No Bull, It Was Fun
Bull bash leaves spectators dancing
The 2019 Bull Bash in Springville had plenty to offer to its spectators Saturday night when more than 50 competitors fought for the title of champion in the categories of professional bull riding, mutton busting, barrel racing and saddle broncing.
As the sun began to creep below the hills, casting a shadow over the arena and causing the sunny and hot day to drop a few degrees, the event’s announcer stated showtime would begin at 7 p.m. and thanked the event’s biggest sponsors, Farmers Tractor and the Tule River Tribal Council.
Families had already begun to claim their spots in the most heavily shaded areas, and children could be heard screaming and shrieking with laughter while they ran around in the grass and played. Two young men were in the rodeo arena herding bulls on horseback.
Shortly before 7 p.m., the announcer came over the microphone to introduce the night’s competitors. Seventeen men who were set to compete in the bull rid
ing competition walked into the arena carrying American flags. They were followed by six saddle bronc riders, 12 barrel racers and 25 mutton busters. Every competitor carried their own full sized flag. Nathan Osbourne took the microphone and sang the National Anthem, which was met with a loud round of applause and whistles. It was then time to begin the competition.
First up was the mutton bustin, where children ages 3 to 7 latched onto a sheep with tons of wool and rode until they fell off. Twentyfive children competed for the title of mutton bustin champion. Robert Thompson, 3-years-old and from Porterville, came out of his shoot as the first mutton buster for the night and instantly fell to the dirt when his sheep started running. He received a score of 65 for his ride. The winning spot was looking good for Nick Borga, 5-years-old from Woodlake, who had a successful ride for a score of 85. Borga held the lead until the near end when Logan Maggort, 6, held onto his sheep for so long that he was rammed into the fence, all the while clutching handfuls of wool. Maggort clutched a score of 90. It looked like Maggort was going to take the win until the night’s final mutton buster, Jessie Teal, came flying out of her shoot. Teal clung to her sheep for a long ride, scoring herself a 91 and taking the win right out from under Maggort.
The night moved on to its first section of bull riders, and the first rider to hit the arena was Logan Baker. Baker was bucked off quickly, receiving a no score for failing to complete a full eight second ride. It looked like none of the first six riders were going to qualify for the winning position until Justin Rowel out of Lemoore demolished his eight second ride with ease. Rowel scored a solid 85.
Only six men were in line to compete for the championship saddle bronc title, and out of those six, only three riders received qualifying scores. Third place was awarded to Juhdal Attam from Clovis, who rode for a score of 71. Second place was won by Craig Peterson who hung on to his bronc for a score of 78. The championship title from saddle broncing went to Dustin Moody. Moody clutched a impressive ride for a score of 84.
Next up were the women. Twelve barrel racers were eager to race their horses around three barrels, vying for the quickest run. The first woman to compete was Ellie Hilburs out of Exeter. Hilburs whipped her horse around the barrels, clutching a time of 17.85 seconds. With such a low time, Hilburs run was hard to beat, but several of her competitors came close. Kristen Spence from Fowler clocked in at 18.5 seconds, Aliyah Kristie from Tule River stopped the clock at 18.82 seconds and Michelle Wiley from Bakersfield crossed the finish line at 19.02 seconds. Since no other woman could get under 18 seconds, Hilburs became the barrel racing champ.
The competition wrapped up with the final bull riders. Arturo Martinez from Fresno kicked off the second and final section of bull riding, but was thrown off the bull, disqualifying him from the competition. Jeff Foster from Texas, Teeshaw Griffin from Idaho and Luke Lennon from Colorado, all traveled from out of state to compete, but failed to stay on the bull for eight full seconds and ended up riding home with nothing. In the end, the only rider to stay on his bull for the full ride was Justin Rowel, who received the title of the Bull Bash bull riding champion.
The Josh Day Band took over the entertainment aspect for the night after each category had finished competing. Spectators stayed out until the wee hours of the morning, dancing and having fun, anticipating what the Bull Bash will bring to them next year.