GLENN Morgan and Mark Palmer have brought a touch of danger to the Hawkesbury, as they will host a rodeo event at the World Polo Championship.
Polo is undoubtedly a dangerous sport, but rodeo probably eclipses the sport of kings, with a promise of 500-kilogram bucking broncos, and the even more fearsome 1200-kilo bulls.
The rodeo will be on Friday, October 27, from 4 to 5.30pm at the Sydney Polo Club grounds.
Rodeo Co-ordinator Glenn Morgan said there would be bull riding, saddle back and bare back bronco riding, as well as barrel racing.
“We've hand selected eight of Australia's toughest and roughest rodeo competitors,” he said.
Morgan said while there was no animosity between the two sports, rodeo and polo did not usually mix, but said he was looking forward to it all the same.
“It is certainly something different that we aren't really accustomed to,” he said.
“But the World Polo Championship is a great cross section of the equine industry and I am sure the rodeo side will be great entertainment.”
Rodeo judge Mark Palmer said he actually had a polo background, but was one of the few in the rodeo scene to have one.
“I was very fortunate. I grew up playing polo and things like that. I actually worked for the late Kerry Packer breaking in horses before I took on the rodeo career,” he said.
Palmer said that bull riding was an amazing feat, and anyone who attended the event should admire the athleticism of the competitors.
“You need to stay on the back of a bucking bull for eight seconds,” he said.
“It doesn’t sound like a long time, but believe me it feels like an eternity when something underneath you and you have to stay on top.”
Palmer said along with the athleticism, a certain disregard for one’s own safety was definitely a requirement of taking part in the rodeo.
“I've always said it helps to be a little bit crazy,” he said.
“We look at motorbike riders doing backflips in the air. That seems crazy to me, the same as a guy who wants to get in a car that does 300kmh around a race track, that seems mad to me.
“They probably look at us and think we're crazy too.”
At the same, Palmer said, it was important to remember exactly what the riders were dealing with, and how things could go wrong very quickly in his chosen sport.
“When you get on the back of a beast, it could be a horse weighing 500-kilos that could fall on you or a 1200-kilo bull that is trying to eat you at the same time,” he said.
“If that lands on you something is going to give and that something is mostly your bones.”
For more information visit wpcsydney.com.
