Want danger? Try milking a wild cow

Got milk?

If you want the distinction of being the best ranch in the Panhandle, you had better.

It might seem ironic in a tradition-rich Golden Spread rodeo sponsored by an adult beverage company, but milk - or the ability to obtain it quickly from a not-so-friendly cow - just might be more valuable.

To city slickers, wild cow milking - one of the events at the 24th Coors Cowboy Club Ranch Rodeo - raises eyebrows because of the event's unique name.

However, it is as much art as a sport - and it can be just as dangerous as other more macho-sounding rodeo events.

"To me, there is a lot more that can go wrong in cow milking than with a bucking horse," said Josh Halsell, foreman of High Card Ranch near Clarendon, which finished second last year in the men's team standings.

Speaking of bucking horses, Halsell earned a 75 in Friday's first go-round in saddle bronc, good enough for a tie for second in the event for High Card Ranch.

CCCRR executive director Chris Reed said success in wild cow milking sometimes doesn't have anything to do with cowboys.

"It depends on how the cow is cooperating, or not cooperating," Reed said with a chuckle.

High Card Ranch owner and former Amarillo mayor Jerry Hodge, who competed at the CCCRR for two decades, remembers the first time he tried wild cow milking.

"Got stepped on," said Hodge, 68, a native of Gotebo, Okla., and who was Amarillo's mayor from 1977-1981.

For the rodeo novice, wild cow milking involves a four-man team trying to not only corral a cow, but hold it still long enough to get milk into a bottle and rush back to a waiting judge in the fastest time possible.

Halsell and Hodge said the competition can take anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes.

Here's how Halsell, also a saddle bronc rider who has been competing at CCCRR since 1998, describes wild cow milking:

"It depends on the rodeo, but at Coors you'll have two guys on horseback. They'll be your ropers. You'll have two guys on the ground. One will be the milker and one will be the mugger. One will rope the cow so the other guy on horseback can get off the horse. In some cases, the roper will get off and help. In some cases he won't.

"The object is to get enough milk in the bottle so you can run to the judge's circle and have enough milk to pour out. At some rodeos, you have to have enough to pour out. I've been at some rodeos where a pin drop on the hand is enough."

Hodge's ranch has won the overall team title twice.

"Usually, whoever draws the short straw has to hold the cow and mug it," Hodge said, referring to the practice of holding the cow by the head. "I usually mugged the cow."

And speed is important as milking.

"Basically, it is a foot race," said Halsell, 30, a Crowell native. "Everybody has different strategies, but usually there aren't set jobs.

"The fastest guy on the team will usually be the milker, and the stoutest guy, the grizzlier guy, will try to get hold of the cow. Guys that weigh a little more might get hold off the tail. If the cow has a little weight on her tail she can't run as freely."

And there is a reason "wild" is included in the event name.

"Whenever she is separated from her calf, the cow really doesn't want to be in that arena," Reed said. "She can get a little mad, which is why they call it wild cow milking. She might run over the cowboys and kind of make crumpled meat out of them."

"The thing about wild cow milking is that cow can get you down on the ground and stomp all over you or trip and fall on top of you," Halsell said. "I've seen guys break legs, get a crushed nose or break an arm. The rope can catch you just right and slingshot you around or you can get your feet cut out from under you.

"It all depends on the cow."