Hey y’all! For any
who don’t know me, I’m Laura Drake, a Contemporary Western Romance author. But
I mostly write about a specific kind of cowboy – the crazy ones – bull riders.
I’m a city girl from Detroit, but I married a Bigger-than-life
Texan. On my first trip to Texas, he took me my first rodeo and I fell in love!
Then I found out bull riding was on TV every Saturday and I was hooked! There’s
something about a guy having the courage to get on a one-ton animal that wants
to stomp his guts out that gets me. Done right, it’s a like a dangerous ballet.
I’ve met a bunch of the riders, and my faith in the younger generation was
bolstered; they’re down home country boys who still say ma’am and sir, and use
the manners their mamas taught them. Well, and then there’s always the
Wranglers in chaps!
I tend to jump in with both feet, but even I admit, I got
carried away. I’ve been to ten regular events, and four World Finals in Vegas,
one after breaking my leg in a freak fly fishing accident (that’s another blog).
Hey, I’m a dedicated fan….and it was a bonus that the handicapped staging area
was right outside the guys locker-room!
I wrote a three-book series set in the world of pro bull
riding, Sweet on a Cowboy. When the first one came out, I called in all my markers, and got with
Jory Markiss, who at the time, was the #10 bull rider in the world (and he’s
pretty darned cute, besides).
Speaking of seriously cute, for the model for my last hero
in the series, Cam Cahill, I used the bull riding legend, Chris Shivers. I
mean…whew!
Seeing an event in person is hard to describe: the pyrotechnics,
the entertainment, the electric excitement of the crowd – if you ever get a chance
to see a PBR event, GO!
So, bottom line, yes, I’m a bit obsessive about bull riding.
And I haven’t even talked about the bulls! Yes, many fans are there to cheer
for them! But that’s a subject for another day. AND I just bought tickets for
this year’s World Finals in Vegas, baby!
So – have you ever been to a bull riding event?
2 comments:
Hi Laura, I've been to several PBR events and regular rodeos that have bull riding. I do feel the bull riders at PBR are a notch higher in skill than the regular rodeos. It does take guts for them to ride a snot slinging 2000 pound irate animal. Even though I have one story about a female bull rider, I don't like watching it or bronc riding. I get squeamish when things go wrong and then I can't watch any more. I love the barrel racing and calf roping. Less danger or moments to make me squeamish. ;) Great post. I can feel your enthusiasm and I'll be it shows in your books.
Thank you, Paty! I'm friends on Twitter with a lady bull rider - they have more guts than I! Although, if I'd known about bull riding when I was younger...
I love barrels and cutting horse competitions. And, of course, bullfighting comps.
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