Bucking bulls return to Sisters

All the bulls remained inside the arena Saturday for the second annual Red Rock Bucking Bulls Futurity at the Sisters Rodeo Grounds.

That's not to say the young bulls weren't determined to put anything on their back onto the ground. They came snorting and bucking and kicking and twisting, all trying out their moves for the judges.

These young bucks were auditioning for a chance to move up the ladder and into the professional circuit. Sisters was stop No. 4 on a six-town, five-state tour that began in Idaho Falls in April and that ends in Fallon, Nevada, in September.

Rodeo bulls are ranked, as are the cowboys. Not every bull is rodeo material. But you don't know that until they are tested in events like the Futurity. In such proving grounds, it's the bull, not the cowboy, for whom the crowd roots.

Event bulls are scored by a maximum of 25 points scoring system. The judges will be required to score a bull from zero to twenty-five (0-25) points using tenth points based on the bull's ability in all five categories: buck, kick, spin, degree of difficulty, and intensity.

The tour is put on by The High Desert Bucking Bull Association founded in 2016 by a group of dedicated breeders. Breeding high-quality rodeo bulls can be lucrative. A young animal with DNA-verified parentage can be worth as much as $100,000 if he has superstar bloodlines. A proven bucking bull can be worth as much as $500,000. You can get started in the industry by buying a quality DNA-verified cow and bull for several thousand apiece.

Producers enter their hopefuls. In the case of Sisters, there is no fee for entry and the prize payout for the day was near $10,000, split among the winners.

There was a whole lot of bull in Sisters Saturday, about 150 in all from more than three dozen ranches. And even more fun as hundreds of aficionados braved the 100-degree temperatures to get an up-close and personal view of the powerful and unpredictable four-legged athletes.

The bulls did not disappoint although some were clearly confused by their surroundings or having a live or dummy daredevil on their back. Others knew immediately that their only job this day was to remove the unwanted object with speed and ferocity.

"Don't you just love the names?" said Chloe Babcock from Madras. "Bro With a Fro, Knuckle Head, One Too Many, Bad Intentions - I mean, who names them?"

This is a competition amongst bulls and bull breeders and contractors. The bulls range from one year to four years old. The yearlings are bucked with a 15-pound dummy. The two-year-old bulls are bucked with a 25-pound dummy. The three-year-old and four-year-old bulls have a rider provided by the breeder or contractor.

Each of the three judges are ABBI (American Bucking Bull Inc.) certified.

A look at the 1,000 plus who were on hand throughout Saturday revealed more than half were kids. One event – Mini Bulls – had gritty seven- and eight-year-olds getting tossed off animals five times the rider's weight.

Pete and Barb Whitmer brought their four kids - Randy, Willy, Shannon, and Kylie - for the day. They ranch near Burns.

"Where you gonna have this much fun for $10 (cost of two adult tickets; kids free)?" said Pete.

Kids wandered the grounds, making new friends, spraying water, and generally being kids. There was a good sampling of food, cold beverages, corn hole toss, and other distractions. The event included three lamb scrambles where kids in varying age groups give foot chase to a darting sheep with dollar bills attached to its back. Kind of flag football, ranch style.

After the day-long action, sponsored by Sisters Rodeo, many headed to Sisters Saloon for an after party with music by The Gypsy Travellers.

"You know," said Barry Winters of Prineville, "you can never get enough rodeo."