The Ottawa Citizen
Monday, August 25, 1997

Female bullrider bucks stereotype

Nineteen-year-old Laurette Jones, writes Jen Ross, is a rodeo pioneer
By Jen Ross
Laurette Jones is one of the few female bullriders in her association.
She keeps a collection of hospital bracelets from her bullriding injuries, and boasts about them as if they were old war wounds.
"The typical image of the surly drunken idiot cowboy just doesn't apply to these guys," says Ms. Jones. "They're a great group of guys. They're very polite and well-mannered."
Ms. Jones says she has heard the odd sexist comment from the audience, like: "Way to take it like a man" or "That's a really good ride ... for a girl."

Dressed in blue jeans, a protective flak jacket, and sturdy cowboy boots with spurs, she enters the rodeo arena. As she tips her brown felt cowboy hat and says "hey" to the crowd, long blond hair spills out.

The reaction from the audience is a mixture of shock and awe. She proceeds toward the bull pen, a smirk on her face and jitters inside.

Laurette Jones is one of the few female bullriders in her association.

At 19, she is not only one of the youngest members, but she has taken up one of the most daring rodeo events, bullriding -- dubbed by many as the world's most dangerous sport.

"The bull is a 1,500-pound animal," explains Ms. Jones. "I still get scared every time I go on ... but it's worth the risk."

Ms. Jones' mother, Henriette, admits she wasn't thrilled about the idea when her daughter first told her she wanted to get involved in bullriding.

My first comment was: 'Can't you find something less dangerous to do,' " says Henriette. "I've only gone to one rodeo because I find them hard to watch. I'm a nurse, and I just can't stand all the injuries."

Ms. Jones' particular event, rough stock, is highly demanding. Riding a bull requires intensive weight and balance training. The physical strain is exhausting, says Ms. Jones.

She says every single muscle in her body gets tensed up for about 10 seconds while she is on the bull.

Ms. Jones describes getting "hung up" on her first ride in competition: "When you get hung up, your tied-in glove hand stays in the rope and you basically get dragged around the arena, attached to this crazy kicking bull."

This first experience left Ms. Jones with a concussion and muscle damage from the bull stepping on her thigh.

She keeps a collection of hospital bracelets from her bullriding injuries, and boasts about them as if they were old war wounds.

She added a bracelet to her collection this weekend after being thrown from a bull during a competition at the Chesterville Rodeo Fair yesterday. She suffered two broken ribs and a punctured lung from hoof blows to her chest.

"If I wasn't wearing a flak jacket, I'd be dead," said Ms. Jones yesterday from her room at the Ottawa General Hospital. Her injuries will most likely keep her from competing next month but she plans to continue training and is already looking forward to getting back in the arena.

"She's always been a daredevil," says Ms. Jones' mother. "She started motorbiking when she was six years old. Laurette likes to try her hand at a lot of things."

Ms. Jones laughs as she describes how she got interested in the daunting sport. She says some of her male friends dragged her along to a rodeo one afternoon. She didn't expect to like it, but it was that afternoon that she says she fell in love with the rodeo.

"It was one of the best afternoons I've spent in my life," raves Ms. Jones. "The event which impressed me the most in terms of strength and agility was bullriding. I noticed there weren't any girls doing it, so I went up to the rodeo association president to ask if they were allowed. They were ... and I knew I wanted to be a member that day."

Ms. Jones, an Ottawa native, says most people wouldn't imagine rodeo is too popular in this central government town. But the Ottawa River Rodeo Association, where Ms. Jones struts her stuff, boasts a membership of 175.

Former association president Steve Harrison founded the Ottawa River Rodeo Association in 1993 along with three friends. Although Canadian rodeo has traditionally been associated with Western Canada, Mr. Harrison says it has been alive in Eastern Canada and Quebec for almost 40 years.

"We're the best darned rodeo east of Winnipeg," beams Donna Oates, the association's rodeo organizer. "At the grassroots level, eastern rodeos are very similar to those that take place out west. We're not terribly well known though because there's less of a tradition for it out here, and our association is non-profit, so we don't have all the glitz."

The four-year-old Ottawa River Rodeo Association includes members from as far away as Pembroke, Montreal and Southern Ontario. They host about seven local rodeos every year, and members compete in several other rodeos as well. One prize-winning member, Ruben Gelynse, recently competed in his first Calgary Stampede.

Ms. Jones has only been riding since April 1996, but she is "doing very well," according to Mr. Harrison.

Although there are women members in other rodeo events, like calf roping, Ms. Jones is the only female in the rough stock bullriding event.

"I love rodeo because it combines performance and sport, as well as individual and team work," says Ms. Jones.

Ms. Jones, a second-year law student at Carleton University, hopes to become a police officer one day. She finds it funny that she has such an affinity for male-dominated fields.

She says she hasn't really encountered any problems because of her gender.

"I had preconceived notions about cowboys," admits Ms. Jones. "I kind of expected to encounter some adversity, defensive reactions and high testosterone levels. I was a girl and a rookie going into a male-dominated field, so I figured there would be some negative reactions to me."

Ms. Jones soon discovered, however, that her male cohorts were not only comfortable with having her join their ranks, but they were also helpful.

"There was a tremendous response to Laurette's joining," says Mr. Harrison. "There is a great camaraderie between competitors. It's really rare to have a female in the event, and they try to help her out and support her in any way they can."

Ms. Jones says cowboy stereotypes don't apply to her rodeo buddies. "The typical image of the surly drunken idiot cowboy just doesn't apply to these guys," says Ms. Jones. "They're a great group of guys. They're very polite and well-mannered."

However, Ms. Jones says she has heard the odd sexist comment from the audience, like: "Way to take it like a man" or "That's a really good ride ... for a girl." Ms. Jones says she knows people mean it in a nice way, but it "just comes out so wrong."

While Ms. Jones has been called a rodeo pioneer by some, she doesn't see herself that way.

Her only regret is that she doesn't have any female role models to follow. She says she would love to help out any girls interested in bullriding and she encourages more women to try it.