Dust and dirt reign over weekend

By KYLE McCLELLAN The Western News

One spirited cowboy stuck out above the rest Saturday night at the Incredi-Bull Riding Blowout in Libby.

He had attitude, perseverance and courageousness unmatched by the others.

He also had four legs.

Those four little legs led repeated charges against the massive legs of 2,000-pound bulls.

And it worked.

Cowboy — yes, that's his real name — is a 5-year-old Red Heeler who was unleashed on loose bulls to corral them back into their holding pen.

According to literature on the breed, Red Heelers standout for their energy and intelligence, and also for their natural cautiousness and wariness, which supposedly increase with age.

Cowboy was in a completely unnatural state in the bull-riding arena, compelled by the thunderous applause of the 1,000 or so in attendance and his owner, Adam Westman.

But it was clear that no one, or no bull, owned Cowboy Saturday night.

At times, he owned the bulls. Half of the bulls, after bucking a rider from their back, trotted the arena, ignoring the bullfighters' provocations designed to irritate the bulls back into the pen.

When even a bullfighter on horseback couldn't provide enough incentive, it was Cowboy's turn.

The dog's agility allowed him to escape a bull's charge, get behind the bull and nip at the massive animal's heels.

The bulls kicked and ran trying to get away from the dog.

Despite taking a couple one-ton kicks to the face, Cowboy hung on each time and got the bulls running faster than anyone or anything else.

PJ Morrison, a retired bull rider who organized the event, said Cowboy has been corralling for a long time and, though he required some training, Cowboy's crowd-pleasing skills are largely instinctive.

After the bull riding was done, fireworks popped and crackled in the night sky for about 20 minutes.

As the bleachers emptied and the beer garden filled, Morrison took the band's stage to make an announcement: Cowboy had gotten spooked by the fireworks and ran off. Morrison asked the beer drinkers to keep their eyes open for their noise-averse, show-stealing friend.

Cowboy was later found.

He had jumped into his owner's car.