The thrills and the spills of a British Columbia rodeo
WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - Buzz Saw.
The announcer barely has time to let the crowd know the name before the aptly named bull — about 600 kilograms of twisting, kicking fury — has launched the young man so briefly seated on his back into the dirt, via about three metres of air.
The crowd gasps — or maybe that was just me, really, really loudly? — as the bullrider rolls through the dirt and onto his feet quicker than Buzz Saw can gore him with his horns or stomp him into the ground.
"That was a good ride," says someone behind me.
"Yeah. Not bad," agrees someone else from the sell-out crowd at the final day of the 22nd annual Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo.
They need to hang on for just eight seconds to qualify — eight seconds with some decorum to win — but eight seconds can be an eternity for a bullrider.
As I sit there, loosening the death grip I have on my water bottle, I think of the groups that oppose rodeos because they believe they're cruel to animals, and it occurs to me that the only animals being mistreated here are the human ones being hurled one after the other into the air. I'm no rodeo expert, but so far seems the score is: Bulls 5, Cowboys 0.
When the dust settles, 25-year-old Kyle Lozier is the winner, having held on for eight seconds and managed to get up and out of the arena in one piece after that.
"It's all about the hat," jokes Lozier, who insists that his mother's a fan of the sport and comes out to watch. I have a hard time believing that.
The western way of life is still common in the Cariboo region, where Lozier grew up on a ranch near 150 Mile House, and events like rodeos are a treat for locals and visitors alike. The Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo is the first event of the B.C. Rodeo Association's season and between now and September, there will be 20 amateur rodeos held across the province from Keremeos to Kispiox, culminating in the BCRA Championship Finals slated for Sept. 14-16 in Quesnel, B.C.
Now a professional bullrider who, along with his brother, earned a scholarship to attend university in the United States thanks to his rodeoing skills, Lozier has been to a lot of rodeos.
"On the professional circuit, a lot of it's in Alberta. Over there there's great rodeos everywhere. Over here, ones like Williams Lake (Stampede), and Merritt has a good rodeo. Quesnel hosts a good one, as well," he says from under the brim of a black felt cowboy hat, looking very relaxed for someone who, in my opinion, has just been through a near-death experience.
"And in B.C., pretty much every small town has a rodeo and for those small towns, it's kind of their yearly thing so the whole town comes out, they make a big deal of it and it's a lot of fun."
Last year Julie Leggett, of Kamloops, qualified for the barrel racing competition at the Calgary Stampede and the Alberta event is "the big show," she says after watching her daughter, Vanessa, place second in the junior barrel-racing event in Williams Lake.
But the Williams Lake Stampede in July is one of the top 10 rodeos in Canada and draws a lot of professional talent, she says, and the Falkland Stampede is a good time.
The Interior Provincial Exhibition and Stampede in Armstrong, B.C., which takes place this year from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2, is her favourite.
"That's a really good rodeo to see," she says. "My horse loves that pen and he just does so well there. It's my personal favourite.
"And it's a beautiful place and you'd be shocked at how good the crowd is and how enthusiastic the people are there. It's just such a great rodeo and it puts a smile on my face, it's so fun."
Some of the loudest cheers at the Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo were for the clown, who had a quick wit to match his fast feet. A professional clown for 14 years, Dennis Halstead has been to a rodeo or two and Armstong is one of his favourites.
But the amateur events that take place in small towns all summer are not to be overlooked, he says.
"You pay big money to go to these big shows and you sit a mile away. You come to a little show like this and you sit and you get dirt on you. This is what rodeo's all about," he says. "Here, you see it up close and you have a better appreciation of the power the animals have."
Indeed. One bit of advice: Don't ask a cowboy if he's ever broken any bones unless you have some time on your hands.
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If you go:
- The Canadian Pro Rodeo Association sanctions 10 events in B.C., starting with the Kootenay Chrysler Bull-A-Rama in Trail on April 28. See the CPRA website for more information: http://www.rodeocanada.com
- The B.C. Rodeo Association sanctions 20 amateur events up to and including the BCRA Championship Finals, slated this year for Sept. 14-16 in Quesnel. See the BCRA website for more information: http://www.rodeobc.com/
