2017 Mixed Bag: Day 93 - Bulls & Bands

Today was a full day to include a 3-mile walk into town and back, some off-road exploration near Hahn's Peak, and concluding with Bulls & Bands. All were fun and invigorating, but none were quite like the latter. What on earth is Bulls & Bands you ask? Seems the sport (if you can call it that) of American Freestyle Bullfighting began back in the early 70s. It was a sponsored by, none other than, Wrangler and lasted several years before going away. This year, Wrangler revived the event with three nights of bull fighting right here in Steamboat.

While the contest features genuine Mexican fighting bulls, there is no bloodshed, at least by the bulls. The two-legged contestants are rodeo clowns! These are some crazy dudes. The clown stands in the middle of a tiny arena awaiting the release of the bull. It's called freestyle because the interaction that follows is totally unpredictable. Several times the clown athletes jumped the charging bull. One of the attempts was a complete failure...ouch! In fact, contact is the name of the game. The more contact between and initiated by the clown, the higher the score. Like bull riding, the clown and the bull are evaluated.

Anyway...it was a hoot! While there was lots of butting and trampling of clowns, the were no stretchers or ambulances required. I can guarantee there are some very sore dudes tonight, however. Man! There was lots and lots of impact.

I hadn't planned to take photos, but one very rambunctious bull refused to leave the arena. It appears that one horse alone cannot pull and overpower a stubborn bull. It required an action-packed 15 minutes of strategic thrashing, bluffing, maneuvering, roping, groping and the like to just get this hearty soul out of the tiny arena. More time was required to maneuver it back into its holding pen.

We had a blast and can't wait to return to the finals, next week!