Gerke plays it safe in rodeo

If Cimmaron Gerke's parents ever had any gripes about his wild side they had no one to blame but themselves.

It was they who named him after a character in the John Wayne movie "The Cowboys."

The movie is about a cowboy (Wayne) who finds several young teenage boys to help him drive a herd of bulls. The Cimmaron character was the wild child of the group.

"I really don't think they knew what they were getting into," Gerke said.

Whether it was motorcycles, bulls or bareback broncs, for as long as the Brighton native can remember he knew he was born to ride.

Gerke competed Wednesday night in the bareback competition at the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo.

He scored 77 points, good for third place. If he is in the top 12 on Sunday, Gerke will compete in the final.

For the past eight years Gerke has competed in bull riding or bareback bronc riding. But despite a broken hip and a smashed medial collateral ligament during that time, Gerke got into rodeo because he found racing motorcycles was too dangerous.

"I bought a street bike two years ago and ended up piling that into the side of the house," Gerke said. "I love motorcycles, I just don't have good luck with them. I promised my parents I would try to stay off for a few years."

When Gerke was in the fourth grade, he nearly sliced his leg off while practicing riding his dirt bike.

"I took a jump and didn't know where I was going," Gerke said. "When I landed, I hit a piece of metal sticking out of the ground."

Gerke lacerated his leg from his knee to his thigh and nicked an artery.

Worse yet, he was riding by himself about four miles away from his house. He rode back to his house, dropped the bike, hopped inside and fell on the floor.

"My mom (came) in freaked out and everything," Gerke said. "My dad happened to be an EMT paramedic. He was on his way home, so he just came and took me to hospital and got me stitched up."

So Gerke tried his hand at something a bit safer -- bull riding. Not surprisingly, his parents didn't like the idea at first. For a year, before his parents found out, Gerke would sneak off with friends to learn how to ride bulls.

"Eventually I think I might've just told them," Gerke said. "I told them they could come and watch and help me out or throw a fit about it, but I'm going to do it anyway. Me and my parents get along now, but when I was younger I was pretty bad."

Gerke received a scholarship to Odessa College in Texas, where rodeo greats Ty Murray and Jim Sharp went. He gave up bull riding a year ago after he fell off at the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association regional championships. The bull stepped on his knee and blew out his MCL. He recovered from that injury in time to win the bareback riding title at the NIRA championships.

This is the first year he has competed professionally fulltime. He said he has won about $65,000.

As for the motorcycle habit, Gerke said he rarely rides because he doesn't want to risk injury.

"I guess I just wasn't supposed to ride motorcycles," Gerke said. "I just get along better with animals than I do machines."

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