Massage & Bodywork

September/October 2011

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more bull riders are experiencing it. I know I'm not gonna stop," he says. THE STARS OF THE SHOW Of course, bull riders aren't the only athletes in the ring who may wind up with sore muscles the next day. The bulls themselves exert tremendous energy, and some of the bulls radiate star power as well. PBR and rodeo officials invest considerable time and resources in keeping their bovine stars healthy, too. A one-day, bull-riding event requires about 60 bulls, a two-day event requires 90, and a three-day event requires 110. Bulls are ridden— or, more often, attempted to be ridden without success—no more than once a day. Statistically, a bull will suffer a minor injury such as a muscle pull or scratch once in every eight events, PBR officials say. Unlike their human costars, injured bulls aren't allowed to compete until they heal. They don't return to the chute until a vet determines they're fully healed. The few who suffer career- ending injuries retire to life on a stud farm, where they go about the business of creating the next generation of bucking bulls. Most PBR bulls come from elite breeding programs, designed specifically to produce good buckers. Some bulls do receive bodywork, usually from chiropractors specially trained to work on large animals. Sadly, no bull is known to have experienced the pleasure of massage therapy—yet. "I know there are equine massage therapists who work on rodeo horses, but I don't know about bull massage," Michael says. "I wouldn't want to be on the side of the cow kick when you hit a trigger point on a bull. That's not a field I would want to get into." Rebecca Jones is a Denver-area freelancer. Contact her at killarneyrose@comcast.net. TLC Back at the Ranch By Leslie Young Colorado cowboy Ty Rinaldo was a champion bull rider and almost lost his life to the sport in 1993. Rinaldo and his wife Nancy now run TZ Ranch and provide bucking bulls for the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit. I've known Ty for more than three decades. We both grew up rodeoing in Western Colorado, and I worked on his family's ranch. This summer he told me some success stories about bull riders getting bodywork. A feature idea, I thought! Sometimes rodeo gets a bad rap and I know my Massage & Bodywork readers love animals as much as I do. So I wanted to give you an inside peek into the real life of just one of these bovine rodeo stars. Take Rinaldo's friend Diez as an example. Diez has won some good money for Rinaldo. He's fed pricey high-octane feed, exercised regularly, and has topnotch medical care. At one point he was sold, but when Rinaldo learned the buyer wasn't taking good care of Diez, he trucked across the country and brought him home. Money is one thing. Camaraderie is another. Yep, Diez just might hook a cowboy or anyone else who gets in front of his shoulder, but he appreciates a good back rub as much as the next guy. And like many of his peers, he's a pro: he quits bucking when the buzzer goes off. He knows his eight-second workday is over. The best of the best bulls and bull riders—and their bodyworkers—will be in Las Vegas at the PBR World Finals in October. I'm planning on being there, but Diez probably won't make the cut to buck in the finals. He doesn't care though. He has a date—actually several dates. Massage & Bodywork Editor Leslie Young gets a chance to scratch bucking bull Diez at TZ Ranch in Larkspur, Colorado. Photo by Sandy Hansma. tune in to your practice at ABMPtv 61

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