The Safety Man

This story begins a year ago at the PBR in Deadwood. It was hard not to notice this good-looking cowboy and his fine horses and they role they played in the safety of the bull riders, the bull fighters and the bulls.

We learned from friends whom we visited after our trip in the Hills last June, that he was the son of Hubby's cousin. Now just that little tidbit made watching him more entertaining at this year's PBR event. I know the four romance writers from last year thought he was 'eye-candy' and probably was more of a mental model for their bull riding novels than the 19 year-old bull riders! 

This year, Hubby went behind the corrals the first night to visit with his cousin's son. Dave sent a message to his Mom showing a photo of the two of them. She confirmed it was her good-looking cousin with her son.  I came over the second night, with camera in hand, and learned names of his horses, met his wife, and learned they knew my niece, her husband & family. Small world.

Hubby, Stacey & Dave 

and Chavez

Dave on Barney

Fresh, the name of Dave's paint horse

Dave on Barney, Brazilian bull rider on Chavez

and Matt the entertainer or color-commentator (sports term)

I told Dave I took more photos of him than the bull riders the first night. He smiled and said, "Good. Send some to my mom, since she has never seen me at a PBR." So Diane, this blog post is for you and for the romance writers I met last summer!

The role of the safety man (in a rodeo, the term is pick-up man) is to keep the show moving along. If the bull doesn't want to leave the arena or if the rider gets hurt, his job is to rope the bull and remove him as soon as possible or help protect the injured rider. The bull fighters (guys in red, white and blue outfits) help protect the rider after the ride, trying to distract the bull or keep the bull from injuring the rider. The safety man can immediately ride in and rope the bull to provide more protection. Dave has been hired as the PBR safety man for area rodeos. He raises his horses from colts, training them to do their job and brings his horses to the events. He told Hubby he had been to Tacoma WA. 

Update on this bull with the broken leg from last year's PBR event: Dave took the bull home and nursed him but was unable to save the animal.