DIGITAL NEWSBOOK INTRO PART 1 PAIN& GLORY PART 2 The most dangerous of rodeo events, bull riding, is enjoying PART unprecedented 3 popularity as America’s “original extreme sport.” But SURVEY for rodeo cowboys, the ride often comes with a heavy price. SERIES WRITTEN BY KEVIN SIMPSON PHOTOS BY CYRUS McCRIMMON Close Print Back 7 DIGITAL NEWSBOOK 8 Contents Search View THE DENVER POST ©2004 PAIN&GLORY INTRODUCTION 2 INTRO ABOUT THE COVER Jason Legler of Eaton rides Red Alert in last-day action at the PBR World Finals. An alternate at the finals, he did not expect to have an opportunity to ride. PART THE POST TEAM 1 Reporter: Kevin Simpson [email protected] Photographer: PART Cyrus McCrimmon About the series [email protected] he modern American rodeo blends traditional showmanship and 2 legendary machismo with the adrenaline-driven athleticism of PAIN&GLORY Textreme sport. The Denver Post’s three-part series (originally published Dec. 7-9, 2003) explores the world of the cowboy, where mere Copyright©2004 The Denver Post, seconds can mean the difference between death and life, pain and glory. 1560 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202 PART All rights reserved. No part of this Digital Newsbook may be used or CONTENTS 3 reproduced in any manner without INTRODUCTION 1 8 All the dirt they can eat written permission except in the 8 [GRAPHIC] case of brief quotations embodied Bull-riding injuries 8 Assistance Funds 8 [GRAPHIC] Eight seconds of in articles or reviews. SURVEY spins and bucks PART THREE 31 8 Riding into the big time ON THE WEB PART ONE 5 8 NASCAR shows the way You can find related stories and 8 A world of hurt 8 other special projects at: Cashing in on both circuits 8 Crashing to earth head-first www.denverpost.com 8 [GRAPHIC] On the road 8 ‘Don’t cry on my shoulder’ 8 A small bull bodes trouble 8 Lethal force vs. stubbornness DIGITAL NEWSBOOKS 8 No place for prima donnas 8 The rough trail to the top This Digital Newsbook was 8 Safety helmet as mind game 8 Launching a new life designed and produced for The 8 ‘He can’t feel anything’ Post at the Kent State University PART TWO 18 8 Praying and waiting Institute for CyberInformation. 8 8 ‘I won’t give up ’til it’s over’ More information about this Spurred by a dream project can be found at: 8 Giving up football for bulls SURVEY 44 8 www.ici.kent.edu Two years’ winnings: $40,000 8 Please let us know what you Designers: 8 Broken bones, unbroken pride think about this series and the Roger Fidler, Rekha Sharma 8 ‘I can’t sissy out now’ Digital Newsbook concept. Close Print Back 7 DIGITAL NEWSBOOK 8 Contents Search View THE DENVER POST ©2004 PAIN&GLORY INTRODUCTION 3 INTRO Bull-riding injuries Top five Roughstock riders are more likely to get A injuries hurt than participants in any other rodeo 1. Head event — and about twice as likely to 2. Shoulder suffer injury as football players. Despite 3. Face its growing popularity, the sport has been B 4. Knee slow to develop and adopt protective 5. Elbow equipment that can withstand its dangers, PART which pose particular risk of head injuries. Protective gear C 1 Percentage of injuries per event A. The cowboy Although roughstock events — bareback, hat offers only saddle bronc and bull riding — account slight protection for nearly 90 percent of rodeo injuries, bull D for the skull. The riding alone produces nearly half of them. helmet gives better protection Calf roping PART Team roping 3.06% Steer for the head, 0.96% wrestling face and jaw, but 8.37% E remains optional 2 and controversial. Saddle B. Protective bronc riding vest shields the 15.58% torso and has Bull Bareback become standard PART riding riding equipment. 48.77% 15.58% C. Chaps offer a layer of protection 3 Overall injuries against the bull’s The vast majority of rodeo injuries involve horns and hooves. trauma to the head. Still, the use of D. The glove helmets remains controversial for both protects the hand practical and cultural reasons. and fingers. SURVEY E. Boots have a Concussion 48.99% special heel to Shoulder injury 9.23% keep spurs in place. The spurs Chest/rib/lung injury 6.52% help the cowboy Ankle fracture 5.73% stay in position on the bull. Knee ligaments 3.82% What causes a concussion Concussions are rated by how severely A blow to the head can cause the brain 3 they affect a person’s senses, memory to jerk, twist or bump the skull. There and thinking abilities. is about one-quarter inch of space 2 Grade one: Momentary confusion, no loss of between the brain and the skull. 1 consciousness, symptoms subside and mental 1. A blow is delivered to a rider’s status returns to normal in less than 15 minutes. head. Grade two: Momentary confusion, no loss of 2. The brain accelerates in the cranial vault. consciousness, mental status and symptoms 1 remain abnormal for more than 15 minutes. 3. Damage occurs when the brain strikes the skull and rotates. Grade three: Any loss of consciousness, from a few seconds to several minutes. Source: Justin Sportsmedicine Team The Denver Post / Jonathon Moreno, AP Photo / Victoria Arocho Close Print Back 7 DIGITAL NEWSBOOK 8 Contents Search View THE DENVER POST ©2004 PAIN&GLORY INTRODUCTION 4 INTRO Eight seconds of spins and bucks In a two-day PBR competition, the top 45 bull riders ride once the first night and once the second night. The 15 riders with the highest total score on two bulls qualify for a third round of competition that takes place after intermission on the second night. B The overall event winner is the bull rider A with the highest three-ride total. PART Points 1 The total possible score for a bull ride is 100 points. Half of that total is based C Rules of the ride on the performance of A. The clock starts when the bull and how difficult the bull’s shoulder or hip he is to ride. The other half crosses the plane of the PART is determined by the rider’s bucking chute. ability to match the moves B. The bull rider must 2 of the bull beneath him. maintain constant control and good body position. The bull C. Spurring the bull is not required, but extra “style Judges look for bulls with speed, power, points” are awarded for drop in the front end, direction changes and D doing so. PART body rolls. The more of these characteristics a bull displays during a ride, the higher the mark. D. The bull rider must hold on with only one hand. 3 E. The clock stops when Disqualification the bull rider’s hand comes A bull rider can be disqualified and receive out of the rope or he no score even if he stays aboard his designated touches the ground. The bull for eight seconds. A bull rider is disqualified bull rider must stay aboard if he touches the bull or himself with his the bull for eight seconds SURVEY free hand during the ride or if his riding hand or he earns no score. comes free from the bull rope at any point. Barrelmen and bull fighters The barrelman’s duty is to entertain the crowd during the “down time” when bulls are being loaded into E the chutes and the riders are getting ready. Bull fighters, formerly known as “rodeo clowns” because of their makeup and comic costumes, have in many events dropped the traditional trappings. Their job is to distract the bull and protect a rider who has been bucked off or has dismounted after a successful ride. Source: Professional Bull Riders The Denver Post / Jonathon Moreno, Photos by John Epperson Close Print Back 7 DIGITAL NEWSBOOK 8 Contents Search View PAIN&GLORY INTRO A DENVER POST SPECIAL REPORT: PART ONE In dusty arenas across the country, bull riders test muscle and mettle, wagering their futures on an eight-second ride. PART But the odds favor the bull. 1 A world of hurt PART 2 PART 3 SURVEY Jerome Davis’ wife, Tiffany, then his fiancée, was in the stands when he was paralyzed in a fall in 1998. Friends since childhood, they’d planned that year to fit a wedding and a one-day honeymoon between rodeo events. Though Jerome “tried to run her off,” he says, they married about seven months after his injury, and have not spent a night apart since. Close Print Back 7 DIGITAL NEWSBOOK 8 Contents Search View THE DENVER POST ©2004 PAIN&GLORY PART ONE 6 he lights went out for INTRO Jerome Davis when the bull beneath him sud- Tdenly spun back, jerked him down hard and hammered his jaw with a head-butt. Davis’ gloved hand unraveled from the PART rope. The bull bucked again, shucking the cowboy, who drifted 1 to an awkward landing on the dirt floor of the Fort Worth arena. He awoke on a stretcher behind the chutes and immediately sensed something strange. He looked up PART at his buddy Tater Porter, another pro bull rider, who stood leaning 2 over him. “Take my glove off,” Davis said. “I already did,” Porter replied. “I love bull riding. Even though it broke Eight seconds from glory and a my neck, and my wheelchair can be heartbeat from disaster. PART Bull riding has always been the aggravating as hell, I love it.” big draw at rodeos, the grand finale — Jerome Davis, former professional bull rider 3 in which a confluence of courage, danger and violent struggle thrilled rural American grandstands.