<\/a>Franklin, Tenn. (May 15, 2023) \u2013 The daredevil in Russell Ford comes out sometimes. He can\u2019t help it; he\u2019s been doing crazy stuff since he was a kid.<\/p>\nAnd for the Independence High School senior, he\u2019s about to ride a bull at the Franklin Rodeo.<\/p>\n
Ford, a high school wrestling stand-out and Columbia resident got the bull riding bug when he was a kid, attending the Franklin Rodeo with his parents, Tim and Robin Ford. They always sat close to the chutes, and Ford took note. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to be a bull rider.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he was ten, he saw another kid at the rodeo ask a bull rider for his back number. He asked his mom: \u2018can I get one?\u2019 She nodded, and he headed over to ask. \u201cI was able to get a few back numbers from the bull riders after they rode,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But high school wrestling beckoned, and the 19-year-old had a great career, as the first Independence High School wrestler to win all four years of regional high school competition. He competed at state all four years, placing third as a sophomore, second as a junior, and fifth this year.<\/p>\n
It was through a buddy, Hagen Hall, that he learned more about riding bulls about a year and a half ago. Hall, a bull rider from Spring Hill, told Ford about a bull riding close to the house, and Ford told his dad. \u201cI\u2019m getting on a bull this Saturday. Come and watch. My dad said, \u2018Yeah,\u2019 not believing I was actually doing it.\u201d But Tim went with his son, signed the release, and \u201cthat was it,\u201d Russell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn that first ride, I didn\u2019t have a clue what I was doing. I nodded my head, the bull came out and turned hard left, and I went hard right,\u201d he laughed. The buck-off didn\u2019t dissuade him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved it. My mom asked me, \u2018You got on a bull and you\u2019re done, right?\u2019 And I said, no, we\u2019re going to rodeo tomorrow night.\u201d<\/p>\n
His wrestling coaches weren\u2019t crazy about it; he was not allowed to ride bulls during wrestling season. But his junior year, the day he won second at state, he was at a bull riding that night, riding bulls, and in the practice pen the next day.<\/p>\n
Wrestling and riding bulls are similar, Ford said, mostly because of the mental games. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit different because in wrestling, it\u2019s not you versus a bull but you versus another guy. Honestly if I had to say, bull riding is tougher because it\u2019s you versus an animal. But both are really tough sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both sports are humbling, too. \u201cYou cannot be cocky in either sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s ridden at local events and jackpots but doesn\u2019t compete in any associations, like the Tennessee High School Rodeo Association.<\/p>\n
He graduates on May 25, five days after his exhibition ride at the Franklin Rodeo. He\u2019ll attend Truett McConnell University in Cleveland, Georgia, on a wrestling scholarship, to pursue a business degree.<\/p>\n
Ford is all in: he bought a practice bucking bull, keeping at his uncle\u2019s place near Columbia, along with the horse he owns. He spends evenings and weekends there, building a fence and making it into a practice pen area.<\/p>\n
He completed his high school wrestling career at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center; now he\u2019ll be back, in a different discipline, wrestling with a bull.<\/p>\n
The Franklin Rodeo will be held May 18-20, with performances at 7 pm nightly. Tickets for the rodeo are $25 for adults and $12 for children ages 12 and under. Children sitting on laps are free. All seats are reserved.<\/p>\n
Tickets can be purchased online at FranklinRodeo.com.<\/p>\n
Columbia resident and soon-to-be Independence High School graduate Russell Ford is both a wrestler and a bull rider. He will make an exhibition bull ride at the Franklin Rodeo on May 20. Photo by Robin Ford.<\/p>\n
Russell Ford, Columbia, rides a bull at a bull riding. The high school wrestler and senior will make an exhibition ride at the Franklin Rodeo on May 20. Photo by Awe Chute Photography.<\/p>\n
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Independence High School student to make exhibition bull ride at Franklin Rodeo Franklin, Tenn. (May 15, 2023) – The daredevil in Russell Ford comes out sometimes. He can’t help it; he’s been doing crazy stuff since he was a kid. And for the Independence High School senior, he’s about to ride a bull at the Franklin Rodeo. Ford, a high school wrestling stand-out and Columbia resident got the bull riding bug when he was a kid, attending the Franklin Rodeo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6895,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[52,2044,98],"tags":[1159,2197,2196,2195,2198,1161],"class_list":["post-6892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-magazine","category-magazine","category-western-events-magazine","tag-franklin-rodeo","tag-hagen-hall","tag-independence-high-school","tag-russell-ford","tag-tennessee-high-school-rodeo-association","tag-williamson-county-ag-expo-center"],"yoast_head":"\n
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