EDMONTON – Two pick-up men are being hailed as heroes after a rodeo bull jumped the fence into the stands and injured four people at the Nov. 12 Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton.
Pick-up rider Gary Rempel of Fort Shaw, Montana, threw a rope onto the bull just as it leapt over the railing into the crowd.
“I roped him just about the time he was starting to jump,” Rempel told a news conference the day after the accident.
“I’m just glad I caught him. Sometimes my catch to miss ratio isn’t that good,” said Rempel, who has been a pick-up man at the CFR for 13 years.
Read Also
Petition launched over grazing lease controversy
Battle continues between the need for generation of tax revenue from irrigation and the preservation of native grasslands in southern Alberta rural municipality.
Pick-up men keep rodeos running smoothly by ensuring wayward bulls don’t linger in the arena.
The incident occurred after Rewind, owned by the Bid Stone Rodeo Company, bucked off its rider, Tanner Girletz, and moved to the opposite end of the arena where Rempel and his partner, Jason Resch of Fort Assiniboine, Alta., were waiting on their horses.
“We usually rope them as they come by,” Rempel said.
“He had jumping on his mind. It surprised me to all get out.”
As soon as the bull jumped, Rempel snugged up the rope to keep the bull tight against the railing. Resch threw another rope for safety and the arena crew took down the fence. Then the pick-up men dragged the bull back into the arena.
Three people were treated for minor injuries and a woman was taken out of the arena on a stretcher to hospital.
Rempel said he’s seen bulls jump arena fences before, but this was the first one he’d seen jump in an indoor arena.
Dale Leschiutta, president and interim general manager of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association, said the bull was retired for the rest of the rodeo but is expected to travel to other rodeos.
“Bulls today are pretty athletic animals,” said Leschiutta, who also stressed they’re still wild animals.
CFR commissioner John Windwick said it’s the first time an incident like this has happened in the rodeo’s 37 year history, but it will review its safety procedures to see how the incident could have been prevented.
“This is a rare occurrence,” Windwick said.
“We’ll do everything we can to make people safer in the arena.”
He said pick-up men are among the best safety insurance available.
“We have two of the best pick-up men in the industry. We’re quite proud of both Gary and Jason.”
