Rodeo clowns not clowning around at school

Last Update: 6/26/2009 8:21 am

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Rodeo clowns not clowning around at school

ROSE HILL, Kansas – For a sport that lasts just eight seconds bull riding is one of the most dangerous known to man. It’s not just dangerous for those who mount the 2,000 pound beasts, but also for the people who help keep them safe in the ring.

There were several young cowboys at the Sankey Rodeo School this week. Some were learning to ride while other tackled the challenge of keeping the riders out of harm’s way.

When Adriano Moraes talks his students listen. The only three-time world champ in PBR history came all the way from Brazil to teach young up-and-comers the sport that made him famous.

“I wish when I was as young as they are I would have a mentor or a teacher to guide me around,” Moraes said.

Moraes schools campers on the art of staying aboard a bucking bull. But 2008 Bullfighter of the Year Joe Garretson teaches equally important lessons. His challenge is to develop those whose dangerous work starts the instant the ride ends.

“You gotta have heart and faith and courage in yourself,” Garretson said. “You have to believe you can step in there and make that split second decision.”

Some refer to them as rodeo clowns, but their job is far from comedy. Bullfighters literally challenge the monster head on, distracting them long enough to allow the riders to escape safely.

“I think they are just like those soldiers, you know, they lay down their lives every day to save ours,” Moraes said.

It’s that challenge and responsibility that appealed to Logan Weinrich – one of the few in the camp training to be a bullfighter.

“You just gotta have a big chest and go in there and do your job,” Weinrich said.

That job comes with a huge set of risks and at times a total disregard for personal well-being.

“I've had two broken backs, a broken neck, two broken legs, I broke my arm,” said Garretson. “I probably broke my ribs over 40 times.”

“Not if you get hurt, it's when you get hurt,” Weinrich said.

At just 20 years old it seems like a harsh reality, but it won’t keep Logan form pursuing his dream.

“They're (family) a little nervous, a little sketchy,” he said. “I just gotta tell them it's what I want to do. It's part of my life that I want to accomplish.”

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