Carbon County news., 1937-12-17

\ fornlance. Some of us do trick rid
ling every day, but the management
would never allow us to ride tn
" broncs daily, because it would meal
Etoo much, punishment.
~ never know until shortly be
ffore the event which horse II
1Eride. Just before Pm announced,
4 have to slip into the saddle while
J, the horse is in the chute, ant
sometimes trouble begins righ-
there, because if the bronc is feel
ling high, he'll start bucking ant
Eramping around even in the mar.
ROW space of the chute. Now, there
are only a couple of inches between
the heavy timbers of the chute and
my legs, SO ] have to be careful
not to get them crushed. But the
bronc can't bite me; even if he
should feel like it, because he wears
a leather nuzzle. ...
"Once I'm in the arena, I have
to hang on to the. bucking reins
! which are made of woven cotton
with one hand and keep the other
one free to swing, to help keep
my balance. The bronc wears no
bit, just a plain halter, SO I must
try to keep the reins short enough
to pull his mouth in close to his
chest so he can't rear. You can let
the reins out, but once they're out,
you can't take them up again, and
if the bronc is able to get his head
down between his forelegs, it'll
just about pull your arm out of
the socket. And If he heads over,
that's just too bad, for it gives a
girl a grand chance to get squash
ed. I've got to sit as straight as
possible, and if my head jerks back
and forth / lose points. ii
Wrapping the reins around the
hand isn't allowed, but our stirrups
are hobbled that is, fixed in pos
.ition--so there's one help we get.
But the broncs get most of the
breaks, all right, and if anyone was
to discover some new trick for
sticking on them, the Rodeo As.
sociation Of America would think
up some way Of overcoming it.
Girls are disqualified for being
bucked of, changing hands on the
reins or losing hold of them, hit
the horse with hat or hand, losing
stirrups, or pulling leather, which
is grabbing the saddle or flaps III
an attempt to hang on. And believe
me, when a bronc averages TWEEN
ty bucks to- those eight long sec-3
onds, it's no rocking chair" "a
There is growing army Of
crippled rodeo veterans, and earl
ier in the week a young Oklahom
an had been fatally trampled I'M
the Garden before thousands of
horrified spectators. Last year two
coWgirls were killed, though not in
New York, and this year the en-
tries Of two more were refused be-
cause they were too battered up to
have an even chance against the
broncs. Along with the color and
excitement; every rodeo, has it's
faded company of camp followers
the pathetic "used-to-be' rs !" who
cannot tear themselves away from
the glamour of horseflesh lightning
and laundering hoofs. Margie nat
urally knew all this, and she had
told me there are only about thirty
first-grade cowgirls in the United
States. Furthermore, a release has
to- be signed, freeing the Garden
from liability in case of injury or
death, and cowgirls cannot get in
surance. I asked Margie if she
thought much about getting hurt.
I "of course i do" " she said frank
". HHow could 7 help it? My bro
ther Turk tore a lot of muscles his
very first day in New York and
hasn't been able to come up since.
There. are two. or three girls here
who have been banged around worse
than a football player, but the
worst I've had SO far is a broken
ankle. We're not afraid of being
thrown clean so much as being
dragged. If your foot gets caught
in the stirrup for any time, the
hest Won can look for is a broken
leg. That's why we wear short
shanked spurs-so there won't be
So much chance Of catching a foot
in the saddle if we're thrown. Yes,
that's the worst-hanging head
down among the hoofts. that will
kick out your brains. Every one of
us comes close enough to that at
times to understand all that it
means. And If bronc falls with
and on you, he'll fight to get up at
once, and curtains may be waiting
for you that way. Il: = !: i. .|
You see, these are pretty tough
horses. We go from here to Bos-
ton, where we use the same stock,
but after Boston the broncs will
go back to the range, where they
were caught specially for the New
York show. They haven't shown at
any other rodeos at all. The pro-
moters, who send their scouts af-
ter horses, searching the whole Of
-: ~ Il M L.