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101 W. Church St., Weatherford, TX 76086 • 817-594-8717
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Grote Veterinary CliniC
Serving Parker County for over 35 Years
819 Santa Fe Drive, Weatherford, TX 76086
(817) 594-0216 • Metro: (817) 596-8808 • Hours: Mon-Fri: 8–5:30 • Sat: 8–12
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
Introducing
Mark Langevin,
DVM
NOVEMBER 2015
entertained.
“My job as a bullfighter is to
completely control the situation,”
Loden said. He contrasted that with
the feeling of being a bull rider,
where you have no control.
He grew up working with cattle
and learned “cattle savvy” and
how to read bulls, which helps him
anticipate what each animal is going
to do. Being a bullfighter is dangerous
work, with the injuries he’s sustained
not sounding all that different from
those experienced by the bull riders
they protect. Many, like Loden, were
formerly bull riders themselves.
Loden’s injuries include a completely
blown out knee, a separated shoulder,
a leg broken in three places and a
broken arm. “It just comes with the
territory of the job,” he said.
Although difficult, the rewards
come from the cowboys themselves,
who realize just how important men
like Loden are to their success. “The
cowboys are very thankful for what
you do. They tell you good job and
appreciate you,” he said. Brandon
has been voted three times as CBR’s
Bullfighter of the Year by the bull
riders, which he called “the highest
honor you can achieve.”
The Lodens travel together often,
spending only six weeks apart this
summer. “We’ve been very lucky
to get to travel together,” Brandon
said. Asked if their baby will change
their schedules, Brandon said a child
“won’t change what we do at all. “It’s
just like what other people do who
have regular jobs. We’ll have a living
quarters trailer, hire a babysitter and
we have grandma to help out a lot,”
he said. Brandon has three children
from a prior relationship and called
it “a great lifestyle for them. We try
to make it fun. We stop and sightsee
along the way,” he added. The couple
can rack up to 30,000 miles during
a single summer rodeo season. They
drive most of the time, bringing the
kids, a dog and horses along with
them. Both feel lucky to be working
together behind the scenes for
CBR. “They always said if you have
something that you love doing that
makes money, you’ll never be broke.
We get to do what we love, and we’re
very fortunate for it,” Brandon said.
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