I’m sure you can catch mutton bustin’ late at night on ESPN8, The Ocho. At 6, Koby Blunt Is Retiring at the Top In Mutton Bustin’:
Koby Blunt gently lowered himself into the rodeo chute, climbing down the white fencing until he straddled his opponent: 250 pounds of bleating ovine.He wedged his right hand under the riding rope wrapped around the sheep’s chest, squeezed his legs tight around its shaggy flanks and positioned his boots, spurs at the ready. He lifted his left arm into the air and instructed his assistants: ‘I’m ready, boys, let him out.’
When that gate flew open at the Winchester Open Rodeo earlier this month, it was a bittersweet moment in Koby Blunt’s career. The rodeo was one of the last times Koby will compete in mutton bustin’, the event he has dominated in Washington state and the Idaho panhandle. He can’t compete after this season because he hit retirement age on July 6: 6 years old.
‘I’m the goodest sheep rider in the whole world,’ Koby says. Then he catches himself and adds: ‘Except Jesus.’
Wannabe rodeo stars start small. They ride sheep. Like bull riders, mutton busters are scored on a scale of 100 points. The rider must stay on the animal for six seconds, at which point the judges award half the points for the style of the rider and half for the aggressive qualities of the sheep. Some sheep refuse to leave the starting chute. Some go for a leisurely stroll in the arena. But some leave the chute in a fury, trying to get rid of the weight on their backs. ‘If the sheep runs out and starts bunny-hopping, you’ll have a nice score,’ says Koby.
In most rodeos, mutton busters can’t compete after they turn 6 or weigh 50 pounds, whichever comes first. When they get too big, they have to move on, usually to calf riding, which leads to steer riding, which leads to junior bull riding, and finally ends with senior bull riding — eight seconds of chaos on the back of an angry 2,000-pound mass of muscle, horn and hoof.