Its Ringing Big Time...			...For Robbie Bell
			by Debi Osborne

When it rings for Robbie Bell, it rings big time. Occasionally he even sees stars; understandable after being bucked from the back of a 2000 pound bull. But thrown or not, he continues to climb back up, hoping the next time will be the 8-second ride of his life and another "high point" for his career. You might have already heard of him Some of his international headlines have read "Boy Wonder Wins Bull Battle", "Bell Rings Up $13,204", and "Calgary Stampede Delivers For Bell." Or you might simply know him as "...that guy from Houston, B.C.".

use BACK button to return Awaiting permission to use the photo Airborne at the Calgary Stampede, July 1999 (photo courtesy of Andrew Czink)

Robbie is the son of Jocelyn and Hugh Bell. Like most kids in Houston, he and older sister Deanna were raised around horses, cattle, dogs and hockey, dirt roads and 4H clubs. He dabbled in horse riding and roping but when it came to being bareback on a raging animal, his Mom says "...everybody always said that he was going to do something with this....that he just had the talent." And they were right. December, 1999 saw this twenty-one year-old riding in the world championship, called the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jocelyn and Robbie Bell, July 1999

Robbie was only two years old when he was first hoisted onto the back of a calf. It was 1981, at the Kispiox Valley Rodeo. He didn't stay on very long but still won a prize for being the youngest contestant. That moment apparently stayed with him. He had determination and the drive to keep wining prizes. In September 1997 he turned "pro". He was the Calgary Stampede's largest "money-earner in 1999" and his position at the Vegas World Championship netted him $35,000 U.S. for little over a minute of "prime time".