Three area law enforcement officers were among the bull riders at the Marion County Fair rodeo Wednesday night.
Two of them, Marion County Correctional Officers Noah Jourdon and Hunter Horn, had never rode before and had challenged each other.
Horn was thrown off as the bull came out of the gate.
“Exciting, adrenaline rushing,” Horn said. “I rode a steer a week ago, then I got on this bull. That’s all the practice I had.”
Jourdan says once the gate opens things move fast.
“It’s really slow before, but once you ride it it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Jourdan said. You basically get in and fall off or last eight seconds. It’s super quick… I was able to last two seconds, almost three, maybe.”
And once you’re thrown off you have to move fast.
“You basically just run to the nearest fence. It’s not good to stay down on the ground, you might get hurt.”
The two were joined by Kinmundy Police Officer Steven Mulvaney.
“I started at about six, and I had to stop because I had one step on my head and I got a concussion,” Mulvaney said. “Two years ago, I started getting on some again, and I was like you know what, I’ll just keep doing it.”
Mulvaney says you have no control once the gate opens.
“Once the gate opens, that bull just does whatever it wants to. The objective is to just stay on as long as you can, and unfortunately I did not do that tonight.”
Mulvaney says he will definitely ride again. Horn and Jourdan say they are up to the challenge to do it again, but Jourdan added if he kept riding, he fears he’d eventually get hurt.
