Chutes not a safe place for cowboys
James Sursa of Bluebell, Utah, hangs on to score a 78 on Storm Dance on Tuesday night at the Snake River Stampede.Mike Vogt/IPT
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mstetson@idahopress.com
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009
NAMPA — It might not seem like it to fans, but for a cowboy, it can be the most dangerous few seconds in any rodeo.
It's the moment when a bronc or bull rider slips down into the bucking chute before the gate opens.
"The worse I've ever been hurt is in the bucking chute," said bareback bronc rider Jared Smith, a 21-year-old cowboy who won the PRCA's Rookie of the Year last year and leads the 94th annual Snake River Stampede with an 83 in bareback.
Smith hasn't been hurt lately, as he admits that 11 years of getting on the backs of broncs has helped him learn a few tricks — for example, he has someone tie the bronc he's getting on in the chute, to protect him.
"Growing up ... I took a riggin' to the neck once, took another one right in the pec(toral)," Smith said, "and our riggin's are made out of rawhide so they're as hard as that (concrete) wall right there."
It's a danger in all the bucking events, as bull rider Shane Gordon says he's been lucky most of the time in the chute, but did get hurt once, breaking his collarbone.
"You want to get out of there as quickly as possible," he said, adding that you also try and build up some adrenaline before getting on the bull to help with your ride.
Of course, injuries aren't so severe as broken collar bones, as Smith says his thumb got caught between his rigging and the chute gate Tuesday, nearly breaking it before he jumped back off his bronc.
He adds that when a horse rears up or ducks down, "it's basically just trying to get a head start on the cowboy."
The trick?
"As soon as the horse is standing right and you feel right you just nod your head and go," Smith said.
