Stampede 2000 kicked off with a bang at Outlaws Saloon on Thursday night. Home to the only mechanical bull in Calgary, Outlaws hosted a pre-stampede bash complete with a special performance by the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders cheerleading squad.
As part of a weekly challenge, 5 person teams competed aboard Steve Merchant's mechanical bull, "Cyclone", for the chance to travel to Las Vegas to catch the 2000 National Finals Rodeo. The top thirteen teams were invited back to Outlaws for the championship final on Thursday night.
Merchant and partner, Rhonda Cross, have been operating Cyclone for three years and designed Cyclone to do something similar to real bucking bulls. "It lunges." Steve said, "We talked with bull riders and they asked if we could make it lunge the way bulls do when they come out of the chute."
Outlaws Saloon approached the partners about bringing Cyclone in and has supported the venture by providing insurance, marketing support, and protectors to catch those thrown by the machine. In addition, an air mattress covers the floor around Cyclone to soften the landing for unlucky cowboys and cowgirls.
"I normally don't like bars", Merchant said, "There's always some hot head. A lot of bars don't care what happens. You'll come in there at your own risk and they'll rip things off. It's been really good here and the phone's been ringing off the hook with people looking to book us even before Stampede."
Seven of thirteen qualifying teams appeared for Thursday night's final with "The Horny Rustlers" team scrambling for last minute riders as 3 of their members failed to show. The judging was based on team spirit, riding style, and actually lasting the eight seconds. Rider after rider climbed aboard Cyclone amidst cigarette smoke and supportive shouts as Steve calmly put his creation through its paces. A little extra kick, spin, or lunge thrown in for the real cowboys and slowing things down a notch for the obviously inexperienced. When it was all said and done, "The Drunken Hutterites" took the championship and the National Finals Rodeo trip.
First gaining mass popularity with 1979's "Urban Cowboy", mechanical bulls and their owners had fallen on hard times with most bars and saloons balking at the liability insurance. However, with the annual renewal of cowboy culture each summer at Calgary's Exhibition & Stampede, Outlaws Saloon is one of the places to visit each night during this year's edition where Steve and Rhonda will
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