Jason Borton began riding steers when he was eight. At 14 he graduated to bulls and for the next 10 years he was a bullrider, until he retired at 24. He describes bullriding this way: the nerves are high, for both the rider and the animal. Not unlike any elite athlete, a bull is profoundly strong and trained to buck and kick off its rider, who has to hold on desperately for just eight seconds. For Borton, bullriding is probably the biggest rush of adrenaline any person will ever have.
For the past 24 years Borton has been the organizer of the Cochrane Classic Bullriding, a summertime marque rodeo event. Typically held in late July, the Cochrane Classic has attracted riders from across the bullriding world, from all across Canada, the United States, Brazil, and even as far as Australia.
This summer will be the first July in almost a quarter century that the Cochrane Classic will not grace the Cochrane agricultural grounds. Borton announced early last week that the event will not be held this year.
The event was all consuming and Borton, as well as his staff of helpers and volunteers, and the time and energy needed to produce such a production became too great. A marker of the event's success, Borton said it brought in close to 2,100 spectators last year, as well as over 1,000 for the nighttime dance alone.
“It was a very hard decision,” he said. “I’ve done it for a lot of years and a lot of my help, they’re getting older and have lives of their own. The events take a lot of people and it’s been hard to find [additional help.]”
All in all, Borton said it was time for a change. Borton had been a bullriding event organizer over twice as long as he’d been an actual bullrider. “It’s a big operation,” he said. “It took up a big part of my life every year.”
Borton said the community support for the Cochrane Classic has propelled the event to massive heights. People in the community got behind right from the start, he said.
“The community really got behind it. I couldn’t be more thankful for the community because without them, you can’t have these events,” Borton said. “Between the support from the community and for all the great local sponsors I’ve had over the years, they’re the ones that have made it happen, I just organize it.”
Although the event won’t be running this year, Borton has the sense that the Cochrane Classic could only be on a hiatus. His participation in the event is done, but he said he could see it returning in the future in some form or fashion, being organized and put on by some other group. He believes there is still certainly an appetite for the Cochrane Classic among its fans and the community writ large.
“The crowd has been getting bigger and bigger,” he said. “It’s a big operation, one that took up a big part of my life [and] I’m going to miss it. But I know this community will still get behind it.”
