Pre BR

When the day of the rodeo arrived, Billie was ready. She had practiced on her farm’s famous bull, Rolling Thunder, and almost stayed on for a full ride. She told her bullfighter not to blow the whistle until 10 seconds had elapsed. She figured that if she practiced a 10 second ride, then an 8 second ride would feel like a piece of cake. Her best time on Thunder was 6 seconds, but riding him increased her performance times on all the other bulls. Unfortunately, riding him lowered her potential point level because all she could do was focus on staying on. She was not comfortable on him and it showed.

Billie looked around for her cousin, Roy. She needed him to pin her number on her back and, more importantly, tell her which bull she had drawn. She was sure he was with his own students, giving them last minute instructions and encouragement. She wished her friend Luke had come with them.

Luke was wandering around, looking for anything that said Greenfield on it. Hopefully that would point him in the direction of Billie. A stocky man with a Greenfield t-shirt on walked past him. Luke decided to follow him. The bullfighter was walking at a determined pace. It took some effort for Luke to keep up, but the effort paid off. They arrived at the Greenfield Ranch trailer just in time for Luke to see Billie trying to pin her number to her own back. He rushed forward to help.

“Hey, let me get that for you!” He yelled as he ran up to her.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” she said as she smiled at him, “I'm not sure where Roy is, probably with his own students.”

“That’s okay, I’m here now. I’ll be your personal valet!”

“That would be great.” She handed him her number and the pins.

Outside the bullpens, Billie paced nervously. Luke would grab her shoulders periodically and massage them while asking, “what are you thinking about?” More often than not she was worried about not being the best. Or not scoring because she couldn’t stay on the bull. Luke always had the right answer for her. Nobody trains as hard as you, quitting is worse than getting thrown, most of these bulls came from your farm. You just might draw one of your own, one you have ridden many times. Billie knew that wasn’t likely. They’d probably make sure she was matched with someone else’s bull.

Billie could hear the barrel racing starting. Some of Roy’s students would be competing in this event. She should go and watch. “Hey, Luke, ya wanna go watch the barrel racing?”

“Sure. You used to compete in barrels, right? Do you miss it?”

“I miss not being nervous before my event. Barrels were easy for me, bulls are hard. And I have to work extra hard because I’m new to bull riding. Most of the competitors have been doing it for years. I just don't want to make a fool of myself out there today.”

“I’m sure you’ll be great.” he said and threw his arm over her shoulders as they walked to the arena, "You'll be the best girl out there!"

"I'll be the only girl out there!" she punched him lightly in the ribs and groaned as though the punch came from Mike Tyson.

When the barrel racing was over, Billie’s nerves began to jump again. She had to get her gear and get over to the bullpen. Her own event would be starting soon. Where is Roy? I’m going to need someone to help tighten my rope and give me last minute instructions. Roy knew every bull on the circuit and could tell her how to ride each one for maximum flair and longevity.

“What are you waiting for? Let's go!” Roy yelled to her as he trotted past. She picked up her pace and caught up with him. “Where’s Luke?”

“He’s in the stands already. He wanted to get the best possible seat so that he could record my ride on his phone. Later, we can look it over and you can tell me what I need to work on.”

“Good idea.”

Billie drew Winter Squall, a good bull. The other contestants would have thought he was just ok, but he was perfect for Billie’s first competitive ride. He was older, put on a good show, but was not as wild and dangerous as some of the newer bulls. This guy knew his job and did it well. He wasn’t out to trample anyone.

Billie eased herself down onto his muscular back. She grabbed the handle and began her wrap, Roy pulled the rope tight. She took a deep breath and nodded. The gate flew open and her world turned upside down. Her body snapped back and forth with the movement of the bull. A sea of colors swam before her eyes. Her arm flailing around her head like a whip. The bull twisted left, then right. Did he even touch the ground in between? She could feel his muscles moving beneath her, the jarring thud of the landing lasting only a fraction of a second before they were flying again. Hold on, she thought, just stay on.

Winter twisted hard to the left, Billie felt her body sway to the right, then bam! She heard a loud crack as her helmet hit the wall, a second later a blinding pain shot through her right arm and leg. Don't let go, stay with him. The jumping and twisting slowed a little. No, not slower, just less violent. A loud horn blast and the bullfighters moved in quickly. Billie released her hand and jumped, hoping she was jumping to safety. She barely touched the ground when strong hands grabbed her by the safety vest and threw her up towards the stands. She grabbed the railing and clung there for a minute catching her breath. It’s over. She did it.

The cowboys on the other side of the railing were grabbing her arms pulling her over the top and out of the arena. She quickly tucked her feet underneath her and stood, looking around at her competitors. They were smiling and patting her shoulders. Their words started to make sense to her muddled brain.

“Great ride!”

“Good job!”

“I never thought a girl would be tough competition.”

“Congratulations!”

She was a little dizzy when she thanked them and turned toward the scoreboard. The judges award points only to those who last the full 8 seconds. The points are split between bull and rider, each earning between 0 and 50 for a combined score between 0 and 100. Her bull was old, but experienced. He still pulls some pretty good scores. He is not as quick and twisty as the experienced riders want in a bull, but he received 30 out of a possible 50 and Billie earned herself 23 points. Not bad, she thought, that’s 23 points better than zero.

Luke snaked his arms around her from behind. “Great ride.” he whispered in her ear. “Let’s go find Roy.”

“I might be hurt.” she said quietly. “We hit the wall and my arm hurts.”

“How’s your head?” Luke’s voice was full of worry. “Do you want to see the EMT’s?”

“Okay. Let's find Roy first.”

As they exited the arena, they noticed a huge crowd gathering to the left of the entrance to the stands. “I wonder what is going on over there?” Billie said just as Roy saw them through the crowd.

“Billie!” he shouted. He was waving his arms and jumping. “Billie, over here!”

She and Luke started toward Roy. The crowd had heard Roy calling to Billie and all heads turned. “There she is!” someone yelled and the crowd began to move toward her. Luke put his arms around her protectively and guided her towards her cousin.

“Excuse me!” a woman's voice yelled, “Excuse me, Miss Greenfield!” Suddenly there was a video camera pointed at Billie and a woman poking a microphone at her face. “I’m Cathy Cutter from WLKT, how does it feel to be the first woman bull rider to compete in this county?”

“Uh, I, uh, good I guess.” Billie stammered. She looked around for Roy. She didn’t know what to do or how to act. The interviewer kept talking and asking questions. Billie just stared at her with a surprised expression on her face.

“I’m taking Billie to the First Aid Building, she might be injured.” Luke interjected. “Her cousin Roy can answer all your questions. Here he comes now.”

Luke tightened his hold on Billie and directed her through the crowd to the first aid building. Billie followed silently and the crowd opened up to let them pass through. Roy had reached the interviewer and her camera crew and began answering questions about Billie’s training, her upbringing and the family farm.

“What was that?” Billie asked Luke when they reached the first aid. An EMT came out and ushered them in asking Billie where she hurt.

“I don't know,” Luke replied once Billie was seated in an exam room with a nurse removing her safety vest and helmet. “Have there been TV crews here in the past?”

“Yes, but not that station. It’s usually the sports channels and local ones at that. I’ve never heard of W Blah, blah, blah. I wonder who they even are?”

The nurse began asking Billie questions about her health, so she and Luke put their conversation on hold for the moment. The doctor had come in and was almost finished with his exam when Roy burst through the door.

“You have an appointment for a formal interview with the tv station later today. Are you okay? Did you get hurt?” he could not contain his excitement.

“She is fine,” the doctor said, “She just needs some ice, some rest and some ibuprofen if necessary.” As he left the exam room, he told them to stop at the reception desk and get a report to take to her regular doctor.

Roy decided that Billie should stay at the trailer resting with a couple ice packs until it was time to go home. He had some other students who’s events were coming up and he needed to be here for them. If Luke wanted to take Billie home that would be fine too, but Billie opted to stay. She wanted to find out more about that tv crew, but she did like the idea of lying down with an ice pack.

“How is she?”

“She’s sleeping.” Roy replied. “At least, I think she is.” They both walked over to where Billie was struggling to get up.

“Hey, hey, take it easy.” Luke rushed to her side.

“How ya feelin’?” Roy asked. He grabbed her ice pack and went to the cooler to refill it.

“I feel fine except for my arm.” Billie grabbed Luke’s shirt and used him to pull herself to a seated position. “I might not be able to come into work tomorrow, Boss.” She smiled sheepishly at her cousin.

“Yes, you will. There's still plenty of work you can do even if you can’t do stalls.”

“But what if I’m a famous bull rider and I have so many TV interviews lined up that I don’t have the time?” She could barely keep a straight face, knowing she was going to work on the farm the next day, but hoping she could get a day off.

“Then you'll learn the same thing that rodeo riders have been learning since rodeo began. Belt buckles, fancy saddles and TV interviews don’t pay the bills.”