Mitch Russell is standing in front of a pen of young athletes, talking them up like a top sports agent. He's got over 100 of these athletes, and he can tell you where they came from, who their parents are, and for the older ones, how many times they've performed and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
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In this case, the athletes are four-legged. They are all bulls.
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In the sport of bullriding, the bulls get almost equal billing to the bullriders. Right there on the PBR Australia webpage under the heading athletes you can find rankings for riders and bulls.
They know their job. Once they get into the arena, they know the game.
- Mitch Russell talking about his TnR bulls
In fact, a bull rider's score counts the performance of the bull, who is also scored for his performance. A hot rider who can stay on top of a hot bull is a winner.
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Mitch Russell is a professional protection athlete, also known as a rodeo clown, on the Australian Professional Bull Riders circuit. But the Hunter Valley stockman is also a partner in Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls, one of the leading providers of bulls to the PBR circuit and Australian rodeos.
Russell is keen for this Saturday's PBR event at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre. It means a short trip for him and the bulls from their Melville paddock, and performing in front of a home-town crowd for the West Wallsend-born 33-year-old Russell.
While Russell will be in the middle of the action all night, right in the ring, leading bulls away from cowboys after they are bucked off the bulls, each of his bulls will only perform once during the event.
On one weekend last summer, TnR had over 100 bulls working rodeos at Adelaide, Maitland and Quirindi. Last year he provided bulls to more than 40 events.
While Russell says it's a hobby that doesn't pay, he's committed 100 per cent to it, from the breeding, to the training of the bull, to the countless hours trucking them across the country, and the event day preparations and care of feeding and tending to the animals.
Right now, we're talking about Let's Party Marty, a four-year-old bull in his first season on the PBR tour. "He's pretty wild, but we're going steady with him," Russell says.
Marty weighs about 600kg; the older ones weigh up to 750kg, like one of his stars, Train Wreck. "On his day, he is as good as any," Russell says of Train Wreck.
At the moment, TnR's top bull is Call Me Joe, ranked 15th on the PRB bull ratings. At age seven, Joe is in his prime. He's been matched with several top-ranking bull riders this year, including Aaron Kleier, Cody Heffernan, Troy Wilkinson, Lachlan Slade and Kurt Shephard.
"They know their job," Russell says of his bulls. "Once they get into the arena, they know the game. They turn up every weekend and do it. Not all of them make it. They are treated pretty good. They enjoy lush grass in the paddock. They are athletes themselves."
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Jim Kellar
Jim Kellar writes about culture, art, food, drinks and music. He's been a journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1997. jkellar@newcastleherald.com.au
Jim Kellar writes about culture, art, food, drinks and music. He's been a journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1997. jkellar@newcastleherald.com.au
