Prison Rodeo

'Women of the West' take on prison rodeo
Inmates say sport taught them value of teamwork.
By Julie Bisbee
THE OKLAHOMAN
Staff Writer
Friday, August 15, 2008

McLOUD — Lakota Wise has spent most of her life taking risks and cheating death. This weekend is no different.

But the adrenaline rush of riding on the back of rearing bull is the high 29-year-old seeks this weekend.


Wise is one of nine women who make up the "Women of the West," rodeo team from the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud. The women, who have been training since June, will be one of two female teams to compete in the rodeo this weekend in McAlester. The women will compete in bronc riding, bull riding and cattle dogging. Teams from 10 different prisons will compete in the rodeo. Louisiana and Oklahoma are the only states with prison rodeos and Oklahoma's rodeo is the only one in the world behind prison walls.


Organizers expect 12,000 to 16,000 people to show up for the annual event tonight and Saturday night, said Terry Crenshaw, warden's assistant at the state prison. The prison rodeo in McAlester is legendary with such events as "Money The Hard Way," where inmates scramble to get a piece of ribbon attached to a bull's horns. The winner gets $100.


Few inmate teams practice with livestock before coming into the arena at McAlester.


"It's a whole lot different when you get down in the chute and see that bull," said Deborah Graumann, a rodeo team coach and health administrator at the prison.


To the rodeo


Wise is a sturdy American Indian woman who is serving a lengthy prison sentence for drug possession and forgery. It's her first year on the team.


"We're not here because we're innocent," Wise said. "We've risked our lives out on the street, now we're doing it on the back of the animal. This is something positive and the first time I've done something like this sober."


Tonight's rodeo will also be the first time the team has ridden livestock.


But on the back of a training bull, they've tackled the most formidable foe, their own doubts and fears, said Warden Millicent Newton-Embry.


"It's a demon to beat and that gives them a real sense of accomplishment," said Newton-Embry. "That bull is just a metaphor for their demon, be it fear, drugs or whatever it was that brought them into the system. They figure if they can do this, they can do anything."


Forming a bond


The afternoon sun blazes and glints off the razor wire as nine women huddle around a barrel anchored to the ground. The women have traded their prison-issued smocks for black jeans and purple work shirts. They sport cowboy boots made of smooth black leather or lace up work boots. The boots are sent in by family members specifically for rodeo training.


The women had been training well before their boots and dungarees arrived.


"We've been rolling down that hill trying to learn how to fall," said Bobbie Gragson, who is serving a sentence for manufacturing methamphetamine. "You got to learn how to ride, but you also got to learn how to fall."


Gragson, 42, is the only veteran team member. This will be her third trip to the rodeo. She takes on the role of team captain.


The first time Gragson stared down the back of a bull she was hoping to get hurt, to dull the pain of losing her mother that year.


"My first year was about self-destruction. I didn't want to be able to get through it," Gragson said. "But it helped me get in touch with my fear. I think it's helped us all blossom."


Gragson's long dark hair spills out of a black felt cowboy hat and trails behind her as she rides the bull. The women have been training on a barrel shaped like the back of a bull and anchored to the ground. On the back, two women heave the barrel to simulate the kicks of a bull. Another woman stands at the front of the barrel and pulls forward.


Lowery, 27, holds tight and lasts for six seconds. The women cheer her as she hops off the barrel. A few months ago, the thought of riding a bull or riding a horse bareback was out of the realm of possibility for Lowery, who is serving a sentence for second-degree burglary and completing a substance abuse treatment program.


Between calisthenics, weight training and riding drills, a bond has been forged.


"One of the things you never want to do in the penitentiary is trust someone," Gragson said. "But we trust each other. We trust the staff members that are working with us. They want to see us do something positive."


Under the lights of the arena and in the mud, the women feel they've earned their spot there — even if they stay on the bull for only two seconds.


"This is what separates the women from the girls," Gragson said. "You put on your rodeo face and you keep going."


IF YOU GO


Prison rodeo


Where: Oklahoma State Penitentiary, McAlester.


When: Gates open at 6 p.m., rodeo starts at 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday.


Tickets: Box seats $17; reserved $12; general admission $8. Tickets are available at the gate or can be purchased online from the McAlester Chamber of Commerce at www.mcalester.org.