n What: Clark County Fair.
o When: Aug. 6-15; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m today. Rodeo events include pro barrel racing, 2 p.m. Aug. 9; pro rough stock rodeo, 6:30 p.m. Aug. 9; kids’ mutton busting, 2 p.m. Aug. 10; and bull riding championships, 6:30 p.m. Aug. 10.
o Where: Clark County Fairgrounds, 17402 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield.
o Cost: $10 for adults; $8 for seniors; 7 for children ages 7 to 12. Children ages 6 or younger are free. Parking is $6.
o Information: http://www.clarkcofair.com.
Jake Suratt knows how to hang on.
Tight.
The 17-year-old Vancouver man explains it this way: He was a wee tot, about 5 years old, when his dad, a rodeo roper, had a flash of inspiration.
“I guess he thought it would be funny to put me on a roping steer,” Suratt said.
n What: Clark County Fair.
o When: Aug. 6-15; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m today. Rodeo events include pro barrel racing, 2 p.m. Aug. 9; pro rough stock rodeo, 6:30 p.m. Aug. 9; kids' mutton busting, 2 p.m. Aug. 10; and bull riding championships, 6:30 p.m. Aug. 10.
o Where: Clark County Fairgrounds, 17402 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield.
o Cost: $10 for adults; $8 for seniors; 7 for children ages 7 to 12. Children ages 6 or younger are free. Parking is $6.
o Information: http://www.clarkcofair.com.
Family lore says the 5-year-old cried as the steer tried to buck him. But something shifted in the lad.
“I guess I ended up liking it,” said Suratt, a 130-pound red head with a lithe frame poured into a blue jeans form.
Suratt, a 2010 Hockinson High School graduate, eventually graduated from steers to 2,200-pound, steaming mad, bucking bulls.
He’s planning to mount a bull for the upcoming Northwest Pro Rodeo, part of this year’s lineup at the Clark County Fair.
The fair runs from Aug. 6 through 15 at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Ridgefield.
The Northwest Pro Rodeo, which features a rough stock rodeo and barrel racing, starts at 2 p.m. on Aug. 9. The Northwest Bull Riding Championship starts at 6:30 p.m., although mutton busting — a kid-friendly rodeo event — starts at 2 p.m. Fair admission covers entry to the rodeo and bull riding events.
While bull riding has been a staple for years, the rodeo is new to the fair. Jim Beriault, a fair spokesman, said a change of venue for concerts — now held at Sleep Country Amphitheater, 17200 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield — freed up grandstand space, which made the rodeo and other events possible.
Wayne White, the fair’s rodeo producer who also produces rodeos throughout the west, figures about 20 cowboys will compete in the rodeo and another 16 will mount up for an eight-second bull ride on Tuesday.
Suratt, who plans to become an English teacher, is readying himself for a hometown bull-bucking show in both the rodeo and bull riding events. He’s spent weekends traveling to rodeos and praying that he won’t meet another bull’s horn, like the recent buck that sent him flipping through the air and nearly shish kebabed his noggin.
“If you get hurt in this sport, you can die,” Suratt said.
That’s why he prays before each ride.
“A lot of bull riders are extremely faithful,” Suratt said. “You’ve got to thank Him that you’re still alive. Always.”
He’s got his pre-ride music ready, too — a bit of AC/DC and Colby Yates’ “Heading to the Rodeo.” Stuff to calm his soul in the moments before the ride leaves his body twitching in what he calls an adrenaline explosion.
If he wins — Suratt estimates he pocketed some $28,000 on the amateur circuit last year — he’ll walk away with cash, a Coors jacket, a belt buckle and some old-fashioned bragging rights from the hometown crowd.
“It’s a little bit different because it’s hometown and you don’t want to let anyone down,” Suratt said.
