Every bull rider knows the hazards of the job.
But watching another bull rider lay in the arena surrounded by medical personnel just as you're about to climb on the back of a bull with a similar temperament, can be a whole different level of understanding.
"That stuff happens," said J.C. Bean, of Washington, who managed to score the night's second-highest score of 83 in the second day of the Days of '47 Rodeo immediately after Arkansas' Cameron Ebert was injured during his ride. For several terrifying minutes, medical personnel swarmed Ebert, who injured his head and neck when the bull's horn hit him during his fall off the bull. Ebert managed to get to his feet and left the arena with help from paramedics while the Delta Center crowd of about 2,000 gave him a standing ovation.
"You definitely don't like to see that happen," said Bean, 26, who has been working professionally in the sport since 1999. "I'm glad he got up and walked out on his own . . . But you're not thinking about getting hurt. You're here to do a job the best you can do, and you have to block everything else out. It's all in God's hands anyway."
Bean finished second in the night's competition to Judd Mortensen of Arizona, who scored an 87 in the second ride of the night. Most of the cowboys got started in the sport riding steer or practice bulls, but today's youngsters can begin their training on kid-sized bulls. The Days of '47 has featured the mini-bull riding competition the last four years and in the first two nights of competition two different teens have managed to stay on eight seconds for a score. Justin Porter provided the fans with an exciting ride in the youth bull riding competition and it's a sport the Escalante teen has just recently decided to take up.
"I have been riding them about a month," he said, although he added that he rode in last year's mini-bull competition but didn't make the whistle. "I just wanted to give it a try."
Porter, who will be a sophomore at Escalante High School this fall, said his parents fully support his choice of extracurricular activity.
"My mom said I could get hurt just walking down the street, so why not ride the bulls?" Porter said.
His father, Blaine Porter, added, "He could do a lot worse than this. He did a good job tonight."
Porter has already secured himself two sponsors, and it makes it more likely he'll be able to perfect that natural love of bull riding.
"It sure is nice," he said. In the barrel racing, the 2006 Utah High School All-Around cowgirl winner Lekelsi Dansie scored the night's fastest time with 13 seconds. She will race in Ogden today and then head to the National High School Finals in Indianapolis, where she'll compete in breakaway roping.
"I'm still shaking," she said. "I don't have much confidence in these small indoor arenas because we haven't run them much . . . He really wanted to run tonight, so maybe that helped."
The Cedar Valley teen said the PRCA is much different than high school rodeo competitions and she gets nervous just filling out her entry forms.
"My hand shakes when I write the check for my entry fee," she said with a smile. "This was different . . . I've never run on a basketball court before."
She's been successful in her month of pro-rodeoing, and she nearly won a horse trailer a couple weeks ago.
"It feels good to know I can run with the big dogs," she said. "It's a life-long dream, and I'm just one of the lucky ones that gets to do it."
Dansie has added incentive to do well in the next month and a half of PRCA events as she has to earn enough money to finish buying her barrel horse, Dude.
"To find a horse with athletic ability and the right mind is a miracle," she said. In bareback riding, Tom McFarland finished with the night's highest score of 87, while Will Lowe was second with 85 points. Steer wrestling was won by Clay Lloyd with a time of 5 seconds, while Brock Andrus, of St. George, was second with 5.5 seconds. Tie-down roping was won by Mike Johnson with a time of 8 seconds, while team roping was won by Trevor Brazile and Rich Skelton with a time of 4.9 seconds.
The rodeo continues through Monday afternoon with the final performance beginning at 4 p.m. There is no rodeo on Sunday.
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com