Bull Bash Offers Rough And Tumble Fun

The TV ads for Bull Bash ‘96 depict a brutal scene of hapless cowboys getting flung into the air by crazed bulls as if they were weightless, only to be stomped and mashed into the dirt like cigarettes.

That’s exactly what you can expect at the Spokane Arena Friday and Saturday.

Unlike traditional rodeos, Bull Bash ‘96 is about bull riding only. To keep crowds gasping, the National Bull Riding Association has enlisted 40 of the meanest, rankest and ugliest bulls from the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association to do the dirty work of turning riders into ground beef.

Forty gutsy riders will risk their necks throughout the weekend for a $13,000 purse. One of them is Spokane’s Rob Sweeney, who won the American Bull Riding Championship Series last year.

Obviously, bull riding is a perilous sport. Riders constantly subject themselves to crippling injuries, sometimes even death. A rider at an Alabama Rodeo was killed two weeks ago after a bull stepped on his chest.

“It’s always dangerous,” says Robbie Klima, event director for the National Bull Riding Association. “You figure the odds are - people get hurt but very few die.”

Bull Bash is different. All cowboys must wear a flak jacket, which is made to resemble a leather vest.

“I’ve done this for a year,” he says. “At first they (the cowboys) fought it, but we wouldn’t let them on a bull without a flak vest.

“When a bull steps on them, it will bruise them but it won’t crush their ribs into their lungs or their heart.”

In three years, the National Bull Riding Association hasn’t had any serious injuries. “We’ve had a broken leg,” says Klima. “But that’s probably the most serious.”

Popularity with strictly bull riding events has soared. Some events command purses of $25,000. And they’ve grown out of the rodeo grounds into the arenas.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: RIDE ‘EM Bull Bash ‘96 will be Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Spokane Arena. Tickets are $20, $16, $12 and $10 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under (except for the $20 seats), available at all G&B Select-a-Seat outlets or call 325-SEAT.