Bull that jumped the fence at Oregon rodeo to retire from competition, owner says

PORTLAND, Ore. — Party Bus, a three-year-old bull bred for bucking, has performed in his first and last rodeo.

Party Bus – named after his father, Short Bus – made national headlines last weekend during his first rodeo, when he jumped the fence of a busy arena in central Oregon and sped through the concession area, injuring three people.

The bull made a mistake and had no intention of hurting anyone, his owner said, adding that it was the first time Party Bus had been in the area with so many people.

“He just went and jumped out of the arena. It happens, and thank goodness not that often. I had no idea he would do that,” the bull’s owner, Mike Corey, told The Associated Press.

Videos taken by people attending the Sisters Rodeo on Saturday show Party Bus clearing the fence, running through the concession area and throwing a woman into the air with his horns. After running through the rodeo grounds, he ran back to the livestock pens, where “rodeo livestock professionals responded quickly to safely restrain the bull,” the Sisters Rodeo Association said in a statement.

The bull’s daring escape lasted 30 seconds, Thad Olsen, fire chief of the Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District, told AP.

“It could have been a lot worse. We were very fortunate that we only had three people with relatively minor injuries,” he said.

Olsen said one person broke his arm and another hurt his head and neck. The woman who was thrown into the air had the least serious injuries of all.

Corey said he was disappointed that the bull’s first rodeo ended up being his last. Party Bus is bred from prize-winning bulls, Corey said, and trained to buck with a remote-controlled dummy.

But while he wishes the bull would get a second chance, he won’t push him, he said.

Now that Party Bus has been “sentenced” – meaning he will never be allowed to buck again – he will spend the rest of his days at Corey’s ranch in eastern Washington, siring more baby bulls that Corey hopes will become “superstar athletes.” become. their own shot at rodeo glory one day.

“He’s an amazing animal,” he said. “His daughters and sons will be a tremendous asset to the future of rodeo.”