5 DAYS DOWN , NO BROKEN BONES BUT NOT ALL AS LUCKY

Well Sullivan has finished his first 5 days at Leffew’s Bullriding school in Santa Maria California and yep as expected he’s battered and bruised but he’s alive and stoked for that. I’ve now realised and so has he that this is no easy feet. As I wandered around interviewing other participants of Gary’s  school, it soon became apparent, as expected, this is no doubt one of the most dangerous sports in the world. Each guy I chatted to, reeled out his list of injuries. There was no machoism in any of their tones. In fact I was staggered at how matter a fact they all were. Broken wrists, dislocated shoulders, snapped ribs. A guy that turned up on day 3 was jumping back on after surviving a broken neck! The doctor told him he’d need 12 months to recover. It was 6 when we met him and he was as keen as mustard to get back on.

First ride back he fell hard and injured his knee. The bullriders jumped in to save him as the bull turned and came back at him as he was struggling to get to the fence. Talking about heros, these Bull Fighters (formally known as clowns)  are top of the list. They risk their lives , day in day out, to help guys out that sometimes they don’t even know. This guy with the hurt knee was back again the same afternoon and yep , he got hurt again. Keen to give up…not a chance in hell. He was riding again the next day.

But back to the bullfighters. You’d think if these guys were going to risk their lives , they’d be going for the glory and be bull riders rather than bull fighters. When I asked a bull fighter called Mad Dog about this , one of our greatest protégés in the US, he  told me it was all about the respect they received for saving these guys. No doubt from a casual observers perspective it must also be about the thrill of dodging a wild animal as your heart is jumping out of your throat. Which is the biggest motivator….not sure…you’d have to ask Maddog.

Maddog, like many I’ve met,  is the consummate gentleman and it was a pleasure spending time with him and there seems alot more to him than meets the eye. I hope to spend more time with him in the US and bring him in as a potential sub story in the doco. At one stage I mounted a camera on the bull fighter’s head. So once I get the technology to upload this to the web , I’ll send you a link. You’ll get to jump into ‘clown cam” or more appropriately “bullfighters cam’ and I tell you, it’s a job that is not for the faint hearted. Meanwhile here is a quick clip of how Maddog handles a bull after its knocked him down.

So back to Sull, he ended up on about a dozen bulls in the 5 days. He took some heavy landings but in true aussie style he got straight back up there on the bull. Gary, his coach, in true country style, laught most of the stacks off…cause that’s what they do. But Gary was also there with great advice for every bull rider on every bull ride. His dedication and devotion to the sport is second to none. I was honored to meet him and we yacked our brains out every night over some aussie red I torcherously pressed upon him.  By the final couple of days Sull was starting to get some rythym happening and one ride on Pooh Bear Gone Wild, Gary’s starter bull, Sull stayed on for a full lap and got a roaring cheer from his other bullriding school mates. Sull will admit he’s no bucking bronvco but more than the achievment was a sense that the boys knew he was having a real go.

The Leffew bullriding ranch is a family affair. Gary Leffew, as mentioned in an earlier blog is a legend. His son, Jud , tends to the bulls and they are just about to have 3 bulls go to the world cup in Vegas. Brett, the other son, helps with the coaching and between him and dad, there aint much they don’t know and there is less they can’t teach. Their approach is technical, philosopshical and to a degree spiritual. Can you believe that, throw your preconceived stereotypical misconceptions out the window. Gary   teaches technique but also visualisation, you are what you think and mind over matter. Totally unexpected and he is as good of a man as I’ve met. If I had 10 people at a table from my favourites round the world from my travels, he’d by on the list. He’s solid with a cracking balance of caring, intelligent, funny and totally dedicated to the betterment of bullriders and bullriding.

So day 4. Sull and I were expecting some carnage, hoping it wasn’t him and not wishing it on anybody. Sure enough, day 4 shocked us both into the reality of the consequences of this heavy, heavy sport.  The school had been devoid of women until day 2…..the only guy to bring his girlfriend along, a stunning lass from Montana, ended up being the first ‘real casualty’. How do I now define ‘real’, well its by the reaction of the coach, his sons and the fellow bullriders. Dislocations, sprains and even broken ribs are shrugged off. “You OK buddie?”…then they climb the fence, they walk off and deal with the pain on their own. It’s not done in a non caring way…there is a great comaradarie….but maybe its just the history of the whole cowboy thing. Not sure if the guy in pain prefers not to be ‘mothered’ or the guys that are his mates that have been thru it, also don’t want to mother but either way it is what it is and I repeat, these guys do care for eachother…in spades. There is a respect that I maynot have seen in anyother sport and I get amongst big surf and jump cliffs on snowboards. This is no backgammon tournament. Maybe it’s the unwritten law that if you jump on a wild animal you understand, accept and deal with the consequences, much like we do when we surf big waves. You against the beast…in our case the ocean, upto 30 foot wave faces icoming down like an apartment block, in their case, 2 tons of prime, stomping, cattle coming down on 4 sharp hooves. To be honest there is not much that scares me…having now seen this sport, I’d take Margaret River at 15 foot Hawaiin, anyday. These guys have ‘balls made of iron’, excuse my French.

So the inevitable occurred. A lad came down on his leg badly and his foot was twisted at 180 degrees like a pretzel. After 20 seconds of sucking it in, he whaled like a banchie as the excruciating pain  finally kicked in and he got past the adrenailin pumping in his veins, that these guys must feel once the shoot opens. I’ve never seen a break like that and I was sick to the stomach. No shit. I finally knew we had ‘arrived’. Sull told me he felt the same. But I didn’t have to get back on the bull. He did. In 10 minutes. Sull was up soon. If there was a defining moment and ever a chance for him to pull out, I’m sure this was it.  I was encouraging him again to rethink this ludacrist idea. But he jumped on and again he survived. The guy that got smashed got carted to hospital, 45 minutes away on a hell of a bumpie track and the next day he turned up on crutches to let everyone know he was OK. “You jumping back on” I asked him. “ Hell yeah, as soon as they let me” was his reply. I almost expected it but still kind of don’t understand it but kinda do. Welcome to the gnarliest sport in the world.

So day 5 Sull took on Wahtoosie. This bull, as well as the Leffew family, man, he was made for Hollywood. The most perfect set of symmetrical, gigantic horns, you have ever seen. Big step up from Pooh Bear for Sull and though he got bucked twice Sull took his first really , really good corner.  Another roar from the crowd. Sull wanted to stay on and though he got bucked early it was another giant, baby step. Gary was philosophical as usual. “You learn one thing every ride, your well on the way Sull. Remember that. You did well son, you did well”

Great bunch of people and though Sull is a bit sore no doubt, he’s taken his first big step and is pretty excited and determined as ever.

So we are off to Vegas for the Bullriding World Cup. The aussies are ranked 4^th or 5^th out of 5, currently and people aint even rating them. But if I know Troy Dunn and the team they have picked. Well, you better watch out cause they want to move up the ladder. Can they compete with number 1 the Brasilians or number 2 the USA, only time will tell. Will those coaching books that Troy has been reading have any effect on the boys from down under as they tackle the toughest bunch of bulls ever assembled for a PBR Bullriding world cup or will they flounder amongst the minors against Canada and Mexico. 5 teams, 3 days, the harshest bulls in the world and Las Vegas as the back drop. I cant wait.