The freshly harrowed arena ground was still soft from snow the week before – a soft landing for wannabe bronc riders.
When the Lee Bellows bronc riding school ended two days later the arena was full of holes — some poked by horse hooves, some in the shape of human bodies.
About 20 riders from the three Prairie provinces wanting to learn bronc riding attended this year’s school at the Moose Jaw Exhibition grounds Gomersall rodeo arena.
“We’ve got some from England for gosh sakes, one from Quebec,” exclaimed Bellows, a retired rodeo clown. “That Internet is unreal. It’s hard to believe how they find it on Facebook.”
The training starts with riding saw horse machines and spurring on sawhorse spurring boards.
Potential riders graduate to equipment checks and pointers, then learn chute procedures while astride a trained horse.
Before any riding, they experience bareback riding on a trained horse while spurring (without spurs), balancing and clamping the horse’s neck with their legs.
“What we’re trying to do here is make this as safe as possible.”
Safety is the whole reason the school was started.
“They were running schools with horses that weren’t chute broke, more than likely they hurt you before you ever got on them.”
This bucking stock from Art Francis isn't “really rank” but riders will know when they are dumped on the ground.
Some riders come for the experience; some want to ride in rodeos for possible prize money.
“A few get to the front of the line, they turn around and remember to get their gloves. Some really crave it. They get on 12 to 15 horses over the two-day period.”
The young English man and woman, in Canada on a work share program, wanted the experience before heading to the Yukon.
She will remember it. On day one she was grazed on the head by a hoof while falling but gamely rode again.
On day two she was dumped, took her time getting up and held her hip as she walked away.
“I’m sure glad I’m not a cowboy,” commented a Regina hobby photographer as she walked off.
Bellows is proud of his school’s graduates who last year won novice bareback and all-round championships in the Canadian Professional Cowboys Association.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
