‘Tough Enough To Wear Pink’ Night Lures Survivors, Champions

Thursday was night two of the Western Frontier Pro Rodeo, and after Wednesday night’s Extreme Bulls event, it was also the first night of regular rodeo in Holt Arena.

It was also Tough Enough to Wear Pink night.

Don’t let Bob Dickman’s long black beard fool you.

“I’m big enough, I’m tough enough, I think I can wear pink,” he said.

The PFRA president’s step-mom and brother both had cancer, so Thursday meant a lot to the rodeo volunteer.

“I constantly give, and this is, like, a big boost to me to really give back to a lot of people out there with cancer,” Dickman said.

And it meant a lot to another group, too. A group of breast cancer survivors were being celebrated as a part of Thursday’s program. Debbie Gross is a five-year survivor.

“It’s kind of an honor that a lot of people come out here to support breast cancer, and you can see all of the crowd in pink, you see all of the cowboys in pink, everybody out here is in pink to support breast cancer,” Gross said.

And make no mistake about it, the people who came in were ready to see some rodeo, even if it was on the small scale.

“My granddaughter’s mutton bustin,” said Diana Carter about what she was looking forward to.

Carl Bartholomew and his family come from Jerome, ID every year. He said the Wrangler Million Dollar tour lived up to expectations.

“When you’re drawing the top cowboys in the United States and you have 300 or 400 contestants, you can’t beat that,” Bartholomew said.

Bartholomew said he was excited to see the bareback riders, like 19-year-old Richmond Champion.

Champion started riding bulls when he was 13-years-old, and six years later, he’s taping up with the rest of the pros.

“It’s awesome. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he said.

With a room full of guys stretching and saddling up, it’s hard to ignore that some will win, and some will lose. Champion said he wasn’t concerned about living up to his name.

“That’s the game plan,” Champion said.