[COWBOYS & INDIANS] Rodeo Preview: Red Bluff Round-Up

Chances are good you’ve heard of the Red Bluff Round-Up.

There’s the longevity: The crowd-thrilling Red Bluff, California, event kicks off its 98th edition April 19-21. But since the late 1980s, Red Bluff has enjoyed added fame as the hometown of one of rodeo’s most storied bulls, the PRCA 1987 Bucking Bull of the Year, Red Rock.

Moviegoers may remember Red Rock being prominently portrayed in 8 Seconds, the biopic of the late world champion bull rider Lane Frost. During Frost’s career before his untimely 1989 passing, he had a series of epic showdowns with Red Rock dubbed “Challenge of the Champions.”

fffOne of the matchups in the series between the bull and Frost took place in conjunction with the 1988 edition of the Red Bluff Round-Up. Red Rock won his hometown round after a two-second ride. Another two-second ride gave Red Rock another victory a week later. But Frost was determined, and the next attempt saw him conquer the bull, lasting the full eight seconds. In the end, Frost won the series 4-3. But the series made both the bull and the athlete (pictured in a friendlier moment) exponentially more famous, and Red Bluff has enjoyed the fruits of that.

Red Bluff Round-Up’s general manager, James Miller, cites Red Rock’s fame (and his association with Frost) as a crucial historic attraction at the “destination rodeo,” bringing in domestic and international visitors every year.

Read the full story at Cowboys & Indians.