had never been ridden in a rodeo before. As the gate opened, the 14th-ranked bull rider in the Southern Rough Stock Association was holding his own. But just before the 8-second horn sounded, he was thrown — hard. His boot got caught in a rope and a pair of fast-moving hooves of a bull that likely weighed 1,500 pounds or so landed on his hip and back.
Hall made it back into the chute, wheezing and in apparent pain. Paramedics who were standing by helped Hall out of the arena as he insisted he was fine. Vital signs were checked and Hall eventually walked back to the chutes ready to take on the next ride of the evening.
Hall said he began riding in rodeos when he was 15. That was three years ago.
His stepfather Donnie Breede calls Hall’s love of the rodeo circuit almost “an addition.” While Breede worries about injuries, he said getting hurt is “part of the sport.” Plus, Hall is 18 and can make his own decisions, he added.
Brittney Justice of Bethel, who is Hall’s girlfriend, calls the rodeo weekends “very nerve wracking.”
Sanford’s fiance Stephanie Coffman agrees. “I end up with no nails at the end of it,” said the certified nursing assistant who works at Brian Center. “At first you get scared, but eventually you get used to it.”
Once, she said, Sanford was injured during a ride and when he opened his mouth as he laid on the ground blood gushed out and went everywhere. The out-of-town medical personnel said he was fine though he continued to cough up blood. It wasn’t until they returned to Haywood County that he was diagnosed as having a punctured lung.
Other bull riders agreed that injuries are just part of the package. Jesse Dixon of Hartsville, S.C., started riding when he was 17. He’s now 23. During that time, he’s broken his arm in three different places, been knocked out more times than he can count and has had several back injuries — one that kept him bedridden for two months and knocked him off the rodeo circuit for a year. “Bull riders get hurt pretty regularly,” he said matter-of-factly.
The weekend rodeos, held at the softball field beside Bethel Christian Academy, were part of the community’s month-long slate of activities planned in honor the 100th Canton Labor Day celebration. Other events planned this week include a panel discussion on the town’s paper mill beginning at 7 p.m. in the Colonial Theater, a 6.p.m. Wednesday bike ride, 6:30 p.m. street dance on Thursday, and two Friday events — a Labor Day history presentation at the Colonial and Pickin’ in the Park. Saturday there will be the Miss Labor Day Pageant, while Sunday afternoon will feature an historic walking tour of Canton, an “Art in the Park” event and a repeat showing the the town’s Labor Day history presentation.
Events will kick into full gear Friday, Sept. 1 with the Pisgah-Tuscola football game followed by a Charlie Daniels Band performance.
