PRORODEO HALL OF FAME BULL TORNADO REMEMBERED

by Terry Lidral

Rodeo legend Jim Shoulders and his great bucking bull Tornado were inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979.  Two decades before the bull Tornado came on the rodeo scene, Shoulders was turning heads and building a legacy of 16 world titles as a bull rider and a bronc rider on the top professional circuits.  When Shoulders retired and became a stock contractor, his outstanding Texan Braford bull Tornado carried on the Shoulders’ championship tradition with 4 titles of his own.

Tornado was born in Texas in 1957, the year that Shoulders won his third of five World All Around championships.  A cross between a Brahma and a Hereford, the white faced, red Braford was said to be bought at the age of 3 by Shoulders.

There appears to be little written about Shoulders’ initial expectation of the young Braford.  But, as legend goes, he named the red Braford Tornado for the bull’s rapid spin and his ability to switch directions in the blink of an eye.  (Tornado was part of a set of “weather” bulls owned by Shoulders:  Cyclone, Twister, Hurricane and Tornado.)  And from his first event in Mesquite, Texas in 1960, Tornado won the battles in the bucking arena.  For over 6 years and 220 outs, Tornado was unridden.  As the buck-offs multiplied and the bull acquired the reputation of being able to dispatch even the elite best the sport had to offer, there were those riders who turned out rather than engage in the battle of wills with the powerful Tornado.

A big bull, Tornado’s weight was recorded as 1850 pounds.  He was muscular, agile and quick.  It was his style to start a spin, then change direction rapidly.  Then, he would use just what it took to get the rider off his back.  Shoulders’ wife, Sharon made the claim that Tornado sized up the ability of his rider and bucked accordingly.  Tornado was powerful and determined in the arena.  He was noted for charging photographers and wiping out the barrel.  Yet, on the ranch, he was said to be so docile that Shoulders’ children would go out and feed him by hand.

As is usually the case, the “unrideable” bull eventually got ridden.  This time it was the battle of two veterans – 11-year old Tornado against 46-year old rider Freckles Brown.  In front of a packed crowd at the 1967 NFR in Oklahoma City, Freckles Brown made the whistle on the 221^st out of Tornado’s career.  The story has it that the applause from the crowd rang the rafters.

“The Ride,” as it was called by many, was commemorated in Red Steagill’s song “The Ballad of Freckles Brown.”  The famous radio talk show host Paul Harvey gave an on-air accounting of the historic ride to his worldwide audience.  Since, after the publicity, crowd numbers grew appreciably, Tornado and Freckles Brown were given credit for popularizing the sport of bull riding.

After Tornado’s buck-off streak was broken, he made the circuit for 2 more years.  As his career wound down, he gave up 4 more qualified rides, one of them being to Freckles Brown in Miami, Florida.  Retired in 1969, Tornado spent the rest of his days on the Shoulders’ ranch.  He enjoyed greeting his visitors with displays of dirt pawing and snorting, making sure he gained the attention he felt he deserved.  In the spring of 1972, in his 15^th year, Tornado died.  He was buried at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 

Tornado won many awards during and after his lifetime.  Besides the 1979 induction into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, the bull was voted the Bucking Bull of the NFR 4 years running from 1962-65, and was named the Meanest Bull Alive at the NFR 4 separate times.  “The Ride” put Freckles Brown and Tornado into the Oklahoma Encyclopedia of History and Culture where Tornado has also been given his own individual listing.  In 2016, Tornado was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame.

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.