Wild, wild West heading to the far, Far East

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

April 15, 2004 -- Bucking bulls and rodeos has not only taken America by storm, it is now invading China.

Bull breeders Glen McIlvain from Canton and Norm Caja from Stephenville will be taking the Chinese exactly what they asked for -- "a flavor of rodeo."

"We will kill about an hour a day. We'll have trick roping and riding, bull riding and bucking horses," McIlvain said.

He explained some Chinese promoters shared their interest with a U.S. promoter, who then e-mailed McIllvain with the challenge. McIlvain, who was attending, along with Caja, the Sixth Annual Buckers Event in Stephenville earlier this month, said he went back and forth with the Chinese for over a year.

Late last year, the two breeders flew to Bejing and discussed the details of what the Chinese would expect from a rodeo event.

"Basically they wouldn't let me say no (to organizing the rodeo)," McIlvain said.

In February this year, the bulls, seen for the first time, didn't meet expectations.

"After seven or eight days of fussing and discussing, they (the Chinese) agreed to import bulls from Glen Young in Australia.

"They are building a 'Gladiator stadium' that would cost $10 million in the states. Not a cowboy in the U.S. has ever ridden in a stadium like what they are building. It's impressive," he emphasized.

Twenty-five cowboys from the United States will make the journey to China. The first show will be April 28, with a show every day for six months. There will two shows on the weekends and McIlvain said another show will be scheduled during the week if need be.

McIlvain concluded that even though they haven't held the first rodeo, the Chinese are already talking about next year.