Tornado (bull)

Tornado

Country	United States
Breed	Braford
Sex	Bull
Color	red with a white face
Weight	1,850 pounds (840 kg)
Born	1957 Texas, U.S.
Years active	1960-1969
Owner	Jim Shoulders
Notable riders	Warren "Freckles" Brown
Died	1972 (aged 14–15) Henryetta, Oklahoma, U.S.
Honors
1979 ProRodeo Hall of Fame 2016 Bull Riding Hall of Fame
Awards
Bucking Bull of the Year at the NFR 1962-1965

Tornado was a ProRodeo Hall of Fame bucking bull. He is also a Bull Riding Hall of Fame inductee. He went to the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) at least four times. He was voted Bucking Bull of the Year at the NFR four times consecutively from 1962-1965. He was named the "meanest bull alive" at the NFR four times. But Tornado is best known for his matchup with ProRodeo Hall of Fame bull rider, Freckles Brown, which is most often referred to as "The Ride." It was Brown who, in 1967, finally broke Tornado's undefeated streak of 220 buckoffs which occurred over a six year period. Tornado was owned by a rodeo legend, Jim Shoulders. Tornado, Brown, and Shoulders have gone down in history as all have been recorded in The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture maintained online by the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Background

The bull Tornado was born in 1957 in Texas. The cowboy bull rider and stock contractor Jim Shoulders, of Henryetta, Oklahoma, owned and managed the great bull. He was a Brahma-Hereford crossbred bull, known as a Braford that generally weighed 1,850 pounds.^[1] He is described as red with a white face.^[2] Tornado first started bucking in Mesquite, Texas in 1960.^[1] Shoulders actually maintained several quality bucking stock, which included the famed "weather" bulls Cyclone, Hurricane, Twister, and Tornado.^[3] According to Frank Boggs, an Oklahoman sports writer and columnist, Shoulders bought Tornado in South Texas when he was 3 years old.^[4][5]

Career

From Tornado's first rodeo in Mesquite, Texas, in 1960 through to the NFR in December 1967, he was undefeated. Over and over he bucked off the toughest of cowboys, leaving a myriad of injuries behind. There was a sign outside his pen at Shoulder's ranch in Henryetta that said it all: "Warning: Enter at Your Own Risk." Shoulders often referred to his bull as a 'pet' touting his tame nature around children who visited his ranch. Shoulders often could be seen petting his bull or feeding him grass. However, inside the arena was a different story. The bull became intimidating, forceful, and explosive.^[6]

Tornado made the NFR every year from 1962 through 1966. For all of those years, he was the top-ranked bull on the bucking-stock list. For the first 220 attempts to ride him for a qualified ride, he remained undefeated. Those attempts were made by hardened, professional riders.^[1] Tornado, of course, had natural bucking abilities such as jumping and spinning. But he also possessed something labeled "clown-and-barrel fighting ability." He used just enough energy as he needed to buck off the level of rider on him. The better the cowboy, the harder he bucked. Another hall of fame bull, Red Rock was known for using this strategy, and he was undefeated for his entire career of 309 attempts.^[2]

Tornado was sometimes referred to as "unrideable" by the cowboys. Considering he bucked off 220 cowboys consecutively, it is understandable. In fact, it is said many riders who drew him passed on the bull. However, Shoulders recalls that Tornado had quite the opposite demeanor when not performing. Nevertheless, his name came from his ability to change spin directions quickly. Taken with all his other abilities, it discouraged many a rider. Tornado was finally conquered in a famous ride with Brown. Cowboy songwriter and singer Red Steagall captured "The Ride" in his song^[6] "The Ballad of Freckles Brown."^[7] Tornado (and Brown too) went down in the history books as they are now documented in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture maintained online by the Oklahoma Historical Society.^[1]

For four of his trips to the NFR, Tornado was voted the Bull of the Year and named "The Meanest Bull Alive."^[8] Rodeo photographer Ferrell Butler, explained "If you didn’t get out of there, he’d camp onto you something fierce. Then he’d go wipe out the barrel."^[8] Jim Shoulders’ wife Sharon said she did not consider him vicious, she believed that he “sized up” his riders, having noticed that he bucked harder with top riders than he did for locals.^[5]

Halfway through his bucking career, in 1965, Shoulders put Tornado up for a $500 prize to anyone who could ride him at the 101 Wild West Ranch Rodeo. The offer was open to anyone at all, not just bull riders, as long as they were of legal age. Obviously, no one won the prize.^[9] Also, at the NFR in 1967 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, one prominent notable tried and failed to ride him. ProRodeo Hall of Fame bull rider Myrtis Dightman tried and failed when he took on Tornado.^[10] Lastly, after "The Ride," with Freckles Brown, Tornado was ridden four more times. The second time Brown rode him was in Miami, Florida. Few recall that second ride.^[6] Three more bull riders rode Tornado.^[1] So, in total, Tornado was ridden five times.^[6]

The Ride

On December 1, 1967, at the NFR in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, approximately 9,000 rodeo fans packed the Oklahoma State Fair Arena with many standing room only. They all knew that something spectacular was going to occur. Tornado had been drawn by 46 year old Brown, the 1962 World Champion Bull Rider. He had been riding bulls for 30 years. Tornado, currently most feared of all bulls, had been bucking off cowboys consecutively for six years. Brown had been studying the bull’s performance at many rodeos.^[11]

Brown was 5 foot, 7 inches tall. He weighed in at 140 pounds. He'd won only one world championship in his 30 year bull riding career. He'd had neck surgery after a wreck riding at a Portland, Oregon, rodeo. Cowboys considered Brown past his prime. Bull riding was a young man's sport. Even though they held Brown in high regard, no one gave him much of a chance of riding Tornado,^[8]

Tornado's undefeated status ended that night. After Freckles Brown learned he had drawn him, when it was his turn, they were both loaded into chute #2. That chute, by the way, now resides in the Chamber of Commerce. Later, Brown said the crowd was so loud he could not hear the whistle, but knew he had made it when the rodeo clowns moved in.^[12] After the two were introduced, there was a great silence in the arena. All eyes were pinned on chute #2. Then Tornado exploded out of the gate, and Brown's eyes were fixed on his shoulders. Butler snapped his first of two iconic photographs. One of two photographs, of which one would be lost. Brown recounted the ride in detail, noting that he had a few seconds in the middle of the ride where he was concerned, but toward the end was confident that he would make it to the eight-second qualifying buzzer.^[6]

Tornado was 11 years old by this time, yet he was still the greatest challenge of all. He just seemed to be a bull that could not be conquered. "Tornado had such a reputation that most cowboys were thrown before they even got on him," says former state senator and Oklahoma Congressman Clem McSpadden, general manager of the NFR that year. "But the bull was at a point in its career where it was fit to be ridden. Freckles got on him, bore down and ended up riding him pretty easy." The match went down as one of the greatest in history.^[13]

Radio icon Paul Harvey delighted a national audience for a few minutes with various details of The Ride. The publicity had an amazing effect on professional rodeo. Butler noticed that before The Ride, there would be modest crowds on the weekends, saying " we couldn't get enough people in an arena to start a cussin' fight," but afterwards, he saw crowd size increase noticeably.^[6]

Retirement and Death

Tornado was retired after the end of the 1968 rodeo season.^[14] Shoulders retired Tornado in 1969 to his J Lazy S Ranch in Oklahoma.^[1] The bull apparently spent his time in the pasture feeding and enjoying the company of cows, which he hadn't had time for during his career.^[5] In retirement, he would try to get attention by bellowing and pawing dirt when visitors were present. Shoulders theorized that Tornado wanted people to know that he was still a champion. Tornado passed away peacefully one spring in 1972.^[6]

Shoulders died in 2007, but his wife Sharon loves to reminisce about him and Tornado. Even though reporters of that time repeatedly harped on Tornado's domestic traits, some found it difficult to swallow. But Sharon would mention the cookies her two youngest daughters hand-fed Tornado while Jim was out touring. She claims Tornado was docile and gentle in the pasture. Always an intense competitor, he was still and relaxed in the chute until it was go time. "He'd just stand there; he'd look out between the chute boards, almost like he was sizing up what he was going to do, she says. Sometimes, a really, really good bull rider would get on him, he would buck so hard. And sometimes, if you had some of the locals, he would hardly buck at all." Although others claimed he went after cowboys after they were bucked off, others said he did not, including Sharon. Bulls today are bred today to be more aggressive and athletic. Tornado comes from a time before breeding started changing bulls; his talents were God-given.^[5]

Tornado is buried on the grounds of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, near the graves of two notable bucking horses.^[1] Apparently 18 acres at the museum are set aside for burial memorials of notable rodeo animals.^[15] To date, there have only been four animals buried there. Tornado, two notable bucking horses, and the museum's Longhorn mascot, Abilene. The horses are ProRodeo Hall of Fame horses Midnight and Five Minutes Til Midnight. Lastly buried are a handful of memorials. The museum appears satisfied with its current inhabitants as it has been decades since any burials have taken place. Tornado's final resting spot has a huge memorial plague with a fitting dedication written upon it.^[5] Tornado's final resting sight is waymarked and appears on the Waymarking website as proof of its location^[2]

Honors

• Has his own entry in The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture maintained online by the Oklahoma Historical Society^[1]
• The NFR entry in The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture mentions the match between Tornado and Freckles Brown^[16]
• 1979 ProRodeo Hall of Fame^[14]
• 2016 Bull Riding Hall of Fame^[17]
• Voted "Bucking Bull of the Year" at the NFR 1962-1965^[18][8]
• Named the "meanest bull alive" at the NFR four times^[12]

References

External links

• The Ride - National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Tip: If there is just blank space under the "The Ride" text on this page, you can still click in that space and watch the video.
• Ballad of Freckles Brown - Lyrics
• TORNADO - Oklahoma City, OK - Animal Memorials on Waymarking.com

Videos:

• Red Steagall- Freckles Brown.wmv YouTube video of Red Steagall singing his song "Freckles Brown."
• My Last Ride by Sam Hill YouTube Video