“Love of competition” | News, Sports, Jobs

At a previous appearance at the Gerry PRCA Rodeo, a cowboy was thrown from his horse during a saddle bronc event. Submitted photo

GERRY — Are rodeo cowboys the greatest athletes in the world? Most people would say “no” when they think of NBA player Lebron James with his annual salary of $125 million, golfer John Rahm with $200 million or Major League Baseball pitcher Max Scherzer with $60 million.

But then imagine an athlete who has no guaranteed paycheck, travels around the country at his own expense, risks injury at every appearance, pays an entry fee to compete, gets no money if he doesn’t place in his competition, and has to work another job to pay the bills, and yet does it just for the love of competing in his sport. That’s the picture of the average rodeo cowboy, including two bareback bronco riders who shared their stories of competing on a previous trip to Gerry.

Tim Palmer lives in Russellville, Arkansas, and has been involved in rodeo since he was a teenager, when an older friend encouraged him to try it. He tried bull riding and also lassoing, but bareback riding on wild horses became his great passion. Surgery for a compound leg fracture when a horse kicked him in 2012 forced him to stop competing, but he returned just three months later, only to break the same leg, requiring another surgery.

He then took three years off, but slowly worked his way back into full-time competition. This year he will compete in more than 70 rodeos, traveling more than 100,000 miles in 30 states and living in a minivan most of the time. He will have to fly for some of the rodeos, including the trip to Gerry, as he will compete across the country in Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri.

Injuries continue to be a part of his sport, including a broken collarbone, two broken ankles, broken hands, broken ribs and a dislocated hip. He has no plans to stop though and says his biggest dream is to become world champion, a goal he sees not for himself but for the glory of God. He dedicates each ride to his best friend Coy Lutz, who died at age 19 when a wild horse landed on him.

And to make ends meet financially when he’s not on the rodeo tour, he owns a tree care business and spends his “free time” climbing trees and training horses.

Tim Kent of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, is a veteran of the rodeo scene. His journey to professional rodeo began at age 12 when an older cowboy friend took him to the First Frontier Circuit Finals in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to see his first rodeo. He was immediately bitten by the rodeo bug, but since his parents didn’t approve, he had to wait until he was 18 to attend a Sankey Bull Riding Clinic in North Carolina. He rode his first bull in competition when he was competing in a rodeo and they needed a bull rider. He says he wasn’t very good on the bulls and found bareback riding was the right thing for him.

Today, most of his rodeos are on the east coast of the United States and in eastern Canada, where he competes in about 70 rodeos. He is now married and recently had his first child with his wife, an event that he says changed some of his priorities.

In keeping with his profession, he has suffered a number of injuries, including two broken wrists and operations on both knees and a shoulder. His most serious injury was a ruptured spleen. He nearly died from blood loss and had to be flown to a hospital by helicopter.

He says it’s hard to explain why he loves the sport, but there’s a thrill or “kick” in getting on the back of an out-of-control, angry Bronco and being able to put on a great show for the fans.

His greatest reward, he says, is the rides where his timing is “right” and the eight-second ride seems “effortless.” He has no plans to stop competing at the moment. He also has a few other jobs, as he is a skilled stonemason and owns a small sawmill.

So the next time you attend a rodeo, whether in Gerry or elsewhere, think of the dedication, sacrifice and love that rodeo cowboys have for their sport, a passion unmatched by participants in any other sport, and you may agree that they rank high on the list of the world’s greatest athletes.

The Gerry Rodeo is currently preparing for its 79th annual rodeo with four performances, July 31 through August 3, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. at the arena six miles north of Jamestown, New York. More than 200 of these dedicated athletes will compete for a purse of $50,000.

The event also features the famous beef barbecue dinners, cooked over a wood fire for eight hours and served nightly at 5 p.m. in the air-conditioned dining room. A lighted fairground is open nightly from 5 p.m. with more than 20 vendors selling everything from western wear to cotton candy. On Saturdays at 4 p.m. there is a free kids’ rodeo where children ages 3 to 8 can dress up like real cowboys and cowgirls and participate in rodeo games in the arena under the supervision of rodeo personnel.

All proceeds go to the Gerry Volunteer Fire Department, which responds to more than 300 fire and emergency calls each year. For more information, visit the rodeo website at www.gerryrodeo.org or call 716-985-4847 or 1-888-985-4847. Advance tickets are available at discounted prices online or by phone and at Country Fair stores in Gerry and Fredonia through Sunday, July 28.