A bull market

Sep. 7—Lewiston roundup

On a beautiful night with a whisper of a breeze, pleasant sunset and temperatures in the 70s, the 89th edition of the Lewiston Roundup kicked off with its most raucous event — Extreme Bulls.

All night long, the massive animals, all muscle and anger, hazed the bull riders they outweigh by thousands of pounds. They slobbered, spun, changed direction and tossed nearly every rider to the turf.

JB Mauney, a legendary bull rider famous for his toughness, showed it Wednesday night. His ride atop the Arctic Assassin was short and violent. Mauney was somersaulted high off the bull's back and landed on his head and neck.

Determined to walk out on his own, Mauney scrambled to regain his feet but staggered with an obvious injury. Two bull fighters swarmed Mauney, steadied him and helped the Stephenville, Texas, cowboy out of the arena where he was attended by medics and eventually taken away by ambulance. An update on his conditions was not available Wednesday night.

That frightening ride was in the final round of performers. The night began with nine of the first 10 cowboys failing to make it to the bell and another scoring a ho-hum 67. Then Hayes T. Weight laid down a marker for the remaining riders. He posted an 87 with a rollicking ride on the back of Silver Bullet, a white bull given to frantic spins. The crowd, eager for a release, roared with approval.

"I'm just thankful God kept me safe," said Weight, a self-declared man of faith from Goshen, Utah. "I broke my jaw a week ago, and I wouldn't be here without Him."

It looked like that score might win the night. Reigning world champion Stetson Wright, of Milford, Utah, stayed on the bull Safety Man in a ride marked by tight spins to the right. He high-fived rodeo clown J.J. Harrison after his dismount, well after his requisite eight seconds. It was a fun ride but with a score of 83, not good enough to best Weight.

T Parker, a 19-year-old from Winnie, Texas, and the top-ranked rookie in professional rodeo, scored an 84 on Yellowstone. The bull started right, stopped and then reversed to the left. Parker didn't flinch.

"He made a move," said rodeo announcer Will Rasmussen of the bull.

Weight's ride was looking better and better. Then Tristen Hutchings put on a show. He rode Lapua to take the lead with an 87.5 at the end of the second round of riders. The bull bucked and spun to its left. Hutchings, of Monteview, Idaho, held on with one hand while keeping the other held high.

"It felt good," Hutchings said. "I'm an Idaho cowboy, so anytime I can get into Idaho and ride, it's good for me."

A moment of tension occurred when the bull Total Air broke free from the Roundup arena after dislodging his rider.

"Get up in the stands, get up in the stands," advised Rasmussen to fans on the northwest side of the arena. The pickup men and bullfighters followed him out and eventually corralled the bull.

"How about that?" Rasmussen said. "She's wild. She is wild."

Trick rider Haley Proctor, 28, drew loud cheers from the crowd during her specialty act, riding Roman style through a ring of fire. But her biggest fans are husband, Shane Proctor, and 2 year-old daughter, Coulee, who watched from the sidelines.

Shane Proctor, 38, is a longtime bull rider from Grand Coulee, Wash.

"We're really happy to showcase my wife's talents here," he said. "On a daily basis, we take care of the horses and our little girl. We counted it up last night, and she's rodeoed in 37 states already."

Extreme Bulls, always popular, drew an impressive crowd of 4,220 rodeo fans.

Willie Deibel, Roundup director, said ticket presales are "really strong" this year.

"We're currently sitting at 3,150 on Saturday, just over 3,000 on Friday and Family Night is at 3,200, plus all of the free kids and fans who pay at the gate," Deibel said.

XTREME BULLS FINAL RESULTS

1 — Tristen Hutchings, of Monteview, Idaho, riding Lapua, score of 87.5.

2. — Hayes Weight, of Goshen, Utah, riding Resistol's Silver Bullet, score of 87 points.

3 — T Parker, of Winnie, Texas, riding Yellowstone, score of 84 points.

4 — Stetson Wright, of Milford, Utah, riding Safety Man, score of 83 points.

5 — Jeff Bertus, of Avon, S.D., riding Blue Falcon, score of 80.5 points.

6 — Jared Parsonage, of Maple Creek, Sask., riding PP, score of 80 points.

7 — Lukasey Morris, of Union City, Okla., riding Trucker Fee, score of 67 points.

8 — Bryce Burnell, of Sheridan, Wyo., riding Bluegrass Conspiracy, score of 65 points.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker. Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.