Oakdale is always the beginning of my pro rodeo season and since it’s fairly close to home, a good way to get back into life on the road. It’s also where the Flying U Rodeo Co. debuts the year’s new colts. Last year my wife fell in love with #317 on his first trip out, and we ended up naming him U-Gene and starting a Facebook page for him. When we went to visit him for his first birthday, we found his little brother #417, just a week or so old and named him U-Too. Oakdale was #417′s first rodeo also, so I made sure to get a picture of mom Dream With Me and U-Too in their pen.
Dream With Me & U-Too
The rodeo started off kind of rocky as I found out that Dan Hubbell (one of the rodeo photographers who shoots Oakdale) had arrived before me and convinced someone there to limit my access because he doesn’t like competition. Since this was my first rodeo I’d be shooting with my PRCA card, (which allows me to shoot from the arena floor) this was a problem. Eventually it was solved. In the mean time I got to shooting slack:
Derrick Begay
Billy Bugenig talks with some fellow steer wrestlers.
Steer wrestler Stan Branco of Chowchilla, CA competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Barrel racer Kimmie Wall of Roosevelt, UT competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
When the first performance started, I set up along a wall running along side the bucking chutes. It allowed me to be very close to the chutes yet have an escape if any of the stock decided to get too close. The second bull out, Ned Kelly, decided to test out this plan.
Bull rider Casey White of Weiser, ID rides Ned Kelly at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
After shedding his rider, Ned Kelly ended up next to the wall about 8 feet in front of me. I made one last picture and bailed. But there wasn’t quite enough time to scale the wall, and all I could do was turn sideways and lean out of the way. As he went by, I could feel his horn as it grazed my shirt. All in all, a very close call.
Ned Kelly
The rest of the performance I was amped up on adrenaline. After it was over I decided to go get a stool that wouldn’t stick out into the arena, yet would allow me to get out faster. I found one at a local hardware store where the clerk tried to talk me out of buying it because he said it was too expensive. I told him it was a life and death situation and he just kind of stared at me and rung me up.
The next day, Ned Kelly was out again, and before the gate opened, everyone by the chutes turned and laughed at me, suggesting he’d come after me again. Elliott Jacoby rode him, and yes, it was right at me again.
Bull rider Elliott Jacoby of Fredricksburgh, TX rides Ned Kelly at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
This time I was ready and jumped in the stool and to the top of the wall. Here is what it looked like, courtesy of my friend Al Golub who was shooting from across the arena:
Bull rider Elliott Jacoby of Fredricksburgh, TX rides Ned Kelly at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA. (Picture by Al Golub)
Adrenaline is a hell of a drug. Here are the rest of the pictures:
Bull rider Sam Wyatt of Fittstown, OK rides Silver Legacy at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright of Milford, UT rides The Voice at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Bareback rider Joel Schlegel of Burns, CO rides Dream With Me at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Bull rider Brady Williams of Snelling, CA rides MJ Kat at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Team roper Cody Cowden of Merced, CA competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Team roper Tommy Zuniga of Centerville, TX competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Bullfighter Chance Jackson battles Mojito at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Barrel racer Courtney Cline of Arroyo Grande, CA competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Barrel racer Fallon Taylor of Whitesboro, TX competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Steer wrestler Dakota Eldridge of Elko, NV competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Steer wrestler Brad McGilchrist of Marysville, CA competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Steer wrestler Billy Holland Jr. of Oroville, CA competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Tie-down roper Riley Pruitt of Gering, NE competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Tie-down roper Tyson Durfey of Colbert, WA competes at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Bull rider Will Morris of Reno, NV gets bucked off MJ Dos Mas at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Bull rider Ricky Hallam of Norco, CA gets bucked off Razmatazz at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
Saddle bronc rider Landon Mecham of Tropic, UT gets bucked off on a re-ride at the Oakdale Rodeo in Oakdale, CA.
