First MLK rodeo thrill-filled, friendly

Black heritage given fond salute at special stock show event

Ivan Moreno, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 17, 2006 at midnight

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Jamon Turner paced in circles Monday night, then, just like a boxer firing shadow punches before a fight, he started to hop, riding an invisible bull.

The 18-year-old's choreography went as planned in real life. He rode his bull for the much sought-after eight seconds, but he still fell short of first place at the first-ever Martin Luther King Jr. African American Heritage Rodeo at the National Western Stock Show.

Turner, a Denver native, said before the event that he felt blessed to be a part of the contest, adding that bull riding prevented him from being "just another average Joe."

Though Turner comes from a family of riders, he said he was always told he would never be able to ride a bull. To which Turner responded back then: "Yeah, right, I can do anything I want."

"I was real cocky as a child," he said.

And it's paid off. Turner, who goes to high school in Aurora, already has a full rodeo scholarship to a Kansas community college.

For many of the contestants, riding has always been a part of their life.

"My dad told me he always set me on stuff. He rode bulls, too," said Craig Jackson, 24, who won first place in the bull riding event in which Turner competed.

Jackson said he's never been afraid to ride bulls.

"If I did (get scared), I wouldn't admit it," said the man from Houston. "I'm a tough guy."

Jackson's sentiment was different from that of Charles Sebile, 38, who came out of retirement to participate in the bareback riding event and "meet the boys."

"I'm scared right now," Sebile said as he wrapped tape around the arm that would soon try to control a raucous horse.

Even though Sebile rode for 25 years, it has been nine years since he last competed in a rodeo.

Understandably rusty, he lasted on his horse for about four seconds.

"He just popped my hand off," Sebile said.

But the rodeo was more about camaraderie than winning.

Sebile exchanged numbers with a fellow rider, Harold Miller, 49, who finished second in the bareback riding event.

Miller and Sebile talked horses, future competitions, technique, and how it feels to ride a horse that's going all out to throw you.

"If you got everything under control, it feels good," Miller said.

"But if you don't, it feels jerky, like you're tied to a freight train."

And being dropped from a horse didn't diminish Sebile's enthusiasm.

"I gotta go to the next one, Harold!" Sebile said, stomping his feet and slapping his hand as he watched another contestant.

"You better be at the next one," Miller said.