By Matt HermsenWhite

Since he was 16, Nick Goldsmith has been traveling Iowa in a rather unusual way. Not by car or plane. Not by bus or boat. Not by bike or skateboard. Nick has been traveling Iowa… by bull.

Nick, a Mount Vernon senior, has been bucking and broncing in the Iowa rodeo circuit for the past two years. He was introduced to this rather unusual sport by  junior Dylan Woods, who invited Nick to give the bull a whirl when he was over at his house one day. “I was bucked off on the second jump,” Nick said. “but I immediately wanted to do it again.” Ever since that day, Nick has been striving for the ultimate glory ride on the bare back of a bucking bull. “He is cocky but cool,” said Dylan as he watches his friend learn the peculiar art of bull riding.

Getting on the bull is scary. There is no getting around the fear. You just have to go through it, trust your training, and hope to come out the other side, in one piece. If fear is an issue

, then maybe you should collect stamps. But for someone like Nick, it’s the adrenaline rush pumping through his veins that keeps him coming back to the bull for more.

Nick climbs down onto the bull in the narrow chute, placing the rope into his left hand and leaving his right hand free for balance. He then signals for them to open the gate. “Buck ‘em,” or “let’s go,” Nick often says. “Its pretty much life or death when you come out of that chute. It’s just you and the bull.” And 8 seconds of bending, twisting, jarring, crashing, hanging on for dear life with the hopes of lasting long enough to be proud of his ride. Then THUD, the end of the ride, face plant in the dirt, thrown from the bull, scampering off run and jump over gate, hoping the angry bull isn’t after him.

The goal in bull riding is to try to stay on for 8 seconds. Nick aims for 10 seconds before jumping off. He moves his body and free arm in the way that the bull moves, like suspension on a car. “It feels like longer than 8 seconds when you’re riding,” Nick says. If he reaches 8 seconds, he can jump off rather than staying on and eventually being bucked off. Immediately after getting off Nick feels relieved, and either happy or angry based on his time.

This is not a sport without injury. Nick often suffers bruises, and pulled muscles are common for him. His biggest injury was breaking his wrist and was put into a full arm cast. “I started riding as soon as it was shortened,” Nick says. Pros can suffer even worse injuries. They can get concussions, break bones, become paralyzed, or even die.

Nick is committed to improving his skills. Nick mostly practices in the bull pen at Dylan’s house now, and occasionally rides at Dry Creek Stables in Marion. There he competes in rodeos with others from nearby. He also goes to Sandbur, south of Lisbon, to do rodeos. But, they only do one each year. “He loves to be around the farm,” says Charlie Babcock, a friend and senior at Mt Vernon High School.

Nick has certain things that he wears when riding bulls. He wears boots, chaps, vest, and “only one glove,” Nick says. He uses the hand with the glove to hold the rope and the other hand he uses for balance. Along with these items he also wears a helmet when he is riding, but he wants to start wearing a hat instead.

Nick wants to continue riding bulls after high school. This spring, he wants to try out for the Iowa Rodeo Cowboys Association. There he would compete against other bull riders across Iowa. His dream, he says, would to make it to the elite levels with Professional Bull Riders or the National Finals Rodeo. There he would compete with people from all over the United States. Nick said he would love to make it to the pros one day and he would stay in bull riding until his body can’t take it anymore.