Law’s right boot was twitching uncontrollably. His left leg was in the air, still wrapped around an invisible bull.
The stretcher was prepared. A camera crew, on hand for a segment of the MTV show ‘‘Made”, shot footage of him while the last few rides finished up.
And before Carlos Garcia of New York was crowned the winner, Law was putting away his tack, smiling, and signing an autograph—for a medical release form.
‘‘They’re going to have to hit me somewhere other than my head if they want to hurt me,” Law said.
Law said that after getting bucked from the bull, he had no memory of what happened. In his five years of bull riding, he’s signed about a half dozen medical release waivers.
He had just finished recovering from a winter knee operation, and is trying to bring in some prize money. And it’s only about a 15-minute drive for him to get to Johnsville, where the J Bar W Ranch is.
‘‘This area, with Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, even down to the Carolinas, are huge for rodeos,” Law said. ‘‘The East Coast is going to overtake the Midwest and West soon. We’re getting better bulls, better money.”
It’s all part of the risk once taken by ranch owner Johnny Williams 11 years ago, switching dairy cows for bucking bulls. Williams went West, buying from the top lines of rodeo bulls.
In the middle of open fields and cow pastures, the J Bar W is now a collection of seven stadium lights and two row of grandstands, surrounding the rails, gates and chutes of the rodeo grounds.
Behind the stands there’s carnival-like venders selling soft serve ice cream, funnel cakes and smoothies. In the stands, there’s thousands of fans, filling the grass parking lot with license plates from Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, along with the occasional Tennessee and West Virginia tags.
‘‘We don’t even have to leave on the weekends,” Law said. ‘‘It used to be, about 10 years ago, that everyone from Canada to Florida had to travel on the weekends. Now, we can stay home.”
There’s still some traveling, though, with some competitors covering the entire eastern seaboard to pay the $100 entry fee for two bull rides. It’s a $50 entry fee for those in the barrel racing competition, which was won by Amy Albright of Chambersburg, Pa., in 15.67 seconds.
Sarah Kerley, an 18-year-old from Woodbine, was only fractions of a second behind her time, finishing in 15.71. Riding her horse J.B., the Glenelg High graduate won the Lauren Elizabeth Baker Memorial belt buckle for turning the fastest time by a rider under the age of 21.
It was the fourth belt buckle that Kerley had won. On Saturday, she was wearing the buckle she won racing at a High School Rodeo Association event held in Harrisburg, Pa.
She noted that while Maryland doesn’t have an official high school rodeo, the Harrisburg event was the closest rodeo to her.
Kerley grew up around the rodeo scene, with her dad riding. Her older sister, Dana Kerley, was also a barrel racer. For Sarah’s senior year, she won her second go performance at the National High School Rodeo in Illinois, riding her sister’s horse Jackie.
Kerley had been taking the past year off to recuperate from a bulging disc, and had only gotten in three races this summer.
‘‘I had $683 before tonight, and that was almost $300 tonight, so I’m up there in the standings,” Kerley said.
There’s only one more event left in the Battle of the Beast Summer Series, set for Sept. 1. Gates open at 5 p.m., with adult tickets for $15 and children 6-12 for $10. For more information, go to http:⁄⁄www.jbarwranch.com⁄Summer_Series.htm.
