There is no dream too big. We should all believe this, spread it to our children, and exemplify it ourselves. Every now and again I read something that reaffirms this mantra. While in Twitterland I met a young lady whose profile boasts that she wants to ride bulls in the PBR. Most certainly not something you hear from a teen aged girl in regular conversation. I now that there have been women who have competed in rough stock events, but I have never personally seen a female bull rider. So I did some research.
I found a few articles written in 2013 about Maggie Parker the first female bullrider to earn a check in a competition with men. But I also found a story about Polly Reich. In the 90’s she went to her first rodeo and fell in love with bull riding. She found a trainer, Larry Mosley. Larry, an African American was all to familiar discrimination in a white male dominated sport was willing to train Polly if she was serious. He got her started and she went on to compete in the International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA). She was physically and verbally abused during her ground breaking time with that organization. She even lost her dog to a poisoning.
Polly went on to train with Larry Sankey (ironically my son’s teacher knows the Sankeys) and got her PRCA card. She went on to compete and she was met with far more acceptance. She sustained injuries including 60 stitches to reattach her scalp. In one bad dismount she broke 5 ribs, suffered and collapsed lung, and needed to be resuscitated on the ambulance ride to the hospital.Polly kept on competing until she was hit by a police car that was chasing some kids while she was warming up on her bicycle before a performance suffering a severely dislocated shoulder.
Below is my chat with Amber Garrison a young lady with PBR dreams and we have no doubt that she can do anything she puts her mind to.
cSc : How old are you? Where are you from?
AG: Hi my name is Amber Garrison and I am 14 years old (I’ll be 15 on September 21st). I’m from Newton MS.
cSc: How long have you wanted to be a bull rider in the PBR? What was your inspiration for such a goal?
AG: I’ve always had dreams of riding bulls in the PBR with all of my role models. When I was really young, my dad would pretend to be a bull and I would tie a belt around his chest and pretend to ride like they do in the PBR.
cSc: What is your typical day like?
AG: My typical day is basically me going to school, softball practice, and then coming home to run my horse bareback.
cSc: Do you compete now?
AG: I don’t compete anywhere because they won’t let me but I do go to Chad Lovern’s practice pen every Saturday and ride there.
cSc: Who is in your support system?
AG: My mom and grandpa has always supported me but my dad and grandma were kinda iffy about me riding. I’ve shown them I could do it and now they come to watch me sometimes.
cSc: What other sports do you play?
AG: The only other sport I play is softball.
cSc: How do you plan to get to the PBR? What about the PRCA, CBR?
AG: I really don’t know how I plan to get in but if I keep trying I can
cSc: Who do you look up to in bull riding?
AG: I look up to Cody Nance and Mike Lee in bull riding. I’ve always watched them and loved them. I also love Luke Bryan! He is my role model in everything I do. My best friend and boyfriend always help me out too. They are great riders.
cSc: Do you wear a helmet and face mask?
AG: I always wear a helmet and face mask. I’ve been kicked in the head once and I probably wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t wearing anything.
So the path to female bullriders is not un-ridden, but has a long way to go to make it a mainstream occurrence. I found footage from an all female Navajo Nation bull riding event in Arizona in 2011. Pretty impressive. Lot’s of people worry about the safety of females bull riders, but all bull riders are in danger when they climb on the back of a 1500-2000 pound bull. Adrainna Kinlcheenie, Dine, from Dilkon, Arizona rode her bull for 14 seconds.
Watch here https://youtu.be/BIhQFr7FXEI
Remember there is no dream too big. We look forward to seeing Amber take the bull riding world by storm. Even though We Rodeo Big in the North, Girls Rule!
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