White Park Cattle

Ancient Breed History - Polled British White Cattle . . . . the polled ancient Park cattle of Medieval times, and Immortalized in Ancient Celtic Myth and Law many thousands of years ago.
"Early accounts have suggested that hornless or polled cattle were introduced to Ireland and Britain from Scandinavia by Viking settlers (Wilson 1909). However, this theory is contradicted by the presence of polled cattle in the Irish archaeological record prior to the appearance of the Vikings (McCormick 1987)." DNAanalysis of cattle from Viking Dublin 1999, D. E.MacHugh and others, P. 100.

Ancient History Page 2 Ancient Literary and Historical References & Misc. New References
Work in Progress - Last Update 07/25/2009
PLEASE NOTE : This history will be updated shortly with additional important references that add greater clarity to the ancient history of the polled park cattle (British White) of Britain.

The purpose of this project was to explore the ancient breed history of Britain's Park Cattle and clarify the relationship between the ancient horned White Park of today and the ancient polled White Park of today (now referred to as British White). In 1918 the Park Cattle Society was formed in the United Kingdom and a herd book formally established which recorded both horned and polled ancient white park cattle of both black and red points. In 1946, breeders of ancient polled Park Cattle separated from the Park Cattle Society and formed the British White Cattle Society - thereafter the 'polled' park cattle were known by the distinguishing breed name - British White.

As a breeder of polled British White cattle I've often been asked "What is the difference between the White Park and the British White?" I couldn't answer and found myself stumbling, as I knew Britain's White Park Cattle Society quite oddly declares no relationship to the polled British White, yet the information currently available in essays and articles on the polled British White and the horned White Park reflects much of the same lore and legend.

They share this lore and legend because both varieties of park cattle were present in the British Isles since 'time immemorial'. In Wild, White Cattle" (p.36) by James Edmund Harting (c.1880), it is clear that at the onset of the Middle Ages there were polled herds, horned herds with a variety of shape and length, and herds with both red and black color points. The distinguishing trait today that separates the two varieties is the presence of horns, and secondary to horns would be the disposition of the animal, and those same traits have existed for hundreds of years -- the difference today is our 21st century need to peg this wonderful bovine into two distinct breeds. It's interesting to compare the Rare Breeds Survival Trust's (a UK charity supported national conservation society) descriptions of the two breeds. It strikes one that they are careful not to step on the toes of the horned White Park Cattle Society, likely because one of their most influential members has strong connections with the White Park Cattle Society. Conspicuously absent is any mention in the White Park breed description of the original founding Park Cattle Society that dates back to 1918 that encompassed all white park cattle, polled or horned, within the United Kingdom.

As well, there is no mention given to the introgression of English Longhorn and Welsh Black genetics into horned White Park herds; and certainly no mention that prior to the 1940's owners of horned herds made use of polled white park (British White) bulls to improve their herds. The following is an excerpt from the Conclusion section of Jessica Hemmings' excellent 2002 research article which would appear to lay to rest the claims of horned White Park Cattle, whether docile or wild, of being of ancient aurochsen origin which we are to believe makes them a breed of greater antiquity than that of the polled British White:

". . . .The public literature distributed by the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association deliberately fosters this sense of mystery, as does the Association's reluctance to accept the findings of recent zoological studies which indicate that the animals (Chillingham park cattle) are the feral descendants of ordinary domestic stock. Nobody claims that they come from the fairy mounds any longer, but arguing that they are the direct descendants of "the gigantic wild white bull of Caesar's time, and of the monstrous bovine wonders of the Palaeolithic and neolithic ages" (Wallace 1907, 29) seems thematically similar. Where the origin is obscure, it is easy to imagine it to be remarkable. . ."

Within the existing horned White Park herds in the UK, there are apparently animals of both wild and tame disposition. However, the horned Chillingham herd of White Park cattle is considered to be representative of the true feral (wild) white park animal, and DNA testing is said to show these Chillingham animals as distinct from any other European breed. However, per Hemmings 2002 research:

". . .Although both the late president and the patron have quoted genetic work done on the cattle to support their arguments, the zoological reports in fact make it quite clear that the Chillingham herd does not have any special relationship to the aurochs whatsoever (Hall 1982-3, 96; 1991, 540)."

The Chillingham cattle continue to live in their native habitat and the introduction of new blood is said to be minimal to non-existent. Unfortunately, many historians and breeders key in on this falsely supported DNA report and presume that all horned white park cattle are proven distinct from the polled British White. I believe this is an error of enormous consequence perpetuated by Britain's White Park Cattle Society for their own disserving purposes that will one day be corrected. There is no public data that identifies the lineage of the British White animals that were used for the basis of these tests, but most assuredly in my opinion the horned White Park animal (s) that was tested was a cow or bull of the most exceedingly closed Chillingham genetics and bears no relationship to the fat and docile appearing horned White Park animals to be found more commonly in Britain, which even a novice can ascertain as having a distinct kinship with Britain's and the USA's polled British White cattle.

Exploring different references to the British White, I was surprised to learn that there are Galloway's that are white with black points, and considering the genetic dominance of the pattern of white with black (or red) points. . .

"Although there is strong evidence that the White Galloway and White Park patterns are due to the tyrosinase gene, the mutation does not occur in the coding portion of the gene and therefore no DNA test has been developed. This temperature sensitive expression of pigment, like that of the Siamese cat, is inherited as a dominant. If a rancher breeds 7 non-white cows and obtains 7 white calves, there is a 99% chance that the sire is homozygous for this trait." DNA Tests for Cattle - Dr. Sheila Schmutz

. . . .of the polled British White (pre 1946 White Park) markings it could be easily surmised that at some point in time the British White was bred into the Galloway, and I would instinctively surmise this occurred well before the modern days of 1960. I would have thought the odd white Galloway would be found more closely linked to the British White judging from simply the look of these ancient polled cattle and their docile nature and the dominance of the white park markings once introduced into a breed, this White Galloway breeder appears to concur.

"As can be clearly seen, the breeders of these cattle were engaged in a continual struggle to maintain numbers, and from time to time the blood of other breeds was introduced in order to avoid problems associated with in-breeding and to achieve the desired type. (The article on page 7 of the 1998 British White Breed Journal by Mr J Cator gives a full account of these outside sources used between 1840 and 1918 in the Woodbastwick herd)." (source: British White Cattle Society - UK)

The polled variety of the white park cattle was considered superior by this elder cattleman of the UK in the early 20th century. The excellence "since time immemorial" of the polled white park cattle referred to by this gentleman continues today. . .

Sir Claud Alexander, owner of the Faygate herd, writing in the 1912 "Amateur Menagerie Club" Year Book says:"I would, however, strongly advise anyone who may think of forming a herd to go to the polled variety for his foundation stock, for they have been kept from time immemorial for their milk and beef producing qualities, and right well do they justify their existence... The Somerford cows are excellent milkers and one of mine averages five gallons a day when in full profit. In addition to this they are big heavy beasts and give a good return from the butcher when their milking days are over.... Mr Quinton Gurney's herd at Northrepps Hall is a thoroughly practical one, for on it devolves the task of keeping the town of Cromer supplied with milk. At Woodbastwick too, some grand milkers are to be found, and here great attention is paid to beef producing powers, as the records of the local fat stock shows frequently testify... If anyone who reads these notes and feels inclined to form a herd will communicate with me, I shall be pleased to supply any information that may be required."

What I find most interesting is the casual inference that the polled variety has better milk and beef producing qualities and has from "time immemorial". The domesticated white park cattle (British White) from the days of the Druids should have better milk and beef producing qualities than the wild variety of the horned Ancient White Park.

A few years after the excerpt above was printed, the Park Cattle Society was formed in the UK in 1918, which encompassed both horned and polled examples of the breed. In 1946 the group split and the polled white "Park Cattle" animal became formally known as a British White and the British White Cattle Society in the UK was established. Through their efforts the polled British White has risen from numbers so low as to be listed a rare breed, to it's status now as a minority breed. Their numbers will continue to grow as this beautiful, docile animal becomes more broadly known across the world as the breed that delivers all that an owner can wish for in health, longevity, fertility, milk, and beef.



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Extract FROM JOHN O'GROATS TO LAND'S END, SEVENTH WEEK'S JOURNEY, Oct. 3 to Nov. 5 1871. "We now bade good-bye to the River Dove, leaving it to carry its share of the Pennine Range waters to the Trent, and walked up the hill leading out of the town towards Abbots Bromley. We soon reached a lonely and densely wooded country with Bagot's Wood to the left, containing trees of enormous age and size, remnants of the original forest of Needwood, while to the right was Chartley Park, embracing about a thousand acres of land enclosed from the same forest by the Earl of Derby, about the year 1248. In this park was still to be seen the famous herd of wild cattle, whose ancestors were known to have been driven into the park when it was enclosed. These animals resisted being handled by men, and arranged themselves in a semi-circle on the approach of an intruder. The cattle were perfectly white, excepting their extremities, their ears, muzzles, and hoofs being black, and their long spreading horns were also tipped with black. Chartley was granted by William Rufus to Hugh Lupus, first Earl of Chester, whose descendant, Ranulph, a Crusader, on his return from the Holy War, built Beeston Castle in Cheshire, with protecting walls and towers, after the model of those at Constantinople. He also built the Castle at Chartley about the same period, A.D. 1220, remarkable as having been the last place of imprisonment for the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots, as she was taken from there in 1586 to be executed at Fotheringhay."

Jumping and Spinning, a Ballerina With Hooves

The World's Rankest Bull: Since October of 2009, no professional bull rider has been able to stay on Bushwacker for eight seconds. At a recent P.B.R. event in Pueblo, Colorado, the riders explained why he's so tough to ride.
By JOE SPRING
Published: July 19, 2011
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Dustin Elliott, a 145-pound professional cowboy, popped into the chute and felt energized by the lights above and the 1,600-pound bull beneath him. He wrapped a rope around his right hand, twisted right to left four times, then bounced up and down three times. The bull, meanwhile, looked casually to the left and waited.
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Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
Bushwacker stands atop the Professional Bull Riders list of the world’s rankest — or toughest to ride — bulls.
“He’s got a real cool arrogance to himself and then when the gate opens he just explodes,” Shorty Gorham, a bullfighter, said of Bushwacker, who usually bucks most pros in three seconds or so. “But leading up until then you would think he’s just some farm pet that didn’t have an ounce of buck in him.”

Since October 2009, no cowboy has ridden Bushwacker for even eight seconds, the minimum needed to earn a score, and the average is 3.01. In 2010, he jumped, kicked and spun his way to more than $335,000 from American Bucking Bull Inc., which awards prize money to bulls. With an average score of 46.01 out of 50, he stands atop the Professional Bull Riders list of the world’s rankest — or toughest to ride — bulls. But it’s not the numbers that have the cowboys tweaked.

“He’s a smart bull,” the rider Robson Palermo said. “Every time he leaves the chute he got something for you.”

With a relaxed swagger in cramped quarters, hops that should not originate from hooves, and a stable of freakish, syncopated moves that have left riders flummoxed, Bushwacker sometimes appears more ballerina than bovine. In Springfield, Mo., last year, he bucked the rookie of the year, Silvano Alves, headfirst into the dirt, swung rump over muzzle, landed on his right-front foot, and Eskimo-kissed the ground.

Hours before his encounter with Elliott in the United States Air Force Invitational in late May, as the sun rose over his pen in Pueblo, Colo., Bushwacker champed a mix of hay, grain, vitamins and minerals. His trainer, Kent Cox, laid out the feed so the bull would dine at least 12 hours before bucking.

“You can’t eat a big old bowl of spaghetti and go run a marathon,” Cox said.

On days when the bull riding starts at 2 p.m., Cox rises at 2 a.m., ignoring the headaches that have plagued him since he took a horn to the right side of the face while riding a one-ton bull in 1997. The impact shattered his cheekbone, eye socket and nasal cavity. He had five operations to install 13 plates in his head.

A year and a half later, he got back on a bull. He could still ride, but he had lost the desire. He transferred his energy into training bulls.

Cox has had great success with Bushwacker, who took home the single biggest check when he won the $250,000 A.B.B.I. Classic Championship during the Professional Bull Riders finals last October. Money also comes from breeding. Earlier this year, a collector took sperm from Bushwacker. It sells for more than $2,000 a straw. The average bull can fill 150 straws per collection.

To help owners pair potential mates, the A.B.B.I. tracks the lineage of every premier dam and sire and the bucking success of their offspring. And though Bushwacker’s line sounds as if it came from the police blotter in a seedy Southwestern drag, it is rodeo royalty. Diamond’s Ghost sired his mother, Lady Luck. Oscar’s Velvet sired his father, Reindeer Dippin’, an ornery bull who went unridden in the P.B.R. three separate years.

“When Bushwacker was a baby he was mean — he’d hook my horse,” said his co-owner Julio Moreno. “Kent’s got him to where, you know, he could eat of your hand now.”

At noon, Bushwacker lay in his pen. He is caramel, except for the tilted white H on his face, the “1 3 6” scar branded to his left rump and white horns cut off into nubs.

Cox helped two cowboys and a cowgirl herd bulls into a truck. His wife, Gina, watched from a deck behind the pens.

“I call him the bull whisperer,” she said. “He lives, breathes and eats bulls, and if you don’t moo, he doesn’t care about you.”

Gina Cox grew up in a rodeo family in Illinois. On weekends, she helps out as a P.B.R. secretary.

“I consider the finals in Las Vegas our vacation,” she said. “And that’s maybe two hours of sleep every night.”

She laughed and ran her right hand over her left forearm, a $65,000 digital prosthetic. In 2004, she lost the arm in a car wreck.

“That was the one time he never left my side — for two weeks,” she said of her husband. “And probably the only time he was away from the bulls for that long.”

As Cox helped guide four other bulls to the trailer, Bushwacker looked out through the fence.

“You know that bull loves his job,” Gina Cox said. “Because when that trailer leaves and he’s not on it, you can tell he’s upset.”

She worries about her husband. He has had at least 13 concussions and often enters the pens to train the bulls with only two blue heeler cattle dogs at his side. He has been knocked down more than once.

As Cox swung open the gate to Bushwacker’s pen, the bull stood still and twitched his right ear into a cup. Cox walked in. Bushwacker trotted out. Soon he was on the truck and off to the arena.

The haul was a short one, comparatively. Cox drives Bushwacker from his home in Dublin, Tex., to more than a dozen events around the country.

After an hour-and-a-half nap at the hotel, Cox showed up behind the Colorado State Fair Events Center at 7. Pyrotechnics went off inside. Bushwacker waited amid a sea of fencing, swinging tails and tilting horns.

Cox went inside and clanked up steps to the platform behind the chutes. Chaw dripped off a grate that creaked under the weight of paunched contractors and square-jawed cowboys.

Cox flanked the 28th and 29th bulls, steadied riders in the chute by holding their shoulders and drawled with cowboys. The gate slammed open. Clumps of dirt flew up into the scrum of hats.

Shortly after 9 p.m., after more than 40 bulls had gone out, Bushwacker ambled into the chute. Cox stood over his still flank. The opening piano from Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” blared from the speakers. Elliott finished squirming and nodded vigorously. The gate opened.

Bushwacker short-hopped into the arena. Drool flew out of his mouth and whirled over Elliott’s head. Bushwacker bounded more than two feet into the air, kicked his hind legs up, and drove his front legs into the ground. Instead of waiting for his back legs to touch dirt, as most bulls do, he sprung off his front feet immediately.

This is Bushwacker’s signature move, and it is as effective in its offbeat athleticism as a point guard executing a crossover dribble to ditch a defender. Elliott came forward and lost the weight of his feet underneath him.

Possibly sensing the rider’s weight shift, Bushwacker staccato-hopped to the right. He accelerated into five successive spinning jumps. His tail whipped his own rump with emphatic snaps. Elliott flew to the right and hit the dirt. The clock showed 6.57 seconds.

Bushwacker kicked out of the arena and into the night. He stopped at the last gate and waited for the next truck. Inside, after the last ride of the night, Kent and Gina Cox walked over to Elliott.

“There’s nobody that we’d be prouder to have ride him first,” Gina said. “That’s for dang sure.”

Then Kent Cox put his arm on his wife’s back and left the arena smiling.

“This is what we work all week long to come do, and the results are here,” he said. “He did his job, and, yeah.”

The Help

Scott Breding

During Scott Breding’s career as a professional bull rider, people have repeatedly used a biblical reference when joking about the hazards of climbing aboard 1,800-pounds of fury.

“I’ve heard many times that man should not ride animals with a cloven hoof,” smiled Breding, a five-time WNFR qualifier and current PBR competitor, from Edgar, Mont. “But I guess I’m just a thrill-seeker. I like the constant challenge of trying to ride the beast for eight seconds.”

Breding is part of a world-class triumvirate putting on a bareback bronc riding and bull riding school for the Helena Rodeo Club at the Lewis and Clark Fairgrounds. The classes began Friday morning and run through Sunday.

The bull riding is being instructed by Breding, while world champions Bobby Mote and Clint Corey are teaching the bareback. There are 25 students attending the bronc riding classes, and 16 with 16 cowboys learning about bull riding.

“We have students here with a wide variety of experience, from beginners to veterans,” said Mote, who has qualified for nine WNFRs. “Our main goal is for the guys to take their skills to the next level, and have fun.”

Mote, from Culver, Ore., is a three-time PRCA world bareback champion, winning titles in 2002, 2007 and 2009.

Corey, 46, qualified for the NFR 18 times in a career spanning more than 20 years. He captured the world bareback crown in 1991, and has placed runner-up four times and came in third five times.

Corey said that Mote asked him to help out after getting such a large turnout for the school.

“Twenty-five is just too many for one guy to handle,” Corey said. “I taught Bobby when he was starting out, and we used to travel together for awhile. He called and needed some help, so here I am.

“Besides, I used to rodeo here (the Last Chance Stampede), and Helena is a great place with some really fine people. And Montana has some great bareback riders.”

Corey and Mote, who has also competed at the LCS the “last couple years,” are both good friends with Boulder bareback rider Ben Wrzesinski, who was one of the organizers of the school. Breding said he was called upon by his buddy John Hanson, the Helena Rodeo Club’s president.

The three-day school focuses mostly on the basics, beginning with the “front-end and back-end,” meaning how to get on and off of the animals properly.

Many of the 41 students in attendance belong to the local high school Rodeo Club. But there are also cowboys here from Canada, Idaho, North Dakota, California, and throughout Montana.

The youngest is 13-year old bull rider Dalton Brooks of Deer Lodge, while Butte bareback rider Maclin Staman, 32, is the oldest.

Bareback riders Brady Betram and Colter Antonsen traveled from opposite ends of the compass dial to attend. Betram, 22, came from Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, while the 18-year old Antonsen drove from Ridgecrest, Calif., near the Mohave Desert.

Antonsen’s mother, Gail Klett, and Clint Corey were high school classmates in Silverdale, Wash.

One of the local area students is Cavan Wrzensinski, a sophomore at Jefferson High School.

“I just want to learn more of the basics, start riding better than I did last fall, and improve on my mistakes,” said Wrzesinski.

The 16-year old Boulder cowboy already owns a career highlight.

“At Harlowton, I rode the same horse that my dad (Ben) had at the NRA finals, and I put up my best score ever with a 78,” he smiled.

Capital High senior Guy Nordahl, and Tanner Hollenbach, a junior from Dillon, are taking the bull riding class.

“This is the best school in Montana,” said Nordahl, who comes from a longtime rodeo family. “We all look up to Scott (Breding), he’s one of the best in the business. He definitely knows what he’s talking about, and I’m hoping to filter from what he’s learned.”

When asked what makes a person want to climb on top of the bucking giants in the first place, the slender Hollenback (5-foot-8, 120-pounds) quickly answered, “Because it’s a lot of fun,” before adding, “But you’re dumb if you’re not a little bit scared when you get on ‘em. But it’s that fear that makes you not want to screw up.”

Corey noted that the purpose of the school is not solely to teach riding.

“We want to instill in them a winning attitude,” Corey said. “Some of these kids have never even ridden before, and after the school they might decide that rodeo is not for them. But hopefully they’ll take with them some instruction on being winners in life.”

Read more: http://helenair.com/sports/article_448d5cc2-2e73-11df-b449-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1T4h59zu1

Up in princeton ky with Timmy watching him shoe horses

Rank: Bull Riding News: Baby Pictures

Rank: Bull Riding News: Baby Pictures

Rank: Bull Riding News

Rank: Bull Riding News

13 Year Old Girl Raising Bucking Bulls

Some 13-year-old girls like wearing frilly dresses and have a cat or dog as a pet.

Cheyenne Martin, 13, prefers wearing jeans and western shirts and keeps bulls as pets.

These are mean bulls that weigh almost a ton and will toss cowboys who try to ride them off their backs and then try to gore or trample the would-be rider.

The Tharptown School eighth-grader from Mt. Hope began raising rodeo bulls three years ago. She now owns six that compete in rodeos around the Tennessee Valley as well as dozens of cows and calves.

So far this year, cowboys have managed to ride only two of her bulls for the eight seconds required to earn a score from rodeo judges.

“Everybody who tries to ride them talks about how good my bulls are,” she said. “They tell me my bulls are tough to ride.”

The teen begins preparing her bulls for rodeos when they are 1 year old by placing an 18-pound dummy on their back and allowing them to buck it off. She then uses a 25-pound dummy and eventually a real cowboy.

“The first couple of times somebody tries to ride them, the bulls usually don't know what to do,” Martin said. “But once they realize that if they buck, jump and twist around enough, they can throw that cowboy off their back. They become tough to ride.”

The more a bull bucks, jumps and twists during a rodeo, the more points earned by a cowboy who is able to stay on for 8 seconds. Bull riders prefer the bulls to be active and downright ornery.

Martin said she never turns her back on her bulls when she is working around them.

“Sometimes when they are out in the pasture, they will run at you,” she said. “Sometimes when you have them in a stable or a holding pen, they will snort when you walk by. They make me nervous sometimes, but I always keep my eyes on them.”

Her father, Jim Martin, said the teen has been around cattle and rodeos all her life and knows how to avoid being injured by bulls.

“She knows what she is doing,” he said. “She knows a bull can hurt you, and she respects them. She knows the danger and knows how to take care of herself around the bulls.”

In addition to raising bucking bulls, the teen also raises and trains ponies.

She competes in barrel-racing competitions at rodeos and for a time thought about riding bulls.

“When she was younger, she wanted to ride a bull,” Jim Martin said. “I was able to talk her out of it. I tried riding a bull one time and that was enough for me. There's no animal at the rodeo any tougher to ride than a bull.”

Her bucking bull business could pay her way to college. Bucking bulls sell for about $700 for an unproven calf to more than $30,000 for a rodeo star.

“She likes to reinvest the money she earns from her bulls and ponies back into her business,” Jim Martin said. “She already has a pretty good bank account from the money she has earned.”

The teen spends time with her cattle and ponies every day and makes sure they are in top notch condition at all times, Jim Martin said.

“She makes sure her animals never want for anything,” he said. “She's a good

rancher.”

Having grown up on a farm and being a member of 4-H, Cheyenne said farming and taking care of animals

comes naturally.

She plans to continue her bucking bull business as an adult and hopes that some of her bulls will be selected for professional level rodeos such as those sponsored by the Professional Bull Riders

organization.

“She's off to a good start,” Jim Martin said. “She has some good bulls and they keep getting better every year. Several people have told us she has some bulls that have the potential to move up to the pro circuits some day.”

Jim said a rodeo bull's career typically last from the time they are 3 years old until they are 6 or 7. The good ones will be put out to pasture after their rodeo career in hopes of getting calves that are just as good. Bulls that fail to live up to expectations in rodeos are typically slaughtered to become ground beef.

“Most people don't realize it, but when they eat a hamburger, they might be eating and old rodeo bull,” Jim Martin said.

Been happening for years !

Bulls, not riders, under steroids cloud in bull riding
By Josh Peter, Yahoo! Sports
October 2, 2007


The steroids scandals have claimed the latest and perhaps most unlikely suspect yet.

The sport of bull riding may start drug testing some of its athletes – not the riders, the bulls.

As if the four-legged beasts that weigh up to 2,200 pounds don't have enough testosterone, some bull owners allegedly are injecting the animals with anabolic steroids.


"Oh, I think damn near everybody's doing it," said Jerry Nelson, one of the sport's top bull owners. "It ain't going to slow down. It's just like baseball, football, whatever. It's not going to slow down until you legislate (against) it."

Gary Warner, a prominent veterinarian in the world of bull riding, said he recently received calls from two bull owners asking him to look into the possibility of drug testing what some in the industry refer to as "the bovine athletes." Warner intends to bring the matter up for discussion at this month's World Finals in Las Vegas.

The PBR board of directors met Sept. 20 to discuss the implementation of an anti-steroids policy, tour CEO Randy Bernard said. The board will meet with Warner and PBR's attorney before fine-tuning the language, according to Bernard, who said the policy likely will call for the testing of the top-performing bulls at each event.

Gilbert Carrillo, a former rider who now raises bulls, said he would welcome drug testing considering what he's seen on the circuit.

"When you got a 2-year-old bull or a 3-year-old bull looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, there is some form of steroid there," he said.

The practice dates back at least to the late 1990s, when Nelson said steroid use was so rampant he decided to give it a try. He said his bulls became more aggressive and muscular but also developed side effects. For some, hair color changed. Others grew sterile, jeopardizing their value as potential breeders.

Nelson said he promptly swore off steroids, but how many other trainers followed suit is a matter of debate.

Warner, who works with some of the sport's leading trainers, said inquiries from bull owners about steroid use has dropped substantially in the past 10 years to the point where few in the industry even have discussed it since he got the recent calls about the possibility of drug testing. Though there is no anti-doping policy for livestock in the Professional Bull Riders tour – the major leagues of bull riding – or the rest of the rodeo world, the use of anabolic steroids in bulls is unapproved and illegal.

Despite what steroids might do for major-league sluggers and NFL linebackers, Warner said he sees no competitive advantage by pumping bulls full of steroids. Yes, he said, steroids promote muscle gain, but only if you work out.

"The case in point is, gee, we're not sticking a bull underneath the weight rack and doing 700-pound squats," Warner said.

But suspicions of drug use heightened in 2004 when someone found empty syringes outside the pen that housed the bulls during the Professional Bull Riders World Finals in Las Vegas. The syringes could have been used to inject vitamin B-12 shots, which are approved for bulls. But Don Kish, president of American Bucking Bull Inc., took renewed concerns to the board of directors.

"We brought it up, passed some rules and then found out we passed some rules we didn't have the ability to enforce," he said.

Apparently the group couldn't settle on a definition of an illegal drug, considering some of the medications allegedly abused are narcotics approved for therapeutic use in bulls. But Warner said the industry could set permissible thresholds for approved medications and employ the same technology that is used to test racehorses to test bulls.

The root of alleged cheating in bull riding is – what else? – money. This year ABBI will pay out more than $1.6 million in competitions for bulls between ages 2 and 4.

Carrillo, who retired from riding last year to focus on raising bulls, said owners find themselves asking the same question.

"How can I make my bull perform better than it's already performing?" Carrillo said. "The first thing that comes to mind is steroids. They think steroids will make a bull jump over the moon.

"It does make a bull gain weight quicker, get more muscle mass quicker and make their performance a little better, but not as much as people think it would."

He paused momentarily as he considered bigger, faster and meaner bulls tossing cowboys into the air.

"I think they need to give the riders some steroids to help them hang on," he said.

Breeding Season

Starting in late January is when most Bucking stock contractors like to start their breeding season if they are playing the Futurity events, this insures that they all are at the same age and not months apart. I we like our calves to be in the early spring so we do not have to worry about loosing any to the harsh winters that have been of lately. We have also noticed that the calves respond and have a lot more energy and start grazing and eating feed a lot earlier, which in my opinion the grazing before going on feed is helping in growth and health more than having a calf in the winter months. I understand also that winter last a bit longer in the western states that in our area also,with that being said the events could start at later dates and end with later dates and the same money potential still being the same.
We raise our stock not for the big money in the high paying events but because we like raising bucking stock.We like the money do not get me wrong but we also don't want calves and their mothers stressed out by the cold weather because, they need alot of energy in the cold. Hay make a big difference in feeding winter months and we don't see calves start on hay as quick as we see the start to graze on pasture that one of the reason we like our early to late spring calves besides being healthier. There is no kind of growth hormones or steroids used on our place what so-ever, it is just not needed and it has been uncovered that some of the big stock contractors of today in the big shows has been caught using them which is illegal to start with (Steroids) I mean. If you can not raise a bucking bull with out cheating at it that shows that you are all about the money and yourself. That being said most of the big stock contractors do not raise their bulls they have big time money backers that make sure that they can just about buy any bull out there. I would like to be able to sit back and say that is actually a bull that I raised and not bought from someone else and shot it up on steroids and cheated my way into the short go.
Some of you may have no clue on anything that I'm talking about in raising rodeo stock or the work that goes into breeding, training or other work that is involved. May this your first time reading about it and have no idea about bull riding just follow along and read previous post and I will start having more informed blogs about the business.