LOOSE BULL GIVES RODEO-GOERS SCARE; BRAHMA GETS OVER FENCE INTO CROWD

A 1,500-pound crossbred Brahma bull brought an unexpected, heart-pounding ending to a rodeo at the Show Me Center Friday night when it jumped a fence and ran through the aisles, creating panic among some spectators.

The bull was quickly lassoed by rodeo cowboys and brought under control, but not before it sent some spectators and members of the rodeo band fleeing for safety.

"It was Valentine's Day, and there were a few hearts that were fluttering in the building; and on the south side (of the building) there were a few hearts that were racing," said Show Me Center Director David Ross.

"It's fortunate that nothing happened to anybody," he said Saturday. "We didn't have anybody hurt."

He described it as "a freak thing, like the 100-year flood in California."

The entire incident lasted no more than two minutes, he said.

Ross, who witnessed the spectacle, said it was surprising to see the big bull jump a 6-foot-high, metal fence. "I can tell you what everyone was thinking `This is unbelievable.'"

The incident occurred shortly before 10:30 p.m. as Friday's performance of the Longhorn World Championship Rodeo was nearing an end. Ross said the bull was in the arena as part of a "bull fight" with rodeo clowns.

"The bull came to the southeast portion of the arena down in one corner and took a look at the fence.

"He took a step backward and took a run at this thing and jumped," recalled Ross.

"It landed in Section 110 right there on the aisle. It hesitated for a few seconds and then he started up the aisle, and people all of a sudden started running."

The bull then went up the steps and ran along an upper aisle to the southwest side of the Show Me Center. The runaway bull then turned and went down a 4-foot-wide walkway on the building's west side where the rodeo band was set up, Ross said.

The bull went right by a person in a wheelchair and sent band members and spectators running for safety.

"There seemed to be a big gasp or a big scream at one time, and mothers grabbed their children and ran out the doors," recalled Ross.

Jeffrey Scott, 13, of the Jackson area, attended the rodeo with his parents, Al and Alice Koerber. He said he ended up climbing over the walkway guardrail and hanging from it to escape the bull.

Alice Koerber said they were sitting in Section 105, near the walkway, when the incident occurred. She said there was a lot of pandemonium. "It was crazy. Kids were coming at me.

"At the time it was just horrible. It was panic. You just didn't know what to do," she said. "I could have lost my son. If he had kept running, the bull would have got him."

She said she remembers yelling at Jeffrey and telling him not to panic.

"There was a lot of screaming going on," said Al Koerber.

Alice Koerber said she was thankful her son escaped injury.

Al Koerber said the family has attended numerous rodeos but had never seen a bull jump into the crowd. "We definitely got a bull story to tell."

Bruce Lehrke, president and general manager of Longhorn World Championship Rodeo Inc., praised the quick action by the rodeo cowboys and clowns to bring the big bull under control.

"We had some very quick cowboys," he said. "Both the clowns were up in the audience nearly as fast as the bull was."

Two cowboys raced into the stands and the animal was lassoed. Ross said one cowboy looked almost as if he was skiing as he held onto the rope being pulled by the bull.

The animal was brought under control. "Once they got him secured, that was really the end of the show," said Ross. The bull was returned to the livestock pen after the crowd left the Show Me Center.

Referring to the fact that no one was injured, Lehrke said, "It was a lucky situation."

He said that the audience took the incident in stride. "It was exciting and yet the audience as they left didn't leave in shock. They were all laughing and talking about it."

Lehrke said the runaway bull was the talk of the town. Some of those who attended Friday night's rodeo subsequently ordered tickets for Saturday's performance.

"Some Ham radio operator got hold of it (the story) and it was all over the radio last night," Lehrke said Saturday.

Lehrke said the bull had been used in the Longhorn rodeo for about six months. "This bull had never jumped before."

He said the bull won't be appearing in the rodeo at the Show Me Center again. The bull was kept out of Saturday's performance and will not be in today's performance, which begins at 2 p.m..

He said that the animals are creatures of habit. Now that the bull has jumped the fence, it's likely he would do it again, Lehrke explained.

The bull, he joked, would probably be renamed. "We'll probably call him `Cape Fear' from now on."