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By ROY GRABER
Winfield Courier

BURDEN -- After suffering a facial injury and undergoing surgery, Brad Harris was advised by his doctor to wait between four and six months before returning to bull riding competition.

The Udall cowboy almost made it one month, as he competed Saturday evening in the Burden Bull Riding.

"I came back a lot early," Harris said. "I was tired of sitting at home, not doing anything."

Three weeks ago, Harris was competing at a rodeo in Freedom, Okla., when he came down hard on a bull, damaging his eye socket. It required surgery with plates and three screws, Harris said. His vision was temporarily hindered by the accident, but it has since fully recovered.

Harris was planning to make an early return for the Central Plains Rodeo Association's finals, to be held in Hutchinson in October. But he decided to test the waters at the Burden event.

Riding with a protective mask, Harris proved he was ready to return, covering his bull for 77 points in the long round. It would be the highest marked ride of both the round and the evening.

That wasn't the only thrill to happen this weekend for Harris and his family. His brother, Brian McDade, also competed at the bull riding event. McDade had just become a father about 26 hours prior to his ride. His son was born at William Newton Hospital. Admittedly a little distracted and lacking sleep, McDade didn't seem to mind a bit that he came down from his bull before the whistle blew.

The evening also saw the return of a local bull rider. Jacob Miller, a Winfield High School senior who had competed in the junior division at the Burden Bull Riding in years past, got on a bull for the first time in two years. He was fouled on his first out and awarded a re-ride. While he didn't get to the whistle, Miller did manage to stay aboard for about six seconds on his re-ride.

The open competition attracted cowboys from Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma, including a North Carolina native attending Southwestern Oklahoma State on a rodeo scholarship. But it was the cowboys from the more immediate area that had the most success.

Luke Williams, who hails from Leon, scored a 74, while J.W. Stoddard of Dalton was marked a 71. Newkirk's Travis O'Dell came in fourth in the long round with a 67-point ride.

The top six were awarded the opportunity to advance to the short go, but with only four qualified rides, they drew two more names to compete. James Aikin of Pawnee, Okla., was one of the two names drawn, but he had apparently left the rodeo grounds before the drawing was held. With encouragement from the crowd, judges Ty Hughes and John McBeth allowed another name to be drawn. That enabled Arkansas City's Travis Buffington the opportunity to get on Aikin's bull. However, the ride was purely for exhibition.

While Buffington failed to ride his first bull, he covered his short-round bull to score 74 points. Buffington didn't earn any prize money, but did earn "ground-out" money, which enabled him to get his entry fee back.

Several of the riders came down right before the whistle and went to check McBeth's stopwatch after hitting the dirt. Williams said the stopwatch said 7.7 seconds on his ride, and Stoddard said it was 7.98 on his ride.

The event also featured a section for junior riders. Kasey Clay, a high school sophomore from Coweta, Okla., won with a 77-point ride, while Ethan Simmons came in second with a 66.