An unanticipated spectacle unfolded in the small town of Sisters, Oregon, at the 84th edition of the Sisters Rodeo, where a rodeo bull named ‘Party Bus’ defied all bounds and leaped over an arena fence. In a bolt of chaos and exhilaration, the bull charged through a busy concession area and made its escape into the parking lot, leaving injuries in its wake before veterany wranglers could regain control.
As ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ by Lee Greenwood wafted through the crowd, filling the dusk with tunes of fraternity and pride, this raucous escapade began. Under the star-studded night sky, the spectators, bathed in the spectral glow of their cell phone flashlights, witnessed the bull dart around the arena preparing for what was to be the final bull ride of the night.
Online videos captured the turbulent scene as the bull maneuvered through the narrow lanes of the concession area, scattering debris, knocking over garbage cans and sending people diving for refuge. An unsettling sequence showed a person being lifted by the bull, spinning mid-air, and then being jettisoned off the bull’s horns, landing with a thud on the solid ground.
In the aftermath of this incidents, the Sisters Rodeo Association confirmed that three individuals had sustained injuries. Two of these victims were transported to a local hospital. Rodeo livestock professionals managed to capture ‘Party Bus’ alongside the livestock holding pens and sequestered it safely in a separate pen.
Deschutes County sheriff’s Sergeant, Joshua Spano, reported the arrival of several ambulances at the scene. Evidently, one injured individual, with non-life-threatening injuries, was transported to a medical facility. In the frenzy of the bull’s breakout, a deputy also sustained minor injuries, as confirmed by Lt. Jayson Janes on Sunday.
A rodeo enthusiast, Danielle Smithers, found herself captivated by the unfolding scene and put her cell phone in action to capture the atypical spectacle. A sense of poetic grandeur seemed to overcome her as she put it, “And about 30 seconds into it I stopped and I looked at it and I thought to myself, ‘this is just too beautiful not to have a video.’” Her camera lens followed the bull till it catapulted over the fence in an unexpected climax.
In the wake of the hullabaloo, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association took the opportunity to reiterate the exhilarating yet unpredictable nature of rodeo sports. While they acknowledged that incidents like this were very rare and unnerving, they also extended their best wishes to all those affected.
While authorities from the Sisters Rodeo remained unreachable with regard to any impending investigation, the final performance on Sunday proceeded, undeterred, as per the schedule.
Sisters, with its population reduced to a mere whisper on the map, is nestled approximately 23 miles northwest of Bend, Oregon. However, with the memorable 84th Sisters Rodeo and the charismatic ‘Party Bus’, it will be a town undoubtedly etched in many memories.
