Bull riding is natural

By Shine Salt

Bull riding has always been in his blood. His grandfather was a roper along with his cousins and uncles, but his father was the first to ride a beast.

He recalls when his father would practice with a steel barrel then when competition came, he would be ready. But that stopped for Jones’ father after a bull had punctured his lungs and broke his ribs. His family didn’t want this to happen to Jones and they didn’t want him to become a rider.

“They couldn’t keep me away forever,” said the 30-year-old bull rider. “I grew up in this lifestyle already.”

The family has a ranch at the Navajo reservation in a rural area and Jones recalls having to haul water each day to their cattle.

“Before, there was no running water or electricity,” said Jones. “We would have to walk and find the cattle to chase them back to the corral. I think this is what built my strength to not be afraid of bulls.”

Lorissia Cly, whose Jones wife, said he has an inner connection with the bulls. He will walk right up to them, pet them, sit on them and talk to them. “For Bert it’s easy,” she said.

Jones first rode his bull at age 13. It was a typical day for a teenager on the reservation. Hanging with friends and doing out door activities. He ran into a friend who was going to practice bull riding. Bert decided to keep him company.“

I was watching him ride and out of the blue I just wanted to try it. I got on a bull and fell off quick. I wanted to get on again so I did. That’s when I started getting into it.”

He competed in his first competition and Jones admits he wasn’t the best his first year, but he considered it a learning process. “You’re trying to understand how to ride and what to work on,” he said.

After his first competition, Jones’ family supported him with his choice. He then entered in many other local events. Then he got his first break, a junior bull riding competition where he took first at the age of 14.

Jones was pushing forward and winning top three in events, but he wanted to aim higher.

“He wants to ride to show that Native Americans can do this and they can go further with the sport rather than just riding on the reservation,” said Cly. “He was in it for that, not for the money but to be noticed outside of the reservation.”

He then competed in Phoenix at the State Fair. He got bucked off quick, not lasting the 8 seconds.

“It was a whole lot different than the ones held on the reservation. The bulls were faster, bigger and stronger,” said the bull rider. “Once I got home I started practicing harder. Everyday I practiced and I started exercising more. It was just another sport I knew I could get better at.”

Jones qualified for the National High School rodeo after he took second place for Arizona. He was able to compete against the top high school riders of all 50 states. Jones took top 30 out of all the competitors. He was only 17.

He was becoming well known in the rodeo industry, but to Cly, she didn’t know he was a bull rider to begin with.

“At first I didn’t know until he took me to a bull riding competition,” Cly smiled. “I asked him, ‘where are we at?’ And he said at a rodeo and I asked him ‘why are we here and that’s when he said, ‘I’m a bull rider.’”

Cly wasn’t interested in bull riding, but once she became close with Jones, that changed. She began traveling with him, but is always anxious when it came time for him to ride.

“I try not to get nervous because he’ll get nervous too. I just try to think positive. We always pray before he gets behind the shoot. I try not to think negative and it’s hard to see him get hurt.”

Cly remembers when Jones was teaching kids how to ride. He got bucked off and fell; the bull stepped on him. “It was hard to see that because he was in pain and I had to rush him to the hospital.”

Jones counted his injuries: Knocked out about five times, stepped on the kidneys, sprained his ankle three times, broke three of his fingers and stitches to the jaw and back of the head.

“Being on a bull, it’s a big adrenaline rush. It’s nothing compared to riding horses where you know you can guide them to turn a certain direction,” said Jones. “With bull riding it’s just natural reaction. You have to have an instinct of which direction the bull will turn and you have to guide your body with it.”

Jones said bull riding takes a lot out of you because your arms are being tugged and your legs would get sore.

“Even when you get hurt, you can’t get away from it. It’s something I love to do,” said Jones. “If I say it’s fun then I would’ve stopped riding a long time ago, but I love it.”

Jones expanded the importance of bull riding to breeding bulls and building his own business, Bucking Bulls. In 2002 he started qualifying his 12 bulls to compete in rodeos where Cly helps him decide on contracts.

In 2003, Jones started with Professional Bull Riding (PBR). He said his first year was frightening because he was competing against professionals. “I had to block out that intimidation because I told myself, I’m not there to compete against the riders. I’m there to defeat the bull I’m riding,” he said.

He went on tours and became friends with many of the riders. They traveled around the states and Jones even qualified for the Mexico World Finals. He competed with PBR for 6 years.

Before he gets on the bull, Jones will pray with his family. Then while on the bull, he’ll pray with the animal.

“They listen. You’ll see their ears moving around and they’ll look back at you,” said Jones. “I ask for him to buck on mother earth safely. I’m not there to hurt him and he’s not there to hurt me. We’re both there to do what we do.”

Concentrating on his business and his job, Jones hasn’t competed for almost two years, but he still rides and there’s one bull he owns where a rematch is to be continued.

“I got on him last year and he bucked me off. He stepped on my stomach and ended up cracking my buckle,” Jones laughed. “Two weeks later I ended up buying that bull and we have him back on the reservation.”

Jones said the cracked buckle is his favorite that’s made of gold and silver. He won it at Cave Creek in 2011.

“If you barely move the buckle it’s going to break in half,” said Jones. “One of these days I want to get back on Donkey Kong and have a little payback.”

Jones doesn’t know when he’ll officially retire from riding bulls but he reflects on his past. The many places he traveled to, competitions and the accomplishments.

“I kind of wish I was still at that early age when I would travel a lot. The times when I had less bills and didn’t have to work that much,” Jones laughed. “But I do miss what I use to have but I know I have better things now. It was a good experience and I know I’ll get back into it again.”

To Cly, she knows Jones has met his goals to help others with bull riding. “To me he’s my champion. That’s how I look at him,” she said.