Rodeo tougher than prison for some

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For security reasons, only a few inmates are allowed in the arena at a time. But there’s one exception.

In a popular event called “Money the Hard Way,” all 100 inmates try to snatch a bag holding $100 from between a bull’s eyes.

Professional rodeo clowns help the thrown inmates escape flying hooves and stabbing horns, but it’s not unusual for inmates to get hurt, said Roger Guinn, who has coached the Jackie Brannon team for 19 years.

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The bulls aren’t as big or mean as the roughstock used by the pros, and inmates only have to stay on for six seconds instead of the usual eight to win.

Kevin Burch used to ride bulls and broncs for a living but now keeps tabs on the state’s toughest inmates as a corrections officer at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Even the hardest robbers and murderers waver at the chute, he said.

“A lot of guys get on that bull and it starts to move around and their hands are trembling,” he said, “and they’re scared to death.”

He’s also seen the rodeo unite members of hostile prison gangs, creating friendships that last until rodeo weekend ends and life behind bars resumes.

“These guys are locked down 23 hours a day,” he said. “It’s unreal how psyched up they get. They’re walking on Cloud Nine during the rodeo.”

Cory Troutman, a 21-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., in prison for cocaine trafficking, watched a bronc riding video to prepare. Will Davidson, a 25-year-old serving a 20-year term for making methamphetamine, tried visualizing his bronc riding debut.

“I lay there in my rack and think about it,” he said. “But I get that feeling in my stomach.”

They compete in borrowed cowboy hats and boots and jeans. One year, the entire team took turns wearing the same inmate’s imitation snakeskin boots, Guinn said.

A cheering crowd does much to help the inmates forget the borrowed clothes, the lack of practice, the fear, even the fence that keeps them inside. It’s why Troutman, after being stomped by a bull last year, is eager to get in the chute again.

“It might sound strange,” he said, “but there’s a sense of freedom.”

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