Battle on Bull Mountain

Battle on Bull Mountain

One afternoon, a few weeks ago, in sheer desperation, I went searching on the PBR website for any and all events that could possibly be close to me this summer.  Not a whole lot of luck but I did find one Touring Pro event in Pennsylvania.  That can't be all that far away, right?  Well...

On Friday morning last, my friend Charlotte and I set out on an adventure.  And, an adventure we had!  Our 8+ hour drive took us through the Catskill Mountains, through beautiful farm lands of western New York State, and several crossings of the Allegheny River before we finally turned south towards Warren, PA.  We rolled in to the hotel, checked in, grabbed some dinner and headed out again.  We had a beautiful drive through national forest land, following the Allegheny river down to Tidioute, PA, a small town that hosts a big battle!

Bullz and 'Boyz ready to go!

A beautiful location for bull riding!

We managed to find our way, even though the Mapquest directions were wrong.  We arrived at the Hickory Creek Wilderness Ranch on beautiful Bull Mountain.  Fields of golden-green grass and horses grazing greeted us.  It was gorgeous!  The car was parked, tickets picked up from Will Call and I was loose on the grounds, running to the bull pens!

The first person I encountered was 2x PBR Stock Contractor of the Year, Jeff Robinson.  I chatted with Jeff for a moment and asked him who he'd brought to the event.  He told me that he hauled a truck full of young bulls, whom he'd never hauled before, so he was a little nervous about how they would perform.  I also asked Jeff about Chicken on a Chain and the boys back home in NC, and he told me "they're all great"!  Just what this bull lover wants to hear!

Handsome, handsome bull!

Next stop was the back pens.  I couldn't get real close but was able to get close enough to snap some pictures and do a little bull-whispering!  The big boys were ready to go, and the show was about to start!

During the opening prayer.

The event opening included introductions of the cowboys, bull fighters, sponsors and entertainer, Matt Merritt.  A special introduction was made of the three active duty military men who were driving the Ford F150 in the opening.  The national anthem was sung and a wild round of applause followed for our fighting men and women, and for our great country.  During the opening prayer, the announcer prayed for the cowboys, contractors, ranch hands, and asked for a "special blessing on the hooves of our animal athletes".  I was so touched by that.  Not only was he asking for the bulls but the horses as well.

Yellow Dog got things started on Friday night.

The Bulls did whatever was necessary to buck off the Cowboys!

The young bulls put on quite a show for us fans!  Even if it meant running in to the fence!

There were only 5 rides in the long round of competition on Friday night.  The bulls won handily and put on quite a show!  I don't know if it was the heat, or the small pens but once those big boys got loose in the arena, they were NOT leaving easily!  Giddy with excitement, I giggled and cheered on the bulls!  They ran around, strolled around, charged the horses, charged a fan walking by, ran in to the fence, chased the clown over the fence, ran down whomever they could and the two safety men couldn't manage to rope them!  (Seriously, if I tied horns on my head and stood in the arena, they probably couldn't have lasso'd me!  Made me really appreciate James DeBord and Julio Moreno, safety men of the PBR!)  The night was won by Devon Weaver, a "local" bull rider from Harrisburgh, PA.

Yellow Dog kicked off Saturday night, much like Friday night, with a buck off and a run at the bull fighter.

Caught this injury on film.  The bull stepped on the calf of this cowboy.  Ouch!  The cowboy walked off under his own power.

Jeff Robinson worked the dirt with the arena crew, but wasn't always quick to get out of the way!

Arena antics continued on Saturday night!

Saturday night was even hotter than Friday night.  We drove back down to Tidioute for the conclusion of Battle on Bull Mountain.  The cowboys managed just 6 rides out of 30 attempts.  Yup, that means the bulls were rockin' again on Saturday!  The antics continued, much to my delight!  Not only did Jeff Robinson have bulls there, stock contractors Mike Miller and Mark Reed also hauled bulls to the event.  I was thrilled to see Miller's bull, Johnny Walker Spot, in the championship round Saturday night.  I saw him this year in NYC, and he's a bull with serious snotitude!  Earlier I mentioned that Jeff was nervous about his young bulls.  Well, he needn't be!  He's got some rank young bulls and their future looks bright!

During the intermission, a local barrel racing competition was held.  I personally have never seen barrel racing live, and found it quite stressful but entertaining.  Those horses are amazing animals and the speed they get up to, in such a short distance, is incredible!  My hat's off to the cowgirls who worked hard in that competition.

Only Billy Robinson and Jimmy Lathero were able to cover two bulls on Saturday, and Billy Robinson from Galax, VA was the event winner.

Sunday, we headed home with much less enthusiasm for the long drive!  I was sad to leave the bulls behind knowing it was still 5+ weeks until the return of the PBR.  I had a wonderful time and seeing those big boys in action gave me an energy boost to get through this long break.  Thanks to all the folks who worked hard to put on a great event and the stock contractors who hauled in all those rank, big, beautiful bovines!





All photographs by Susan Hanrahan