.
THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE
-No bull about bullriding here...
-Cardinal Caravan in Louisville today!
-A busy fifteen minutes
(CARDINAL COUPLE writer Mark "The Commish" Schneider continues his look at the PBR today. We feature an article that dispels several myths about Bull riding and the participants. We've got him scheduled next to investigate Area 54, Elvis's death and why the Cubs are the worst team in baseball. The "Commish" is on top of it!)
Most people love animals.
Dogs, Cats, Horses, and even BULLS.
However, sometimes animal rights groups seem to go too far. Nothing wrong with wanting to protect animals
from cruelty. I'm all for that. But to distribute false information without
getting all the facts in order to advance their cause is another story. At first glance when watching a Bull Riding
event some may think, "How cruel" or
"The animals are being hurt."
(Watch more closely and more often than not the riders are the ones
getting hurt). Maybe there should be an
organization called AETH. ("Animals for the Ethical Treatment of
Humans"). All kidding aside:
PETA has been touting two myths about Bull Riding/Rodeos in
general.
Myth #1
"Electric prods, spurs, and bucking straps are used to
irritate and enrage animals used in rodeos. Before entering the ring, cows and
horses are often prodded with an electrical "hotshot" so that the
pain will rile them."
This is simply not true.
Especially in the PBR. That is not to say it has never happened in a
small town rodeo, but as far as the PBR?
I do not think so.
During countless
events broadcasted on TV the cameras are
directly in the chutes. Every move
anyone makes is shown up close. The bulls are not coerced into bucking. It
is simply what they like to do. A bull bucks because it is in their blood.
Just as race horses are "born to run", bucking bulls are "born
to buck".
As far as the spurs hurting the animal, the fact is the
spurs are "dulled" and are not sharp.
Also, a bulls skin is 7 times thicker than a humans and when a bull is
"spurred", it does not harm the animal. No marks are left and no blood is drawn. Does
one think the owner of a bull worth
$35,000 or more (A bull named Little Yellow Jacket was worth $150,000) would
allow a cowboy to "spur" it if he thought for one moment it would
harm it? Owning and raising bucking bulls is an expensive proposition. Just
like our pets, a stock contractor treats every bull like one of his family. For example, when World Champion bull MOSSYOAK
MUDSLINGER recently died, his owner H.D.Page had this to say: "He's
irreplaceable, there's no doubt about it.
I missed him a bunch when I had to retire him from the arena, and now
I'm going to miss him even more as a sire. He was part of our family. He's done
more for our family than any person."
Myth #2
"The flank (or "bucking") strap is tightly
cinched around the animals' abdomens, causing them to buck vigorously in an
attempt to escape the pain. The flank strap can cause open wounds and burns when
the hair is rubbed off and the skin is chafed raw. Former animal control
officers have found burrs and other irritants placed under the flank
strap."
Again--not in the PBR. The flank strap is tied loosely
around the flank, usually by the stock contractor/owner. Again, if this hurt the
bull, would he be doing this? As a
matter of fact there are times it will fall off during the ride. The flank strap is a rope made out of cotton
which is tied around the bull's flank. Contrary to popular belief, the flank
strap is not tied around the bull's testicles. Without being too graphic--this
is a family friendly website--this point must be made: If a rope is tied around the bulls testicles,
I do not think it would encourage him to buck. As one stock contractor said,"
What would a human do if it was tied around theirs?" I don't think it would encourage
"bucking". I believe one would
see a human lying on the ground crying in a fetal position. And when a bull is bucking, one can actually
see that the strap is nowhere near or tied around it's
"privates". This rope is to
encourage the bull to use its hind legs more in a bucking motion. If tied too tight, the bull would not buck
very well. It has to be loose to cause
the bull to want to buck it off.
Sometimes the strap falls off during a ride. When that happens, the bull
will usually quit bucking.
Former CEO of the PBR Randy Benard (now CEO of The INDY
Racing League) had this to say about Animal Welfare and the PBR:
"In the 1970s and '80s, PETA did a pretty good job of
informing people that bull riding hurt bulls in all kinds of different ways.
All those are completely false. We encourage and welcome any animal rights
groups to come in and look at how we treat our animals. It's very important to
the sport and to the industry that our animals are taken good care of. The
other thing is, people are so surprised when they come to an event and see the
type of fan base that's there. It's so much more than a western sport."
Here are the PBR's Animal Welfare Facts:
Bulls receive 25-30 lbs of a special blend of mixed grain
per day. Blend varies depending on the bull’s needs and the stock contractor.
Bulls receive 20 lbs of Alfalfa or Alfalfa-grass blend per
day.
Bulls receive a B-12 complex vitamin shot every two weeks.
Bulls receive a health inspection any time they have to
cross state lines.
Bulls are only allowed to travel a maximum of 8 hours per
day. After 10 hours, the bulls are rested for 12-14 hours.
Bulls are standing in 6-10 inches of sawdust shavings during
transport.
Each stock contractor has a local veterinarian on call for
their bulls.
To be fair, as with any sport there are injuries. This includes the bulls.
According to the PBR
these are the facts about bull injuries:
There are approximately 60 bulls at a one-day event, 90
bulls at a two-day event and 110 bulls at a three-day event. A bull bucks only
one time per day and no more than two times at a typical event. Approximately
30-40 of the bulls at a typical two-day event will buck only once at that
event.
One bull will suffer a minor injury (muscle pull, scratch)
every 8 events or 786 outs.
Bulls that are determined to have an injury are not allowed
to compete again until fully recovered, which is generally one to four weeks.
One bull will suffer a career-ending injury every 100 events
or 9,833 outs.
Bulls that suffer a career-ending injury are retired to stud
and live the balance of their lives as healthy, fully capable breeding bulls.
Their injuries do not impede the quality of life or ability to function, but do
prevent them from competing at the PBR level as a bucking athlete.
Four bulls have been euthanized as a result of injuries
sustained over the 960 PBR events held since 1992, which translates to 1 out of
every 23,735 outs.
The bulls that have sustained life-threatening injuries at
PBR events have been taken to large animal hospitals for treatment and care.
Three of the animal athletes that have sustained life- threatening injuries
received hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical treatment and lived for
extended periods of time (up to two years) before the injuries required
euthanization.
A bucking bull has a .004% chance of sustaining a
life-threatening injury at a PBR event.
Raising and owning bucking bulls is a full time job. It is very expensive and time consuming. Because of this, I seriously doubt a stock
contractor would want any harm to come to his bulls. The following video Breeding and raising bulls for the PBR will drive these points home. Watch as PBR stock contractor,
Greg Simano, explains the various aspects of being a stock contractor:
Commish Mark
( From the look of things, these bulls are leading a better life than the CARDINAL COUPLE Co-Owners. Good job, today!)
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Thursday brings the CARDINAL CARAVAN to Louisville with an appearance at Captain's Quarters on River Road. Meet the owners and writers of CARDINAL COUPLE at the event...which begins at 5:30.
You'll get a chance to meet with coaches, players and Cardinal Fans at the annual event...the final stop of a three-day whirlwind tour that takes the participants to Owensboro, Bowling Green and other stops in the state.
I know, it's supposed to be another scorcher outside on Thursday, but the event is a great chance to hear about the upcoming teams and events for UofL sports and have a little fun in the process.
Softball coach Sandy Pearsall, women's basketball coach Jeff Walz, the LadyBirds, UofL Cheerleaders, Louie the Cardinal Bird and the pep band under the direction of "Iowa" Al Greener will also be in attendance. We're trying to arrange a three-point contest between our staff chimp Co-Co and Shoni, but UofL isn't responding favorably to the premise...so far.
Fish, cold beverages and Cardinal Nation! Sounds like a pretty good Thursday! See you there. No rain, no rain, no rain, no rain...(we hope).
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The stat line for Angel McCoughtry against Great Britain made us do a double take. Talk about a busy fifteen minutes!
-- Two for three on shots
-- Three for four from the foul line
-- Seven points
-- Six rebounds
-- Three assists
-- Five steals
-- Three fouls
-- One turnover
Obviously, she wasn't standing over in the corner signing autographs during her time on the court. #35 representing!
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Summer Festival which had been scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, Aug. 16) at Captain's Quarters Riverside Grille has been cancelled. Thunderstorms are forecast during the outdoor event and concern for fan safety caused the cancellation. No makeup date will be scheduled.
It matters not, I suppose, what this gathering is called. Goodbye Caravan, hello Summer Festival. The structure and purpose remains the same...to get the coaches and players out to talk to, shake hands with and pose for pictures with the fans. 
