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G'day, guys! Welcome to this episode
of Aussie English. Today, I have an
amazing episode for you, guys. Today,
I chat with bull rider Ruth
Vogelsang, hopefully I've said that
surname correctly. Ruth Vogelsang.
So, I saw her the other day on ABC
News, there was a story about her and
her taking up the sport of bull
riding in Australia and also
competing over in the U.S. So, I
thought as we had spoken recently
about bronc riding, buck jumping and
bull riding in Australia and
Australian history, it would be
amazing to get Ruth on the podcast
and learn about how she ended up
doing this incredibly insane sport,
at least in my eyes, it seems just
absolutely crazy.

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Anyway, without any further ado, I
give you bull rider Ruth Vogelsang.

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Yeah, I've got into it just by seeing
an article in the paper at work,
sorry, an article in the paper at
work, and yeah, I just thought I'd
give it a crack, it was just a bull
riding clinic and yeah. And, so I
just wanted to give it a crack and
kind of got the passion for it, yeah,
rode two bulls in the clinic, had a
great time, loved it and then went
and competed in the rodeo the next
weekend.

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Far out. So, alright. Starting from
the start. Ruth you're from W.A. How
did you end up in Kununurra?

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I'm actually from South Australia,
but I've been working and travelling
for the last ten years and, so just
been, so after uni I went to Alice,
then cruised around W.A, up the W.A.
coast and then... yeah, made my way
to Kununurra.

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And what are you doing there at the
moment for work?

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I'm a medical scientist, so I work in
a hospital.

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I was totally expecting you to be
like 'oh I'm working on a ranch, you
know, or just on a cattle station,
just part time or something' I was
like that's how she ended up doing
the bull riding.

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Yeah, I know, a lot of people think
that and that's fine, but that's also
what I love about it as well. It's so
different from my job and and well it
couldn't be more different really,
but it also takes me back to my roots
as well, I come from the country and
so, you know, I love being around
cattle and livestock. So, yeah it's
just great to have the opportunity to
get back into that kind of scene
again.

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So, what was it like when you first
did it and was it something that
you'd wanted to do for a very long
time, bull riding or was it just that
opportunity came up and you were like
'you know what? Screw it, I'm going
to do it'?

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Yeah, pretty much, actually. So, I'd
done Spain, like a couple of years
beforehand and when I was over there
I was like 'man I'd love to just ride
one, you know?' And, yeah, when I
came back that opportunity kind of
presented itself, but in like a
really safe environment. So, like at
a clinic, like, you know, not just
going to a station and jumping off
one in the paddock kind of thing.

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Man, I don't think I'd be I wouldn't
be keen to jump home on wherever it
was, but how do they make it safer at
something like a clinic in terms of,
I guess, building you up from just
being, you know, your average medical
student to being someone who can hold
on to a bull hopefully nine seconds,
right? What are the steps in between
that?

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Also, like, particularly safety is
well so, you know, they've got the
gear there, like, you know, I just
borrowed it off of, like, some other
the fellows there that have done it
before. So, you know, the vest and
the helmet and, you know, how you put
your hand in the rope and how you get
on safely off kind of, you know,
that's not really voluntary, it just
happens.

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Are there tricks to it, though? Like,
is there a way of getting off it
safely if you see that you're about
to be dismounted?

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Yeah. Well, the first thing is is to
get your hand out of the rope. That's
the number one, don't get caught up
and dragged along, but then obviously
you will try to land on your feet,
you know, just flick your leg across
as it's going up for a buck and
that's generally the safest way, then
you get enough air to be able to land
on your feet.

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Does that happen very often or is
that most of the time not as easy as
that?

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That's only happened once twice and
literally jumped through the air like
a freaking champion after I've done
it, but yeah, no, most of the time
never happens like that.

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So, what was that first ride like? I
assume it was at the clinic that you
actually got to do a proper... I
don't even know what you would call
that specific moment where you get to
actually try and hold them for nine
seconds. Is it just quote a ride?

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Yes, so just bull ride and it was
freaking amazing, I'd never had like
a rush like it before. Especially
because I didn't know what I was
expecting as well. So, and I had no
expectations, but just the adrenaline
was huge, you couldn't wipe the smile
off my face if you tried, couldn't
slap it off my face. Just really
enjoyed it and really enjoyed hanging
out behind the chutes and helping all
the other fellows put their ropes on
and yeah, just really like working
with cattle and working in the
backyards.

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So, how do they end up getting these
kinds of bulls, I guess, aggro enough
to be able to do this, right? Because
they're not just average bull that
they've just pulled out of a
stockyard, right? They're
specifically bred and quite quite
trained. I assume.

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In America they're all very well
trained and bred for it, but in
country Australian and specifically
the tough end, not specific, I guess,
it happens everywhere, but a lot of
our ones here they are scrub bulls,
so they are actually wild animals.

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Oh my God, really? So they're not
even just off the ranch or off the
cattle station, they've actually gone
out of their way to find a feral one
that's never had  a person anywhere
near it and then they like 'just jump
on top, we'll see what happens'.

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They get mustered into the yards and
out on whatever station they're from.
They'll get a flank rope on them and
see if they can actually buck and if
they can and they'll be left righto,
you're going to the rodeo.

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So, what happens is a bit of a let
down if it can't buck properly, I
take it, it just gets out there and
you just like yeah, too easy! Nine
seconds, boom!

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Yeah, pretty much. And, so the goal
is eight actually, not but yeah. So,
most of the time they're pretty good
and like once you put a flank rope on
them, like that will generally get
them to buck, plus, you know, having
a person on them, like they're a
horse, it's not like they're saddle
broken. So, you know, nothing really
wild or...and even most horses, like,
they don't want a person on them. So,
the game is to get them off.

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And have you done both? Have you done
buck jumping or bronc riding, is it
now cold in Australia where you're on
a horse or?

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No, I've never done that and I don't
think I ever want to. Bull riding is
enough for me, to me, saddle bronc is
way more dangerous.

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Really? I was totally expecting it to
be the other way, because the bulls,
obviously, look a lot larger and like
they would screw you up with their,
you know, with their horns and
everything, but it's way worse on a
horse, is it? Because they can buck
more powerfully or something or?

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Kind of, like it's each to their own,
like a heap of bronc riders will
never get on a bull and a heap of
bull ride will never get on a bronc,
we all got our preferences, I guess,
but, yeah , I just think there's more
things to get, personally for me, I
just think there's more things to get
caught up on, you know, caught up on
a bull rope, whereas saddle bronc you
can get caught up on the rope, on
stirrups on the girth on the back
strap, I don't know, there's just too
much going on.

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And, so what can go wrong? So, what
are the things that you kind of have
to have in your mind when you first
get put on the bull and it's about to
be let out of the stock or, the cage
right?

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More can go wrong than can go right.
The, I guess, the initial one is in
the chute. So, it's really important
you've got a good chute procedure,
where you're not hanging around,
you're not disrupting the bull too
much, like you get on there
you...because the more time you're in
there the more, you know, you don't
want to stress the animal out, you
don't want to hurt the bull, you
don't want them to get angry or
upset. The whole point is to get in
there and get out. So, pretty much
being efficient with how you do you
do chute procedure by getting in.
Making sure like, and a lot of the
time as well like you've got to let
the animal know that you're there, so
you know, it's putting your feet or
your hands on its back just so, you
know, it knows that your body weight
is coming, rather than just jumping
straight on the poor thing, but yeah,
so and then getting in, being as calm
and smooth movements as possible, so
you're not doing any jolting
movements to upset the animal. And
yeah, and then once you're out just
as soon as come off to get out the
bloody way.

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So, have you had any close calls
where you've seen your life flash
before your eyes?

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Yes. So, my first real close call was
in Noonamah, up in Darwin, and I came
off and I could still hear him really
close, and I could hear him coming
and I was already getting up anyway
and I took off. So, yeah, I did
sprints as a kid and, you know, when
I was growing up, so I really needed
those skills.

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So, is a lot of the training as well,
obviously, not just holding onto the
bull and trying to say that you can
maintain that, but also obviously
dismounting and then getting out of
there as well or you just kind of,
you just leave that to take care of
itself when and if it happens?

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Nah, not, I don't really practice the
dismount so much, but I do practice
like, you know, rolling. So, the way
you fall is very important. So, if
you are falling just on one part of
your body, that's one part of your
body that's taking all of the impac,
so you know, practicing your roll, so
when you when you fall, roll, and
then when you're on the ground, get
the hell out of there, get up, get
going and don't hang around because
then you're not only putting yourself
in danger, but you're putting the
bull fighters in danger. So, they're
there to protect the animal and the
cowboy, in my case cowgirl, but if
you're too slow to get up or if
you're not making an effort to get
out of there, you're then putting
that bull fighter or in danger as
well.

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Because he has to stay in there
longer and try and distract the bull.

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Yeah. He's staying in there the whole
time. So, and you know, there's
generally two of them, so one one's
job is to help take the bull to the
exit chute, make sure once he's done
his job he goes back out the back and
goes and gets his feed of hay, and
then the other one is to protect the
rider.

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So what do they do? How often do the
same bulls get ridden? Do they get
multiple rides every time there's a
show or rodeo or something or is it
just the one time and that's it?

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Yeah, in a knot. They just get one
go.

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Yeah, okay. In order to stop them
from stressing out.

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Yes. Just because...especially in a
rodeo, there's a lot going on, like
it's a lot of you know stimulus for
any animal, even for a horse that
does barrel racing. You know, there's
a lot going on, there is a P.A.
system, there's a crowd, there's...
You know, that there's a lot going on
and, so they just go through once.

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So, do you know which bulls you're
going to be on or is it totally
random in terms of who selects them
and when? And you can't really
prepare for a specific animal or
anything like that, it's just it's
just bad or good luck.

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Yep pretty much. In Australia,
it's... you have luck of the draw,
you get what comes up the chute. So,
you know, if you're number eight, you
get the eight bull that rocks up into
the laneway, but in the U.S. that was
quite a few times where we got drawn.
So, if I was a local, I would have
known which bull I had, but obviously
being from Australia I had no idea,
and then if you ride opens here as
well, often they will do a pre-draw.
So, they'll give you a... like, yeah,
they'll have an open bull already
assigned to you, but I don't ride
open, so...

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What's the difference exactly between
the two?

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Well, open bulls like they're very
well-trained bulls. They're the ones
that, you know, and they're... and
like they're the ranked bulls as
well, so they've been trained buck,
like, they're good bulls.  .

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Good or bad, right? I feel like
there's positive and negative
language being used here where it's
probably the inverse, right?

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Yeah. They're, you know, that they
are great bucking bulls, but also
they've got a bit more testosterone
going on, you know. There may turn
back and get you.

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Far out. So, what was it like when
you got on the scene here in
Australia too? Is there much gender
conflict or competition that goes on
too between the girls and the guys
who do this kind of sport or because
the guys have been doing it longer?
What's it like?

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You know, especially when I first
started, like it's very much and
always has been quite the boys club.
You know, there was never any girls
doing it when like at every rodeo or
every clinic, it was just me and, so
I guess maybe I did get treated a bit
differently. So, you know, I didn't
always feel like I was very welcomed,
but you know now that I've been
around the scene for a little bit
longer like a lot of the fellas know
me and, you know, and like I work
just as hard back behind the chutes
as they do, like, so I feel like I've
earned my place a bit more, and it's
it's a lot about...yeah, respect back
there as well. Like, if you're in
there just for yourself like that's
kind of... Their response that you
get as well, whereas if if you are
there and if you want to learn and if
you want to help out and if you're,
you know, doing the right thing back
there, they'll respect you a lot.

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So, you really do have to just kind
of show that you you mean to do well
and you're going to work hard and
then it's kind of like 'ok, you're
one of us'.

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Yeah, exactly. Whereas in the
U.S.there was a lot of female riders,
they even have a woman's PBR. So ,you
know, being a female rocking up back
behind the chutes is not really a big
deal at all to them, they're like 'oh
yeah, cool'.

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Is Australia then just sort of 10 or
so years behind in terms of a bull
riding, right? They'll eventually get
big enough that they'll have more
women doing it and it becomes a
normal thing?

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Yeah, I really hope so. I hope this
is kind of the bit of a trend change
where yeah, there are more females
that can do it now because it's not
such a boys club anymore. I mean,
it's a tough sport. Every time you
run you're going to hit the dirt and
so if you're prepared to hit the dirt
and if you're prepared to get back on
again, that's respect enough that
you're willing to give it a crack and
do the best that you can, but also,
at the same time, like one of the
biggest challenges as well is when
you're learning, you need to get on
bulls that are at your level, because
if you're getting on these ranked
bulls when you're only learning, it's
going to crush your confidence if not
injure you. Well, in a lot of the
parts of Australia there's not really
that option. You don't have practice
pens like you do in the U.S. You
don't have a lot of different grades
of bulls, you kind of just get what
you're given. So, that is tough.

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And, so what's the ultimate goal? Are
you hoping to move over to the U.S.
and obviously dive into bull riding
over there? Because it sounds like
it's a better or more developed, I
guess, thing over there compared to
here.

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I've travelled a lot and I love
travelling and I love spending time
in a different country, but I always
call Australia home, like I'll never
move, but yeah, I'd love to go back
over there again and compete with the
girls or the guys, just because it
was so much fun and I had such a
great time, but yeah, I'd still come
back.

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Is it still... And is it a full time
career prospect for you? You leave
medical science behind and be like
'screw this'.

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No bloody way. I love my job and, you
know, bull riding, especially in
Australia, it's certainly not a
career choice, and I also like that
the nature of the sport as well, you
know, it's not if you get hurt, it's
when and how badly. So, you know,
I've had plenty of bruises and and
I've been feeling like, you know,
felt pretty battered, but it's
yeah...

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I read in the article, right? You
screwed up your shoulder and tore
your, what was it? The crucial
ligament or something in your
shoulder and you have to get surgery
on that.

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My AC joint yes, so the bone
completely separated from the joint
and the ligaments were torn and yes,
it was pretty painful, and I was on a
bloody horse, I wasn't even on a
bull.

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Oh, really? So, you fell off a horse
when that happened, did you?

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Yeah, I was riding along and yeah the
horse fell and I went down with it
and, so yeah, that was pretty shit,
but nevermind. These things happen.

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00:18:39,860 --> 00:18:46,222
Far out,  so that's funny, though,
that obviously one of the most
significant injuries that you've
received hasn't been on the back of a
bull it',s been on just a horse when
you were just chilling out.

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Exactly. So, yeah, I've been really
lucky so far, touch wood, that I
haven't had a huge injury on the bull
just yet, but yeah, like I said it,
is a dangerous sport. Things happen,
I've seen plenty of people, you know
with broken bones from from bull
riding and worse, unfortunately, but
you know, it's what it is.

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When do you call it a day? When will
it be enough? Once you get to that,
you know, 'this is just too easy'.

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I don't think it's ever going to be
easy and it's certainly not an easy
sport, that's for sure or easy on the
body, but I'll give up when I don't
enjoy it anymore or, you know, if
this hurts too much.

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00:19:42,204 --> 00:19:51,258
Far out, final question: what would
you say to anyone listening right
now, just thinking of, you know,
potentially doing this one day? How
would they get into riding, the sport
of bull riding?

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I would recommend doing what I did
and doing like going to a clinic or
school like a safe learning
environment to do it. A lot of
fellows I know, especially like
station guys, they've just gone the
whole hog and gone into a rodeo and
those poor buggers like they really
have come in worse than what was
probably intended. So, yeah go to a
school or a clinic anywhere, a lot of
places host them. Then that way you
get a bit of instruction. I mean, you
still getting that same rush. It's
great fun, I highly recommend it.

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Far out! Well, Ruth thank you so much
for coming on the podcast. I really
appreciate it.

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No worries, Thanks for having me.

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Alright, guys! I hope you enjoyed
this episode today with Ruth
Vogelsang. Thank you so much again
Ruth for coming on the podcast, it
was a pleasure. It was an incredibly
busy day for Ruth at work there, but
I managed to get her for 20 minutes
during her lunch break.

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Anyway, guys if you're interested in
taking up bull riding in Australia,
go find a clinic somewhere near you
where you can get started, and let me
know how you go, you know, it's a
pretty crazy sport so definitely send
me some photos.

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Anyway, guys. Thanks for joining me.
I'll chat to you soon. Peace!