Slowpoke the Bull
I would like to comment on the article in the Townsman regarding the “violent bull” which injured a beginner rider who sued a Vernon Rodeo company recently (“Novice rider says Slowpoke’s name was all bull:” Friday, May 22). I am also attaching a photo of Slowpoke, the bull who “fails to live up to his name.” What a joke this whole thing is!
As you can see in the photo, Slowpoke was gentle enough to let the Marchand’s grandson sit on him in the rodeo arena. The Marchand family has provided gentle bulls and expert help to numerous young cowboys who want to be bullriders. Many “wannabe cowboys” have passed through their arena and taken advantage of their generous hospitality, some going on to be good bullriders and some deciding not to pursue it any further.
To charge Ted and Wade with negligence is ludicrous. Coyote Creek Rodeo Company has been successful in the business for many years, and are very well thought of in the rodeo world. Coyote Creek has provided bulls for the Kimberley Dynamiters bullarama since its inception. As a matter of fact, Slowpoke was one of the bulls that Steve Mercandelli from Cranbrook Dodge, and Kenny Bridge from Bridge Interiors took a ride on at the 2014 event at the Civic Center in Kimberley.
Helen Hannah
