Sedgwick County Fair Bull Blowout event to include nationally ranked bulls
For cowboys riding in the Sedgwick County Fair’s Bull Blowout event, eight seconds in the Kansas heat could be one of the highlights of their lives.
Riders from all over the nation will be in Cheney on Friday night to compete for $3,000 and a championship belt buckle.
“You have to have a special mindset to do it – they’re kind of specialized,” said Marti Johnson, public relations director for the fair, which begins today in Cheney.
This year, the event will be sanctioned by Oklahoma-based Bull Riders Inc. Nationally ranked bulls will be bucking at the event, some with a buckoff rate as high as 96 percent, event organizer Danny McDorman said.
“These bulls have been to Las Vegas for national championships and to the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) finals,” McDorman said.
The event caters to cowboys as young as 5, though with a few caveats. Cowboys 5 to 7 years old can participate in the Mutton Bustin’ competition, which plops them astride sheep in a contest to see who can hold on the longest.
“It’s a huge crowd draw because 5-year-olds on a sheep are just hilariously funny,” Johnson said. “The good thing is sheep are pretty close to the ground. There’s not that far to fall.”
To participate in the Mutton Bustin’ contest costs $10, along with a waiver that can be printed out on the fair’s website at www.ourcountyfair.com. Registration is open to the first 20 participants to sign up.
This is the sixth year McDorman has organized the event, and most years he has helped sponsor a crowd participation event dubbed the “Circle of Fear.” The first 10 people to sign up for the event will be placed in a bull’s pen. They must stand in the circle until only one remains. The winner receives $100 in cash.
The event starts at 6 p.m. Friday with the Mutton Bustin’ competition, followed at 7 p.m. with the Bull Blowout. Gates open at 5 p.m.
Tickets in advance are $10 for adults 13 years and older and $8 for children. Tickets the day of the event are $12 for people 13 years and older and $10 for children 5-12. Children under 5 years old get in free.
All events take place at the Sedgwick County Fairgrounds, 300 S. Main, in Cheney.
McDorman said there is nothing better than going to a live bull-riding event, to see not only world-class riders but world-class bulls.
“Our event is for everybody,” McDorman said. “If you go to just one bull-riding event, you’re going to be hooked.”
Not literally, we hope.
This story was originally published July 10, 2012 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Sedgwick County Fair Bull Blowout event to include nationally ranked bulls."