The Montezuma County Fair kicked off over the weekend with the Bares, Broncs and Bulls rodeo at Bob Banks Memorial Arena.
The two-day event was presented by Ignacios Lucky 7 Rodeos.
In bull riding, there were the novice and open events. Also featured was a relatively new sport to rodeo, mini bucking.
Smaller sized bulls were ridden by kids aged 9 to 14 at the rodeo. The young, aspiring bull riders are referred to as mini buckers. Some kids graduated from mutton bustin calves and steers to takes on these smaller, but not so mini, bulls that were provided by Sullivan Bucking Bulls out of Albuquerque, N.M. But one thing all the mini buckers had in common, was the addiction to the eight second barrier.
Bull riding is not just a little sport. Its a passion, Reed Allcorn, 14, of Kirtland, N.M., said. You cant just go and say you rode a bull and not really ride. You got to show that you can, and thats it.
Allcorn traded steers for bulls and has been mini bucking since January.
Steers dont do anything hard. They just run out, and buck and kick, Allcorn said. Bulls jump and do anything that will knock you off.
Allcorn won his first belt buckle Saturday at a rodeo in Durango before taking on the bull Jesse James on Saturday evening in Cortez. Reeds dad Mark Allcorn was on hand at each rodeo to cheer on his son. Mark supports Reed, but admits he still gets nervous when his son rides an angry bull.
The further he goes up, I know the chance of injury is pretty much a given at some point, Mark Allcorn said about Reeds bull riding. He will not ride without a helmet!
Another kid introduced to mini bucking is 9-year-old Trey Geyer from Cedaredge.
However, Geyer looked anything but inexperienced mini bucking Red One, as he placed second in the event. The strapping young lad has been bull riding since age 6.
We raise bucking bulls, so I just decided that Id try riding, said Geyer, who quickly moved on from mutton bustin. I just kept on riding every day.
Geyer wants to move up the bull riding chain as he gets older. He has learned plenty about the sport from his father, Darren Geyer, who used to ride bulls in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Right now, Im supporting whatever he wants to do, Darren Geyer said about his son. I totally support him. If he quits tomorrow, Im proud of him. If he keeps going, were going to support him all the way. Hes got natural ability, thats for sure.
Trey Geyer is raising his own bucking bulls in Cedaredge but said he is still learning more about the sport.
I get kind of nervous sometimes, but once I get sat on the bull, I just feel fine. Its just trying to make the right moves, he said.
Red One definitely had a good workout over the weekend, bucking kids left and right. The sandstone colored bull even sent a girl airborne, and she fell not so gracefully to the mud. But for Bailey Sullivan, 13, its just another day at the office.
I started two months ago, said Sullivan, from Winston, N.M. I just started because my mom used to ride bulls and I just wanted to take it on from that.
Bulls are part of the Sullivan family, from former female bull rider Misty Sullivan to the family business, Sullivan Bucking Bulls. The mini buckers provided for Lucky 7 Rodeos cannot be taller than 46 inches. Sullivan Bucking Bulls buys the mini buckers and does not breed them.
I just bought them last year and have had rodeos for kids almost every weekend, Baileys father, Travis Sullivan, said. They get on the bulls that are littler, and its not such a big step to the junior bulls.
Kids can practice mini bucking at Sullivan Bucking Bulls. Travis Sullivan feels it is important to increase the sport of mini bucking in order to increase the number of declining bull riders in rodeo today.
Were trying to bring bull riders back, he said. Its new. Its catching on.
The sport is growing with girls, too.
When I get up there, Im always nervous, said Bailey Sullivan, who switched from horses. But when I get up there, I want to win.
Baileys mom, Misty Sullivan, is the strongest supporter.
She wants the boys to say, I got beat by a girl, Misty Sullivan said. Theres a lot of women professional bull riders. If this is something that she wants to pursue, were going to let her do it.
This is the first time Lucky 7 Rodeos has had mini bucking as part of its lineup, and is looking to possibly add the event in the future.
I think the sport will grow, said Ty Hawkins, the Lucky 7 Rodeos event director. Its just kind of getting started.
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at [email protected].
