Bull-O-Rama
vBy Brandi Bue
Springfield, South Dakota is well-known for its 4th of July
celebration, an event that takes place over a few days and
features a few different events. The main attractions of this
celebration are the Frog Jump, the fireworks, and the rodeo.
This year will be the 20th annual Bull-O-Rama, an event that
Jack Coleman has helped spearhead.
The town was preparing for their 4th of July celebration
as well as the bridge dedication in 1998 when Jack was first
given the idea to have a rodeo for the town. At first, Jack
didn’t want to be a part of it as it would be time consuming
to find the sponsors and advertisers, not to mention the bull
riders. However, Jack changed his mind and decided to do it
and the next day Jack and a partner started putting together
the first Bull-O-Rama. They went up and down Main Street
getting sponsors and advertisers, collecting $500. They then
found a local trucker to help haul the animals. After they had
this secured, the rest was “pretty easy” to put together. Jack
owned a lot of bulls and they used his property for the event
so then they just had to find bull riders. The whole thing was
put together in just 30 days! Jacks favorite part of the whole
ordeal, he jokes, is “when it’s over.”
The rodeo consists of bull riding for the adults and mutton
busting for the kids. In most bull riding competitions, the
rider needs to stay on top of the bull while holding the rope
with one hand for eight seconds. There are four judges who
score the rider and the bull for the ride. Two judges judge
the rider and the other two judge the bull with scores up to
25 for a total of 100 points. Mutton busting doesn’t have any
strict guidelines, other than the kids should wear a helmet
for riding the sheep. In years past the rodeo also featured a
businessman bull riding event but they’ve had less people
sign up for it so last year they had an animal scramble where
kids had to round up animals such as pigs and chickens. The
rodeo also features a calcutta. Calcuttas increase audience
participation as its a way for the audience to place money on
a team for the day.
This year’s 20th annual Bull-O-Rama takes place on
Tuesday, July 3rd. And Jack Coleman would tell you, “it’s a
good celebration.” n
HISVOICEvJULY/AUGUST 2018v25