Holy sh*t, this guy is going to need a whole bottle of Advil and an ice bath…
If you don’t know what this is, it’s called a “Wild Horse Race,” and no, it’s not a rodeo event that happens nationwide. It sure as hell seems like one of the most dangerous though.
Being from Tennessee, I had no idea what this redneck-looking shit was… but thanks to my handy dandy roommate who is from a tiny town in Oklahoma that grew up watching this, I was quickly informed on the interworkings.
The cowboys are working in teams of three, and each team has a bucking horse. One cowboy is called the ‘dogger’ who is responsible for holding the hell onto the horse, the second cowboy has the cinch that has to go around the seemingly feral horse, and the last cowboy is the rider that (you guessed it) has to end up on the back of the animal.
In short, the goal is to cinch up a horse without it being in the stocks, but no team in this event looks even close to successful.
Filmed at the Santa Maria Rodeo in California, the gates are opened, and the teams pull the horses out of the gate. However, that QUICKLY turns to the horse yanking the groups around. I mean, let’s face it… as strong as these cowboys are, they aren’t stronger than a horse.
The chaotic video follows a few teams (one of which is being dragged through the mud) before focusing on one team that was a little slower out of the gate. The cowboys are not having luck getting closer than 3 feet away from this bronc, and as the bronc stands up on the team, cowboys from the shoots begin to holler at them for a warning.
“Watch out behind you! Heads up!”
As the camera pans to a loose horse coming right at this team, the next thing you know, the second man on the horse’s lead rope is just trampled, being completely taken out. Like a free safety laying the boom on a wide receiver coming across the middle.
Then a second horse comes over the top of him.
Double ouch.
The cowboy quickly stands back up, but looks a little shaky (rightfully so).
One of the arena officials grabs the stocks and says to his buddy filming, bug-eyed:
“Holy shit.”
People in the comments at least were finding some humor in the unfortunate situation, commenting:
“Got up standing like Beetlejuice.”
“Turned into Uncle Fester after that.”
“This is how a girl got her mustang in the ‘Flicka’ movie. Puts all these boys to shame.”
Hoping this cowboy did not face any serious injuries, but goodness, my bones hurt for all of them after watching this video. Wild horse racing is not for the weak.
@idrinkonceayear #cmon#santamaria ♬ original sound – Jeffrey Fisher
