WEMBLEY'S BIGGEST THRILL.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 170, 19 July 1924, Page 19

WEMBLEY'S BIGGEST THRILL.

MAN V. STEER WRESTLING MATCH. (By C. B. COCHRAN). Mr. C. B. Cochran, to whose enterprise the Rodeo at Wembley owes its existence, tells the thrilling story of a steer wrestling bout he saw in America. "The wooden door, on which they told mc to keep both eyes fixed, suddenly shot open, and out into the arena, thundered an animal, snorting and swishing its tall, its thick horns lowered viciously. The galloping steer crossed a line chalked on the ►.-round, and flashing out after him were the two horsemen whom I had seen out of the corner of my eye waiting for the 'go.' "Hallooing like wild Indians, and mounted on ponies which were quivering with pent-up excitement, they sped on the | tracks of the steer, and for a fraction of a second it seemed to mc that two men and two horses were certainly needed to tackle such an uglj -looking beast. Then I remembered; steer-wrestling is a one-man job, and one of the horsemen was onl- •V hnzer—a fellow whose business it ls to stand by his 'mate' should any desperate emergency arise. "The speed of the steer was astonishing ; on he rlunged. spurred by temper, zig-zagging first to the right, then to the left, ono thousand pounds weight of angry brute. "The man In pursuit of the steer knew nothing of the animal or its tricks and peculiarities—he had been matched against it by the simple process of a number drawn out of a hat. "Six yards-—five yards—four yards now separated hunter and hunted—and then, racing up on the steer's right till he came almost abreast of it. the cowboy suddenly slipped his feet out of his stirrups, and flying with arms outstretched, flung himself on to the steer's back. "It is impossible for mc to give you, ln cold print, the thrill of that cowboy's flying leap and the work which followed it. "The steer has to be brought to a standstill. Grasping Its horns with his powerful hands, the cowboy shot out both his feet in front of him to act as a brake. Shaking and plunging, the surprised animal dragged him along with it for about a dozen yards. Then, finding it could not get free, It stopped. "In the twinkling of an eye the cowboy was round in front of it, his face to Its face. "Suddenly the steer changed Its feet. Here was the man's opportunity. With a lightning side-step and a strong twist, he forced the beast over to one side, went backwards himself nnd down, almost on top of him. Its neck on his face, the steer fell over, too. Pandemonium was loose in the stands; the onlooking cowboys were crazy with excitement. Out shot the steer's legs in front of him, up shot the wrestler's hand. "A fair fall!" cried the man who had brought mc to my first rodeo. "Well done. Mister Steer, you made him go over a minntc! You get a rest now, and you deserve It' "Myself, I Ehould have said that the man in the case most needed a rest I"