CLEARLAKE — Ray Mayo, 8, had an exciting summer traveling all the way to Texas to compete in the Young Bull Riders 2008 World Finals. Mayo spent three days at Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth where he earned a ninth place world title and shiny new belt buckle.
Mayo is a member of the Western Regional Bull Rider”s Association, which covers the California/Nevada area. Each association invited to the world finals competition is allowed to send its top two riders. Mayo went to the competition on a wildcard draw.
Mayo competed among 60 calf riders from around the nation including fellow calf rider from Clearlake, Kyle Romine, who placed 35th in the world title competition.
Mayo, a Pomo Elementary School student, has been calf riding for nearly a year now. He started his cowboy career in the mutton bustin” division; however, the sheep didn”t provide the thrill he was seeking and he soon moved on to calf riding. According to his mother Diane Mayo, the young bull rider has moved up in the ranks so quickly there is not much information for announcers to highlight.
“What”s really amazing about Ray is that this buckle he just won is only his second calf buckle,” Diane Mayo said. “He”s going up the ranks so fast that there”s not much to put on his bio.”
Mayo is not letting fear for anything stand in the way of his dream to become a professional bull rider including the $16 million facility in Texas. “I felt like I was at a regular rodeo,” he said.
“It was a huge coliseum with lots of people,” said Diane Mayo. “Ray wasn”t intimidated by the venue at all, which surprised me because I would have been intimidated.”
Along with competing among the 300 contestants who were invited to the competition, Mayo said he enjoyed meeting a number of professional bull riders. “I got to meet Tuff Hedamen. He”s a retired professional bull rider and three time world champion,” Mayo said. “I got to meet Donnie Gay and JW Hart, too. (Hart) usually helped me in the shoots and helped me get my calf ready.”
Mayo also had the opportunity to train on the Mighty Bucky, a manually operated bull-riding machine. Although he could remember his name, Mayo said one professional rider gave him some real good advice on the Mighty Bucky. “He taught me to turn my toes up and keep my feet straight out,” Mayo said. “When you do that your feet lock to the calf better.”
Diane Mayo added, “He taught him that after his first ride. So, when he got on his second calf he scored 10 points higher. He scored higher each time he rode. His last score was 72 points and that was pretty cool.”
Mayo scored a total of 191 points to earn ninth place recognition. Although his family was extremely proud of him, Mayo said he was disappointed in his score. “I wanted to do better,” he said.
Mayo”s friends are impressed too. “This is amazing because he”s only been riding for like a year and a half (including muttons). Everybody says he is a natural,” said family friend Deborah Johnson, who has encouraged Mayo”s riding.
Mayo trains with his friend Kyle Romine, who also went to the world competition. The boys took some of their winnings and bought their own calves to continue their training.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
