Phooto of kid bucked off of a calf.


 

           We always see the man on the bronc or bull, but never how he got there.  We all started on the 50 Gallon (bucking barrel) Bull or calves as in the picture above. When we were kids every barn had a bucking barrel in it.  It was a high tech construction that consisted of a 50 gallon barrel, with thick sisal rope tied to eye-bolts in each upper corner, then tied off to the rafters.  The barrel hung there horizontal.  One or two guys on each end pulling on the ropes, and the victim in the hurricane deck.  If it was built and hung right it bucked pretty good, if not, it just kept spinning around.  It had to be “tweaked” to perfection.

         The “bull rope” usually consisted of weaving rope or baling twine until it resembled something like a bull rope.  Hang a cowbell under it and you were underway.

         Boys could spend hours, after chores of course, in taking turns and getting thrown off.  By the end of the evening they limped on home, proud of their courage, and having passed a ritual of passage for country boys.  Eventually you’d get pretty good at staying on, the “sissies” had long since departed, forever branded as a “coward.”

        We got to thinking we were pretty hot stuff, and then we got on the real thing and found out the barrel was a spit in the river to the power of a real bronc or bull.  But, it was where you started and went on from there.  Many a champion started on the “bull.”

        Here's one about how I started.

                                                             Dave  P. Fisher

 



 

The 50 Gallon Bull

By

Dave P. Fisher


 

The boys stood in silence, staring at the creature they had built.

Each in his own thoughts, yet each feeling a twinge of guilt.

The spirit of adventure and danger had truly wet their thirst,

But none was really sure that he wanted to be the first,

Their eyes challenged each other, ‘who would step up and accept?       

For none among them wanted the brand of ‘coward’ for a rep,

They gathered up their nerve, each feeling his courage pull,

Which one would be the first to take on the “50 Gallon Bull.”

 

All wanted to be champions and living life their own way,

And goin’ down the road just a-hooking bulls for his pay.

But, before you can climb down on a ton of snortin’ hair,

You start by riding that bull and learning to stay right there.

The bull hung from the rafters by four lengths of strong rope,

The idea was to pull it wild until the rider abandoned hope.

The bull hung there mute, but its challenge was clear,

Who’s got the guts to mount up, which man has no fear?
 

The arena was the old cow barn with baled hay in the loft,

And some scattered under the bull to make the landin’ kinda soft.

The boy called Wild Jack spoke up, “The first ride’s all mine.”

So, they helped him pull up the rope wove from orange bailin’ twine.

With a battered cowbell underneath it to give it some real sound,

He sucked in tight and nodded his head as his blood started to pound.

The boys pulled and swung the ropes with a crazed reckless glee,

Using every bit of strength they fought to blow ol’ Wild Jack free.

 

Despite their best he hung in there fighting for all he was worth.

With gritted teeth he defied them and swore he’d never touch the earth.

The crop you take in at harvest comes from the seeds that you sow,

And we all know that a little acorn makes a mighty oak tree grow.

The desire to ride comes from the heart, in a boy’s blood it will run

But, he must master that bull before the big buckles can be won.

Jack looked over the Vegas chute gate as he got down on old Red,

And thought about how far he’d come from that old weathered shed.
               
                                                        DAve P. Fisher © All rights reserved.
 

 


 


 About the author.....DAVE P FISHER

Photo of Dave Fisher.

       Dave comes by his knowledge of the rodeo world first hand.  His time spent as a saddle bronc rider, Advisor for the local High School Rodeo Team, and running with friends who were bull riders, bareback riders, and ropers have given him the inside track on life behind and in front of the chutes.  He knows the smell of the livestock, the nervous kicking of broncs in the chute, bellering bulls, and the feel of sliding your legs down between the chute walls and a horse ready to go.  Slipping the oxbows over your boots and praying that the bronc doesn’t throw himself over backwards because you’re in there, and then the explosion out of the gate.  This is how Dave put it, “We all worked together, I pulled as many bull ropes and bareback riggin’s as I did saddle cinches.  We were there for each other when one of us got hurt, or to cheer on a good ride or run.  It was a great time in my life."
 

    “We went down the road to Chris LeDoux 8 tracks and knew every one of his songs.  Our heroes had names like, Gay, Henson, Alexander, and Camarillo.  We knew all about Casey Tibbs, Jim Shoulders, and the greatest rodeo cowboy, who made the world sit up and take notice, Larry Mahan. I went on from there to make a living off a horse for years, but the rodeo days have always stayed vivid in my mind.”   

       Dave has published two novels: Yates, U. S. Marshall and The Strawberry Mountain War. |Dave's novel, Yates, U. S. Marshall,  takes place in a fictional town in Nevada. Dave's book, The Strawberry Mountain War is about a range war in eastern Oregon. He just published his first collection of short stories of the American West...."BRONC BUSTER". Several of these stories have been chosen for special awards.
 


To order a copy, log on to Dave's web site: 
          www.DavePFisher.com  

 DavePFisher@aol.com

No material on this webpage may be excerpted, copied, reproduced, used or performed in any form (graphic, electronic or mechanical), for any purpose without the express written permission of the author or artist of the desired work.
 

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