SPORTS
I
And they call the thing rodeo
Photos by Jonathan Villagomez
BY JACOB THOMPSON
SPORTS EDITOR ^SPORTSE©fWOMP$
The Professional Bull Riders rolled into tow n
Jan . 19, for th e VelodtyTour’ s Portland Classic.
Considered the longest eight seconds in sports,
Portlanders packed th e M oda C enter to w atch
PBR cowboys take o n som e o f the rankest bulls
in th e nation.
T h e ru les are sim p le : sta y o n th e b a ck
o f a b u ll fo r e ig h t seco nds, d o n ’t to u c h th e
b u ll w ith y o u r free h a n d a n d h o p e th e ride
produces a h ig h score, b u t staying o n th e b ac k
o f a 2 ,0 0 0 -p o u n d b u ll th a t d oesn’t w an t you
there can be pretty tricky. J
‘‘It’s a feeling that ’ s hard to p u t into words,
C o d y C am p b e ll said about.how it feels to b e o n
th e b a c k o fa b u ll. “ It’ s a m a zin g h o w fa stit can
h ap p en and h ow slo w it can so m etim es. It’s a
pretty good fe e lin g w h en yo u step o ff on e and
kin d o f conquer th e be a st.”
C a m p b e ll is a n O re g o n n a tiv e a n d w a s
lo o k in g forward to riding in h is h o m e state,
b u t an injury th e w eek prior held h im out from
com petition in D enver and Portland.
“ Last w eek in R eno I injured m y groin and
sports m ed advised m e no t to get o.nin Denver
and I w as plann ing o n getting o n here because
it w as feeling a little bit better, b u t sports m ed
advised m e no t to get o n to nigh t again , so I’m
go in g to b e sitting o u t,” C am pbell said.
The Portland C lassic and all PB R events o n
Jan . i9w erededicatedtoM asonLow e, w ho lost
h is life afterinjuries sustained at th e Velocity
Tour’s D enver event. A fte r b e in g bucked o ff
H ard T im es, Lowe w as struck in th e chest b y
the bull’sle ft h in d hoof, severely dam aging his
Founded in 1992, the Professional Bull Riders have hosted
over 1,200 competitors throughout various tours. Held since
2014, the Professional Bull Rider’s Velocity Tour has become
the sport’s fastest-growing tour, visiting Portland on Jan. 19
heart. H e w as rushed to th e hospital w here he
passed away.
O hce the event got underway, round one was
m ostly dom in ated b y th e b u lls, w h o bucked
o f f 30 cowboys in round on e. M aso n Taylor
w as on e o f e ig h t cowboys to ride in round one
an d h is 89 po in t ride w as Qne o f th e b e st o f
th e nigh t.
Taylor w as unable to repeat h is success in
round one and A aronKleier o f Australia ended
u p tak in g h o m e first prize w ith 83.5 and 81.5
rides.
Rodeo h asbeen ab igp art ofAm erican culture
since it first got its start.
“ Rodeo is th e cowboy w ay,” Cam pbell said.
“ T h e C ow b oy persona is so m e th in g a lot o f
people need and it’s b een around a lo n g tim e
and it’s part o f th e reason I love about this sport;
a n d it instills th a t in y o u . Y o u ’re goin g to have
to b e to ugh and I guarantee you righ t no w I
would w ay rather get o n and ride w ith th epain.
I’v e seen guys ride through a lot o f injuriesand
it speaks m iles. I th in k it’s a b ig th in g in this
country and so m e th in g th a t’s im po rtant.”
Clackamas Print
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Ja n u a ry 30, 2019