The idea of “Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge” may provoke giggles in some quarters, but it might just be the most brutal reality series ever, and almost certainly the most brutal to involve celebrities of any level.
By the time the six-episode show that premieres at 8 p.m. Friday on CMT was filmed, two participants had been hospitalized (no spoilers here — word of the people who left leaked on the Internet long ago) and another couldn’t ride because of his injuries.
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Murray developed the show to give people a way to relate to the sport, and the celebrities’ participation helped illustrate its dangers.
“Most people haven’t hit a 100-mph fastball,” Murray said by phone a couple of days later. “But they have been in a batting cage with a 50-mph pitch. So they have a way to relate to the sport and a way to have an appreciation for what they’re seeing.”
The cast originally was composed of rapper Vanilla Ice, former teen heartthrob Leif Garrett, actors Stephen Baldwin and Francesco Quinn, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, motorcycle daredevil Kenny Bartram, “Nitro” Dan Clark of “American Gladiators,” “Survivor” villain Jonny “Fairplay” Dalton and martial arts fighter Josh Haynes.
We caught up with a few participants to talk in separate interviews about their experiences. We’ve mixed it up into one combined bull session.
How does this rate among the craziest things you’ve ever done?
Vanilla Ice (left): It’s right up there, for sure. … When you get off that bull, you’re lit up, man. … It’s an amazing feeling. Euphoria, all over. But this is a dangerous sport, and I don’t suggest it for many people.
Dan Clark (below): When you’re on their back, it’s 2,000 pounds of fury, anger, hate, snot, spittin’, muscle vulgarity. … Before this Ty Murray experience, I was afraid of a cow. I was like, “Whoa. That’s a cow. That’s big.” This is a whole new experience. The first time you get on that beast, it feels like trying to wrestle a Tyrannosaurus Rex. You’ve just gotta cowboy up.
How does this differ from a mechanical bull?
Vanilla Ice: I rode a mechanical bull once, at Texas Tech, when I did a concert there. But a mechanical bull provides a very false sense of what the truth of riding a bull is. It’s not even close. … The skin is loose, it wraps differently, it moves forward, it launches, it leaps, it’s completely different.
Jonny Dalton (left): I’ve ridden a mechanical bull numerous times. The difference is, I’m usually a few 12-packs down before I get on one. This is a whole new ballgame. I didn’t know what I was in for, but I found out real quick.
What’s the longest ride you’ve had on the real deal?
Vanilla Ice: A full eight-second ride.
Dan Clark: Eight seconds of pure hell.
Jonny Dalton: My longest ride so far is actually 16 seconds. I rode eight on top of the bull, and eight on the side when he drug me. I don’t know if that technically counts, but I’ve got the record.