AATTA-16

Chapter 16

Hang on to Your Hats!

Roxy huddled with Goldie and Ray to get their last-minute advice. They told her to hold on for dear life, use her legs as much as possible for balance, and above all, stay loose in the saddle. Plus, the moment she was bucked off, she should run as fast she could toward the closest fence and jump over it to safety.

“One last thing, Goldie,” Roxy said. “How many rodeo clowns are there to distract the horse once he gives me the heave ho?”

“Clowns?” Goldie replied with a chuckle, “Clowns are for the circus, cowgirl. Now get going!”

A couple of minutes later, Roxy was in the small chute being lowered down to the saddle of the huge, mean black horse.

“Don’t worry,” Ray whispered in her ear, “I’ve got a trick up my sleeve.”

“Don’t worry?” Roxy said. “It’s me that’s sitting on this pent-up, deadly volcano that’s about to blow. I think I just peed my pants. What have I gotten myself into?”

Guy started the five-second countdown to open the chute, while everyone in the grandstand held their breath.

Five seconds was just enough time for Jasper to come sprinting out from his hiding place under the royal box, after Ray called him using his high-frequency dog whistle. Jasper, wearing bright red bandanas tied around his neck and legs, now stood poised for action at the edge of the infield.

The instant the horse left the chute, Roxy felt like her stomach was being shaken up into her throat. Red Wing had made short work of many seasoned cowboys. Now, with the new cowgirl on the block riding him, he bucked and lurched for all he was worth. Roxy held on with every ounce of strength in her arms. The first three seconds felt like an eternity...

Just when she thought the horse would throw her for sure, Jasper streaked out into the centre of the infield. Red Wing’s eyes fastened on the dog. Then, forgetting all about the tight belt around its belly, the horse stopped bucking and chased Jasper around the infield.

Thanks to Jasper’s well-timed distraction, Roxy managed to stay on the galloping horse just long enough to win the bet. The entire grandstand, with the exception of Billy Ray of course, burst into applause and gave Roxy and Jasper a standing ovation.

Guy announced that Roxy had won the bet and Billy Ray had to give her the money. Billy Ray protested that the dog had interrupted the horse’s bucking.

“Tell you what, Billy Ray,” Guy said. “If you stay on Bertha Blanchett’s black brute of a horse, Cyclone, for even three seconds, I’ll give you your money back.”

Billy Ray knew darn well that Cyclone had bucked off 129 consecutive cowboys and he wasn’t going to be number 130. He handed over the money and sheepishly returned to his seat, staying quiet for the rest of the afternoon.

Roxy was feeling on top of the world now that she’d changed Leah’s fate. Maybe there’s still enough time for me to do more, she thought. “Worth a try,” she said aloud.

She took Big Boy McCoy aside near the corral and told him that she thought he and Leah made a great-looking couple.

“Well, thank you, Roxy,” Big Boy said.

“You know,” Roxy said, “I’m pretty sure she’d say yes if you popped the big question, particularly if you gave her something very special.”

Big Boy was speechless as Roxy gave him the beautiful diamond ring she’d won.

“This ring fits my ring finger,” Roxy said, “so it will most likely fit Leah’s as well.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Big Boy said, “except thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’d planned to buy a ring with my Stampede winnings from riding the wild bucking horse Twister to a standstill and placing first in the Cowboy Fancy Roping World Championship. Now Leah and I can put all that money toward our dream ranch instead.”

The crowd pleasing wild horse race.

Roxy waved goodbye and rejoined Ray and Jasper in the grandstand, where she told her brother what had happened.

“I’m really proud of you, sis,” Ray said. “I know how much you went through to win and hang on to that diamond ring.”

By now, the most amusing event of the day was taking place. The Wild Horse Race was disorganized chaos and featured 30 wild bucking horses turned loose in the corral. There were 30 teams of cowboys, consisting of one rider and two assistants from all over North America. These included the famous Mexican champions, los vaqueros de Perez, or the Perez cowboys, from Chiapas, Mexico, featuring three generations; Maximiliano was the rider and his two assistants were his father Roberto and grandfather Gustavo.

The rules were very simple. The race started the moment the cowboys attempted to put a saddle on the wild bucking horse. The rider who secured the saddle in the fastest time and raced his horse to the finish line first won the race, along with new black Stetson hats for the team, donated by the John B. Stetson Company of Philadelphia.

“Are you ready teams?” Guy shouted out above all the commotion. “Because it’s giddy-up time!”

Guy rang the bell and everybody in the crowd laughed at the bucking horses, the cowboys bumping into each other, and the sheer zaniness of the event. When the dust settled, a cowboy from High River, named Parker, finished first. The Mexican team was second, followed by the remarkable Benoit brothers of Calgary: the 15-year-old rider Nicolas and his kid brothers, Julien and Dominic. This team was quite special, since all the cowboys were literally boys, and they were given sharp-looking sterling silver spurs to celebrate their accomplishment.

Next were the finals of the World Championship Bucking Horse Riding Contest with Saddle, which featured Tom Three Persons. Tom was up last. He was given the wild and unpredictable horse, Cyclone, to ride.

When the gate opened, the big black horse took Tom for a wild ride. After the horse had pitched and swapped ends, it reverted to its old tricks of rearing up and then teetering over until it seemed that both horse and rider would go over backwards. For a moment, it looked like Tom would be bucked off, but he stayed with Cyclone. When the horse regained all four feet and the cowboy was still in the saddle, the horse called it quits. The crowd went absolutely wild, and spectators rushed across the arena to congratulate him. Even the Duchess of Connaught and Princess Patricia jumped up in their private box seats to applaud. For Tom’s great effort, he was awarded the World Championship title and $1,000 cash, along with a saddle and belt buckle.

Ray’s eyes lit up as Guy introduced the next event, the Riding of Bucking Bulls. Guy proceeded to explain the simple rules to the crowd: All you had to do was hold on for dear life for eight seconds while riding a bull. In the event that more than one cowboy managed to complete the eight-second ride, the two judges, Jim Wallace and Jim Fuller from Medicine Hat, would award points for style. In the end, the cowboy with the most points would win the $500 prize.

“Little Joe” Gardner, from Sierra Blanca, Texas, came out of the chute first, riding the mean black bull Wild Child. Little Joe didn’t stand a chance and was bucked off in less than three seconds. The second cowboy, Kelly “Big Belly” Phillips, from New Mexico, fared no better on Tornado. The same fate befell John “Get Up and Go” Glen, from Chirichau, Arizona, who was riding Hurricane. As it turned out, every single cowboy was bucked off his respective bull before the minimum eight-second count.

Tom Three Persons’ World Championship ride.

Guy stepped up to the microphone and said that he had never seen this happen before at a rodeo and, in all fairness, he wanted to see if there were any brave cowboys in the audience who wanted to give it a try before Little Joe and the other cowboys made a second attempt.

Ray turned to his sister. “What do you think?”

“Go for it,” she said and added, “while there’s still some time left.”

But Ray didn’t hear her. He’d shot his hand up and was already out of his seat and heading for the arena.

Out of the thousands in the crowd, only two were brave enough to test their skill at bull riding: Bobby Lee Williams, the buckaroo from Balzac, and Family Day Ray. They filled out the official Stampede forms and then flipped a coin to see who would go first. The buckaroo won the toss and nervously proceeded over to the chute to ride the menacing Feisty Breath. The noisy crowd helped Guy count to three, after which the chute opened.

Bobby Lee was absolutely terrified coming out the gates but, to the crowd’s surprise, he almost made it to the six-second count before being bucked off. He landed hard on the ground and ended up breaking his right arm and two upper ribs. Bobby Lee lay screaming in pain until the Stampede doctor came to his side. With the help of his nurse and Bobby Lee’s brother, they placed him on a stretcher. Despite the pain, the buckaroo told the doctor not to put him into the ambulance until Ray’s ride was over. He wanted to see if his newfound friend could be the first cowboy to triumph over a bull in the 1912 Calgary Stampede.

A death defying moment!

Ray had to ride the rank Hurricane, an even meaner bull than the one that had just bucked off Bobby Lee. As Ray was about to climb onto Hurricane, Guy asked him through the microphone if he still wanted to go through with it after seeing his buddy almost kill himself. Ray shouted, “You betcha, Guy. Let me at him!” The crowd cheered on the brave young cowboy.

On the count of three, the gates were opened. The mean old bull jerked twice to the left and once to the right; then he swung around 360 degrees in a circle. Ray’s shoulder was starting to feel numb with pain but, miraculously, he managed to stay on the mean-spirited beast. At the exact instant that he heard the eight-second bell ring, the bull bucked him off, and Ray came crashing down to the hard ground.

When he looked up in anguish through his bloodied eye, he saw that the bull had its front legs in the air and was about to stomp down on his head. Paralysed with fear and pain, Ray was sure that he would never see his family again.

Unless...he thought...unless the dinosaur tooth could somehow—

Zap, bang, boom! He, Roxy, and Jasper evaporated into thin air. Their time travel adventures had ended, just in the nick of time!