Wild buffalo: The ride of their lives
<p>Wild buffalo-riding volunteer competitor, Josiah Clairmont, exits the chute. Clairmont was able to hold on to the beast for 5.87 seconds, the second longest ride of the day. Unfortunately, however, his ride did not qualify for him to win a percentage of the 2,850 pot.</p>
<p>Scott Lavell, the final rider of the day, kicks back at his wild buffalo after being bucked in 1.82 seconds.</p>
RONAN – Riding rough stock in rodeo is a dangerous game; even the toughest cowboys take career-ending falls yearly from the backs of bucking bulls and broncs.
Still, that didn’t stop six daring amateurs from volunteering to attempt wild buffalo rides as the closing piece of entertainment for Ronan’s Pioneer Days rodeo.
Scott Lavell, Jake Harrick, Josiah Clairmont, Kevin Benson, Curtis Arvitson, and Moriah Cheff took turns atop six different buffalo to compete for a percentage of the $2,850 pot. The rest of the money went to support future pioneer days.
Before the event, rodeo announcer Ray Champ of Cut Bank “auctioned” the riders to the audience, which created the sum of the prize money.
Moriah Cheff went for the highest bid, $900, unfortunately she fell from her buffalo after 2.19 seconds. This despite Ray Champ’s admonition that “sometimes the best man for a job is a woman.”
Jake Harrick, from Twin Bridges, reigned supereme. He was the sole competitor to stay on the buffalo for a full 8 seconds, and was awarded 70 points from the judges for his skill.
Josiah Clairmont and Curtis Arvitson were runners-up, they managed to stay on for 5.87 and 5.53 seconds, respectively. Unfortunately, runners-up didn’t count in this rodeo.