The Rodeo Queen's Touchdown

03-Parker

Parker

I was starting to get in my head. Coach came over before lunch to check one more time that I was completely sure I wanted to do this. I did. He wasn’t trying to put doubts in my head or talk me out of doing the ride. If anything, he was more excited than me.

T.J. Phillips has known Trey and me since we were kids. He was watched us grow from little mutton riders to becoming our coach at MSU. Coach Phillips is a grizzly, old bull rider. In his youth, he rode in the Professional Bull Riding and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, where he traveled and trained with our father. After our father retired, T.J. continued to come to our ranch and train, but he also helped our father train us. He ended up recruiting Trey and I right out of high school and helping us to get a good scholarship.

You would never know it looking at Coach Phillips, but he is very kind and caring, especially when it comes to his team. He looks scary with his leathered and scarred skin, his nose offset from being broken one too many times, and short, graying hair, but after one conversation, anyone can tell he is intelligent, knowledgeable, and funny.

It was his idea for me to do the bull riding today. It is our last competition before Winter and we thought that it would be a good time to test the waters for women riding in this event. In collegiate rodeos, it is not done. In the professional world, women have their own association that has bull riding. Coach thinks that I can hold my own against the guys and I want to show that women can compete with men anytime they want. Right before lunch, he handed me a helmet, let me know that they were going to announce me as P.J. LeRoy, and to kick every ass.

My head was filling with doubts, so I left the others and found a quiet place to be alone. I put in my ear pods and listened to some hard rock, hoping to pound the thoughts away. Checking the bull roster, I see that I drew Nightshade. He is a bull that I have heard about but wanted to check his stats on the collegiate website. This website is home to all the information for every bull, horse, goat, and calf that is used in any collegiate rodeo, as well as the stats for college riders and overall teams. It’s very helpful when you need to know about the livestock that you are going against so that you are not taken by surprise. Nightshade is a tough bull, with a thirty percent ride rate, so very good at getting people off. He usually spins to the left but has been known to switch it up mid-ride. I realize that I will have to ride with my brains in my hips and thighs to feel his movements and predict his next turns. Nightshade earned his name by sometimes turning and knocking out his riders when they dismount. I’m not too worried about that part; we have bulls that do that at home, so I have learned to zig and zag.

I get lost in my head, visualizing the ride, until my phone vibrates in my hand. Coach texted to let me know that they have called the bull riders to the chutes, so I turn off the music, pull the helmet on my head, and make my way to the gate. We decided on the helmet for two reasons: one was, of course, safety. There was no way I wanted to bash my head in; I have a lot to live for still. The other reason was that we did not want anyone to know that I was a girl. My team was cool with me entering the bull riding, but we weren’t sure how the other teams would react.

Checking the order of the riders, I see that I am number six, so I just sit back and watch. I try not to interact with anyone other than my teammate, Dusty. Dusty is awesome. He is a bronc and bull rider. He says that he likes not having that much equipment. He has brown hair with dark eyes. The girls love him because he is slim and tall. Most of the guys are a lot larger and bulkier so cannot move their bodies as fluidly as needed to make corrections and falling into the hole before the eight seconds is over. One guy got stepped on. I cringed but did not let it take up space in my head.

After what feels like forever, but probably only fifteen minutes, they are sending Nightshade into his stall. I jump around and wiggle a bit to loosen my muscles, then climb up the fence to get my seat on the bull. I’m setting up my position on his back while Dusty helps to pull my rope tight around the bull’s stomach and shoulder. He hands me the tail of the rope and I wrap it tightly around my hand, pulling the rest of my body into position. As soon as I feel set, I lean a little forward in preparation for the first buck and put my free hand lightly on the chute gate. I hear the announcer say P.J. LeRoy and nod my head to be let out.

Once the ride starts, I block out anything that isn’t my body or Nightshade. He is a hard kicker and feel my body being flung forwards and backwards but with enough control that no part of my body touches the bull. Nightshade starts spinning to the left, so I keep my thighs lightly locked to stop falling into the hole. After five spins, he suddenly stops spinning and jerks to the right. My body jerks at the sudden change, but my hips and thighs are loose enough to adjust their position and then relock. I am quietly singing one of my favorite songs to help me focus and remember to breath. These eight seconds were starting to feel like eight years. My body was aching and getting tired from using muscles that I do not normally use and can feel sweat dripping down my back. Finally, the whistle blows signaling I have completed the ride. I jump my dismount, landing on my feet in the soft dirt, and automatically jerk my head up to find Nightshade. He is a foot away just staring back at me. I maintain eye contact with him, engaged in a fierce stare down. Before he can do anything, the pick-up rider throws a lasso around his neck and drags him to the exit gate leading him out to the temporary pasture. For a minute, all I feel is relief that the ride is over, but then excitement takes over as realization sets in. I did it! I competed against the boys and kept up! I can hear the crowd cheering as I make my way back to the chute.

Dusty is waiting for me behind the chutes and holds his fist up for a bump when I reach him. We fist bump and then he pulls me in for a side hug while we wait for the score. The suspense is killing me until the announcer shouts 89. Dusty and I are doing our happy dance as we walk away from the arena. This puts us as first and second going into tomorrow’s competition.

We are walking back to the trailer as I take off my helmet. I can feel my hair plastered to my head from the sweat pouring down. Trey, LeeAnne, Aaron, Coach Phillips, Tori, and Vanessa were all waiting by the trailers. Trey and LeeAnne run up and give me a tight hug, while Tori and Vanessa high five me. Coach gives me a huge smile and a side hug. Aaron waits in the back and once everyone releases me, he lifts and spins me in a circle. I look down into his eyes and everything else just melts away. His eyes are bright and shine with pride. I am lost just staring right back. We only pull away from each other when someone clears their throat.

“Alright everyone, enough celebrating. Remember today in only day one and we have to do this all over again tomorrow. Now, we’ve rented some stalls in a barn down the street, so let’s load up and get these horses to their temporary homes. They deserve to rest. Then we can go over to the hotel and catch some grub and relax ourselves. Plus, someone,” Coach is pointing at me and waving his hand by his nose, “needs a shower in order to save the rest of us from losing our sense of smell.”

Everyone laughs as we head to our trailers to clean up and load up the horses. The barn is only a few minutes down the road, so we are able to unload and clean them up quickly. We brush them down, clean their hooves, and make sure they have food and water. Trey unhitches the trailer and locks up the tack room. Then the team heads to the hotel for the night. As we check into our rooms, I am still riding the high from earlier.