
DATE: Friday, October 3, 1997               TAG: 9710030854

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER HAMPTON <  

                                            LENGTH:   94 lines

LOCALS PONY UP FOR BULL-RIDING

A lot of bull.

That's the only way to describe Indian Outlaw, 2,000 pounds of bad intentions, and one of the more ornery bulls on the Professional Bull Riding tour.

While organizers moved around the Hampton Coliseum Thursday afternoon, preparing for the PBR event being held tonight and Saturday night, Indian Outlaw did a slow burn inside his steel pen. He paced. He seethed. He lowered his head and charged, rattling the pen's rails with a threatening clang, whenever someone approached.

No wonder David Skinner looked nervous. The Marine sergeant, stationed at Little Creek, was preparing to ride Indian Outlaw in a demonstration for the local media.

Skinner, 26, is no greenhorn. Raised in Wyoming and Colorado, he's driven the dusty roads of the Western rodeo circuit, from Laramie to Denver to Fort Worth, putting 118,000 miles on his 5-year-old Ford pickup.

One thing you learn quickly in the bull-riding business is that bulls earn their names. In Fort Worth, Skinner rode one named Freddie Krueger. Freddie put the cowboy before Skinner in the hospital, but Skinner ``covered'' him, staying on for the full eight seconds.

When the PBR came looking for a few good men, local servicemen, to ride in this weekend's event, Skinner quickly ponied up the $200 entry fee. He's one of four locals - including three servicemen - who will compete.

``This is a big honor to be asked to come to the PBR and ride,'' he said.

The PBR is the big leagues of bull riding, pitting the best riders against the best bulls. It was formed in 1992, when 20 riders spun off from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and started their own circuit. Bull-riding has long been the most popular rodeo event, and the riders reasoned that they could make more money and draw more attention if it was a stand-alone sport.

The tour has been a big hit out west, and now, the PBR is hoping to build interest on the East Coast. Hampton is one of the first East Coast stops.

Jerome Davis, a top rider, and a co-promoter of the event, called the Jerome Davis Invitational, says his sport is never dull.

``You always get your money's worth,'' said Davis, a North Carolina native. ``Because you never know what's going to happen when that chute opens.''

In bull-riding, both the bull and the rider are scored. Spinning bulls earn more points than those who run straight ahead. Cowboys who spur their mounts earn more points than those who don't. The cowboy with the most points wins.

And there's one big catch: for a ride to be scored, a cowboy must hang on for eight seconds.

``7.9 don't pay nothing,'' Davis said.

And 8.5 can get you hurt.

For that reason, falling off is an art in itself.

``If you land on your butt, you need to get off your butt as soon as possible,'' said James Biggers, a wiry, drawling Arkansan who is a fireman on the USS Eisenhower.

Kevlar vests, and quick feet, help prevent injuries. Cowboys point out that, statistically, you're more likely to get hurt playing pickup basketball than riding a bull.

But then you hear their stories.

Davis, 25, had six ribs broken in Reno, the first year he turned pro. The bull also broke his collarbone and punctured a lung.

John Brown, an aviation bowsain's mate on the USS Eisenhower, and member of the carrier's rodeo team, was scooped up and tossed 10 feet by a bull at a rodeo in his native Oklahoma. He was knocked unconscious.

Brown said getting stepped on was the best thing that could have happened to him.

``You can't expect to ride bulls and not get hurt,'' he said. ``My first four bulls, nothing happened, and I couldn't stay on the full eight seconds, because I was scared to death.

``All it took was seeing what it feels like. It didn't hurt, and I'm not scared of it.''

Skinner's not scared, either, just going through the usual pre-ride jitters as he prepares to mount Indian Outlaw.

As it turns out, Freddie Krueger was a pussycat compared to this bull. It takes a crew of cowboys to herd Indian Outlaw into place. When the chute opens, he comes storming out, with Skinner aboard.

Skinner stays on the required eight seconds. The trouble comes when he tries to dismount, and his hand gets tangled in the rope.

As Skinner tries to free his hand, he's flung over the bull's right side. Dangling sideways, his head near the bull's stomach, Skinner is rammed into a wall by the careening beast.

Finally, he drops off and a clown distracts the bull.

Except for a bruised shoulder, Skinner is not hurt. As the bull prances around the ring, Skinner slowly walks to the center to retrieve his hat.

``He's a marine,'' says Don DeSimone, a competitor from Chesapeake. ``He's tough.''

And that, cowboys, is no bull. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

L. TODD SPENCER

David Skinner, a Marine sergeant stationed at Little Creek, stayed

on the bull Indian Outlaw for the required eight seconds

David Skinner looks over Indian Outlaw before his ride Thursday...