Lonnie West tops all bull riders at the Dusty Gliko Challenge despite injury

Lonnie West wasn't exactly available for an interview following his win at Saturday's Dusty Gliko Bull Riding Challenge in front of the Montana ExpoPark Grandstand.

It wasn't because he's bashful when he has a microphone stuck in front of him, trust me.

The member of the Professional Bull Riders' Challenge Tour, originally from Cadogan, Alberta, scored an 85 on his first ride, but the second round wasn't anywhere near as successful.

The bull bucked him off before the eight-second horn went off.

Then, to add insult to injury, West got sat on by the same ill-tempered, 2,000-pound pot roast.

Needless to say, the EMTs needed to have a look at West.

West's first-round ride was one of five qualified rides at Saturday's event. Four of those came in the first round. The only successful ride in the second — or short round — came from Trace Brown of Stephenville, Texas, who had an 84.50 tally.

Wellington, Utah's Dalton Rudman was third with an 83, with Griffin Smeltzer of Claresholm, Alabama, in fourth with 81 1/2.

In fifth was Gage Gay of Staley, North Carolina, who got a score of 79 in the first round — busted spur and all.

"I've been running with those spurs since I was 16, so I guess they just got old and had enough beating," he said of his equipment malfunction. "They just gave up an me, so I had to use my friend's stuff on my second bull."

After donning his friend's spurs, he landed on his feet after being unceremoniously bucked off before eight seconds had expired.

"It's always nicer to land on your feet after the whistle," Gay added. "But when you land on your feet before the whistle, it's a bonus … rather than landing on your head."

The surname Gay should be a familar name to anyone who has been within shouting distance of a rodeo arena in the last five decades. Donnie Gay — no relation to Gage — holds the record for most world bull riding championships in his Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association career — eight — including four consecutive between 1974 and 1977, and another three in a row from 1979-1981. Donnie's last title came in 1984, and he retired from competition five years later.

And Gage Gay knows his last name means something in rodeo circles, whether he's related to him or not.

"Everyone assumes that I'm (Donnie's) son or grandson," Gage Gay said. "I've only met the man once of twice.

"We're no kin, but he is an amazing bull rider. That's about all I'm can say about him."

The younger Gay (he's 27) finished the event with $734.47 in winnings, while West won $3,351 and change.

There's probably more than one reason to get into bull riding, but for Gay, it's a family tradition.

"For most of us, it just runs in our blood," he said. "Our dads did it, our grandpas did it, our uncles and cousins always did it.

"In my family, it's doesn't matter if you're a girl or a boy, you're going to try it at least once. My grandma's been on a calf, my sister's been on a calf; everybody gets on one, whether they stick with i or not."

For veteran rodeo entertainer Flint Rasmussen, it was a chance to enterain in front of a "hometown" crowd.

The former Choteau schoolteacher and father to two Montana State University rodeo co-eds Paige and Shelby was introduced by rodeo announcer Jeff Marn as "The Dean of Fun at Montana State University."

Of course, I had to ask about that.

"You know, my girls … if that were a job, I think they have enough fun at MSU without me hanging around," Rasmussen, a veteran of 27 years entertaining rodeo fans, said. "But I do make cameos at games once in awhile.

"Paige is getting ready for the College National Finals Rodeo right now. She's headed down there next week, and I'm going to spend the whole week in Casper. Shelby is a grad student with a fulltime job, didn't qualify (for CNFR) this year, but she's still very much a part of the program.

"She's working on some things, so we'll keep you updated on that … wink, wink. But my girls are loyal and proud Montana State Bobcats, which makes her grandparents very happy. But most of all, they're proud Montanans."

Flint, of course, is also a proud Montanan, and trips like this remind him of his roots in Big Sky Country: "Let me tell you, this tonight … I was just up there, talked to the two announcers and the music guy, and I said, 'The thing I noticed here that I forget is that there is just great people here.'

"When I walked up and went into the stands, their eyes just lit up, and it was just like, 'Okay. This is okay. This is good.' Yeah, good folks around here. There's a lot of booming places in Montana, but the heartbeat of Montana is still in places like this."

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Dusty Gliko Bull Riding Challenge: Lonnie West tops all