Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
An escaped rodeo bull created panic at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, when it topped a fence and charged straight for the bleachers, a video from the audience shows.
No injuries have been reported, but people are shown falling in all directions as they scrambled for higher ground in the stands.
The bull escaped Saturday, Aug. 27, during the Gus Trent Rodeo at Teco Arena, as staff were bringing it to a starting gate, Storyful reports.
Video shows the running bull quickly climbed the nearest fence, which brought it face to face with people in the first row of seats.
The resulting screams may have been what convinced the bull not to enter the bleachers, but the panic also pointed it straight at fans on the other side of the arena.
That’s where one rider twirling a rope overhead lassoed the bull and pulled it back over the fence into the ring, the video shows.
The crowd erupted in cheers for the cowboy, whose name has not been released.
Christopher Thornton, who recorded the video, told Storyful: “This was my first time attending a rodeo and it won’t be my last. Hats off to that cowboy, his amazing horse, and his throw.”
Commenters on social media have been divided, with some applauding the hero horseman and others cheering the bull for taking “a victory lap.”
“That guy that lassoed the bull should never have to buy a drink in this town ever again. He probably saved a life or two with that perfect grab!” one commenter wrote on YouTube.
“See that’s what it means to cowboy up,” another posted on Facebook.
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