by Terry Lidral
Jerome Davis of Davis Rodeo Ranch in Archdale, North Carolina talked to BST about the purpose and use of a bucking dummy. Davis was one of the premiere riders in professional bull riding until an accident ended his riding career, at which time he turned his talents and energies to raising and training bucking bulls. Davis Rodeo Ranch raises and trains futurity bulls for both sale and competition. They also promote and present futurity events on their ranch in North Carolina.
“For me, the main purpose of the bucking dummy is a device to teach calves to buck,” said Davis. “The calf is working to get the dummy off from his back. When the calf does what you want him to, reward him by letting him get the weight off. We want the calf to turn back or kick through the flank hard and show a lot of potential,” continued Davis. ”So, when the calf makes the move to turn back with the dummy, immediately release the weight.”
Not all calves have the genetics to be competition bulls and Davis uses the first trips with the dummy for his initial assessment of a calf’s potential.
“We wean our calves at 8 to 10 months of age. Then we buck them,” explained Davis. “For that age bull, we use a small 10-pound dummy. We’re looking to get a feel for the calves’ ability.”
But to get the feel for how the calf can buck, Davis puts his weanlings through a process that will help them do their best. In Davis’ experience, their best comes with having them ready to be dummied.
“Groundwork is important,” Davis told us. “We have a process to settle them down and get them used to standing in the chute. We want them to be able to settle before we put the dummy on their back.”
The first thing Davis does with his young bulls is to run them through the chutes and show them the process to get through the out gate. This way they become familiar with the surroundings and where they are going. And they know how to get out of the arena. Then he gets them used to being in the chute and having people putting hands on them.
“The first time through the bucking chute can be a little stressful so we’ll run them in. When they settle, we’ll turn them out,” Davis told about helping a young bull to become comfortable with the process.
When the calves have gone through the process of being introduced to the chute, to people and to having weight on their back, Davis introduces the dummy.
“Once they can stand calm in the chute, we rub the dummy on their back until they can deal with the feel of it. Then, we put it on and let them just stand. We don’t turn them out the gate the first time. We want them to just get used to having the dummy strapped around their body,” Davis told of the process that requires patience.
“Some bulls will stand in the chute the very first time,” continued Davis. “Others are scared when it’s all new to them. Calves have to be treated individually as to how much time it takes to get them to settle in the chute.”
After his weanling calves have gone through the process and he has seen them buck several times, he will cull the bottom end. For Davis, culling a bull is not a snap decision.
“We buck all our weanling calves 3 or 4 or even 5 times within a few weeks to get an idea of how they will buck. By that time, we’ve got a decent idea if they have potential and we cull the bottom end. It’s not worth it to us to carry a calf through the winter that didn’t show ability. At the end of the day, we want to raise a calf that has a chance of winning. We keep the potential competitors,” Davis told of his culling decisions.
At 18 months, Davis starts bucking his futurity bulls on a regular basis.
“We give our futurity bulls regular outs every other week after they’re 18 months old. We’re looking to see their potential now they’ve grown,” Davis said. “We use a 14 pound dummy for these bigger bulls like the ones used in competition. We go on to separate 5 or 6 of these bulls to haul to futurity events. We give these 5 or 6 more attention and more outs with the dummy to get them seasoned to haul.”
Davis is very selective about the futurity bulls he hauls to competitions. He takes only the bulls he feels have a chance of being competitive in events.
“I don’t haul bulls to futurities just to take them,” Davis told us of his competition strategy. “I have to feel like they have a chance to win. Sometimes I will pull out a yearling bull with talent to compete. But he has to settle in the chute. I buck more 2-year-olds in futurity events.”
Getting his competition bulls in peak shape for competition is no problem for Davis. Besides giving them adequate outs with the dummy, they get plenty of other exercise.
“We have lanes that we jog the bulls along to keep them in physical condition for bucking. And the long trip from North Carolina to Texas for events makes them work,” Davis said with a chuckle. “That long trip standing in the moving trailer builds up their muscles.”
Davis sums it up this way.
“You’re way ahead of the ballgame with futurity bulls if you do your groundwork before you buck a calf with a dummy. A bull has to be able to settle in the chute when he competes in order to get his best chance at winning. If he’s bouncing around and trying to throw off the dummy, he’ll wear himself out before he even bucks.”
You can contact Jerome Davis at: davisrodeo@jeromedavis.com or 336-861-7673.
Author: Terry Lidral
Terry Lidral is a western writer/journalist who lives in Idaho. She is the publisher and editor of the online magazine Bucking Stock Talk and the online magazine Western Living Journal. Her publishing credits include Storyteller for Real American Cowboy Magazine, writing feature articles for Humps N Horns Magazine as well as a wide variety of national and international web sites, historical magazines and news publications. She is known for her "up close and personal" profiles of celebrities and industry moguls such as NPR's Tom Bodett; PBR's Wiley Petersen and D.H. Page, PRCA's Sammy Andrews, Cindy Rosser and Julio Moreno to name a few. She has been applauded for her way of making a personal connection between her readers and her subjects. She indulges in her love of rodeo by serving as an associate board member for the Caldwell Night Rodeo. She is also an accomplished trainer and handler in dog agility. Her shelties Amelie and Milo are titled in NADAC, USDAA and AKC.
