Steve Jansen

A poor sap about to get stomped upon (middle, underneath the bull) during Saturday's Angola Prison Rodeo.

​Hair Balls attended this past weekend's Angola Prison Rodeo and all we got to say is that the event is super weird.

The longest continuous prison rodeo, which began in 1964 at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, happens during one weekend every April as well as each Sunday in October. Located about an hour's drive from Baton Rouge, the sold-out shindig, which included fringe events such as prison pinball, featured some of the country's most dangerous criminals riding on top of pissed off bulls and horses.

Along with traditional bareback riding that saw many of the untrained cowboys gasping for medical attention, the two-hour spectacle also showcased prison pinball, a game that featured six inmates, each wearing black-and-white striped shirts and blue jeans, crouched down in their own pink hula hoop that lay flush with the arena dirt. The goal was to stay in said hoop while a bull, charging at full speed and ready to impale human guts, was unleashed upon them.

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Photo by Jeff Balke

The Hi-Miler: Demands for more action

​A Houston-area attorney says lax supervision of the Hi-Miler ride at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo made a fatal accident a "statistical certainty" and is calling for a state investigation.

Attorney Joe Stephens sent a formal complaint to the Texas Department of Insurance calling for an investigation into operator Ray Cammack Shows and the HLSR for the March 23 death of Brian Greenhouse, 46.

He says riders had complained about the Hi-Miler in the days before the accident.

"The entire ride should have been shut down until they redesigned the underlying problem of the latching bar," he wrote. "Unless it was corrected, it was a statistical certainty that someone would be killed."

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Photo courtesy of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Brad Paisley brought 'em in Saturday night.

​The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo set an attendance record this year with 2,262,834 total visitors including a single-night record of 150,948. That same night, the rodeo recorded its third highest paid attendance of 73,825 to see Brad Paisley. The World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest set its own record with 244,184 visitors.

Unfortunately, one of those visitors was killed in the final two hours of the carnival Sunday night when he fell from the Hi-Miler roller coaster. Officials are still investigating.

Despite that incident and the recent article in the Wall Street Journal criticizing the rodeo's more genteel approach, there is no denying that this year's event, which includes the rodeo, the carnival and the Livestock Show, was wildly successful.

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Mandy Oaklander

Bobby Mote, bareback rider.

​We've spent the past few weeks inhaling the smell of urine-soaked haybales, watching cowboy balls get trampled by bulls, and fielding accusations that we only picked the sexy cowboys to interview. (We didn't. All cowboys are, by definition, sexy.) But alas, our fling with the Houston Rodeo is finally over. Even though the championships are all handed out, Hair Balls is giving out some awards of our own for our five favorite cowboy and cowgirl interview moments.

1. Most Unintentionally Sexy Cowboy Tradition: Every time he competes, Bee Jay Scott recites a little prayer from the Bible, which he interprets as asking for a good bareback ride. "It gives you something else to think about besides bucking," he said. Which of course made us only think about wild, hot, holy bareback bucking.

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Mandy Oaklander

Isaac Diaz, saddle bronc

​​True cowboys and cowgirls are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they'll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Hair Balls will spotlight one person with enough dirt on their boots to call themselves a cowboy -- and mean it.

Name: Isaac Diaz
Age: 24
Hometown: Davie, Florida
Event: Saddle Bronc

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Mandy Oaklander

Dusty Tuckness, bullfighter

​True cowboys and cowgirls are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they'll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Hair Balls will spotlight one person with enough dirt on their boots to call themselves a cowboy -- and mean it.

Name: Dusty Tuckness
Age: 24
Hometown: Meeteetse, Wyoming
Event: Bullfighter

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Mandy Oaklander

Tana Renick, barrel racer

​True cowboys and cowgirls are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they'll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Hair Balls will spotlight one person with enough dirt on their boots to call themselves a cowboy -- and mean it.

Name: Tana Renick
Age: 36
Hometown: Kingston, Oklahoma
Event: Barrel racer

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Erica Love

​Cowboys who know how to work a gun while riding their trusty steed? The above picture is only the first glimpse of the rootin' tootin' cowboys at the HLSR's Mounted Shooting competition. This past weekend, the top 15 fastest riders in the country gathered to compete at the rodeo.

These cowboys (and a few cowgirls) ride their horses through a wide obstacle course while firing two .45 caliber single action revolvers at balloons strategically placed around the field. Not only is the speed of the rider and horse on display, but also the rider's pristine eye to hit the target while riding full speed.

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Mandy Oaklander

Bee Jay Scott, bareback

​True cowboys and cowgirls are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they'll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Hair Balls will spotlight one person with enough dirt on their boots to call themselves a cowboy -- and mean it.

Name: Bee Jay Scott
Age: 32
Hometown: Otley, Iowa
Event: Bareback riding

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Clayton Savage, bull rider

​True cowboys and cowgirls are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they'll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Hair Balls will spotlight one person with enough dirt on their boots to call themselves a cowboy -- and mean it.

Name: Clayton Savage
Age: 24
Hometown: Casper, Wyoming
Event: Bull riding

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