Ride 'em, Efland

EFLAND — The introduction to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” roared in the cold night air as the crowd swelled with anticipation.

Sparks burst as the lead singer screamed, “You’ve been Thunderstruck!” and the moment Joshua Hewett had been waiting for arrived.

It wasn’t a concert. It was the 16th annual Efland Rodeo, and Friday night it was time for the appearance of the big bull, which charged out into the ring to signal the start of bull riding.

Hewett, a 19-year-old Hillsborough resident, has been attending the Efland Ruritan Club rodeo for four years.

“I love everything about it,” Hewett said.

“The rodeo clowns are a real trip too,” he said as the crowd laughed at the rodeo clown, who performed a skit about Roman Riding. The clown stood on the backs of two miniature ponies and rode over lit torches and small jumps.

For a $10 admission fee, audience members could ride a mechanical bull, shop for western wear, fill up on funnel cake and barbecue and take in all the rodeo had to offer.

The Efland Ruritan Club, which has hosted the event for the past 16 years, donates every cent of the money collected from admission fees to a variety of charities.

In addition to rodeo clown skits, the night’s events included calf roping, bronco and bull riding, barrel racing and a calf scramble, where kids younger than eight chased after calves in the ring, trying to get the ribbon off two of the calves’ tails for a free cowboy hat.

Efland, about 25 minutes northwest of Chapel Hill, was the last stop in the Mid-Atlantic Professional Rodeo Legends Tour. Rodeos were held Friday and Saturday nights.

The riders’ scores on the two nights will be carried to the championship in Charlotte the first week of February.

Lindsay Adams of Fort Mill, S.C., a rodeo rider in both the breakaway and team roping competition, placed first Friday in the team roping competition.

Adams, 25, has been participating in rodeos since she was four. Friday was the first time in six years she has participated in the Mid-Atlantic Professional Rodeo circuit.

“I live for this,” said Adams, who said rodeo riding just came naturally to her. “I love the adrenaline you get from being out there.”

The crowd at the event was filled with a mix of families, young couples and elderly people. Some in attendance, such as Gary Lloyd, a member of the Efland Ruritan Club, have been attending the rodeo for all 16 years it has been in Efland.

Lloyd said the rodeo’s attendance was lower than usual because there were two major high school football games that night but that he expected Saturday night’s numbers to be higher.

Adams said she continues to participate each year for many reasons but more than anything for her love of the sport.

“I love being able to beat the boys,” she said.



Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.