Meet the Delaware woman making bull-riding history

Meredith Newman
The News Journal
Lauren Ehrlich, of Wilmington, prepares for a bull riding competition in late July at the Cowtown Rodeo in Pilesgrove, New Jersey.

PILESGROVE, N.J. — Among a sea of men in plaid and denim button-downs, Lauren Ehrlich is wearing a cowboy hat and a psychedelic patterned shirt she found at a thrift store. The back pockets of her jeans are embellished.

It's about 30 minutes before another night of what many call the "toughest sport on dirt" at Cowtown Rodeo. Bull riders will attempt to hold on to a temperamental 2,000-pound beast with only one hand for 8 seconds — a lifetime for some.

Hundreds come to the only rodeo in New Jersey every Saturday night from May to September. On this perfect night, men with bellies are popping open their beers, older women are catching glimpses of 20-something cowboys changing clothes, little kids are running around the bleachers with popsicle-stained faces. 

Ehrlich, 24, is scrapping the mud off her rope in preparation for the competition. The Wilmington resident will be riding a bull named "Hoss." She's been on him before, but she just can't lean left like she did last time. 

Two weeks earlier, Ehrlich made history —  though she's not one to brag about it. She became the first woman in the rodeo's 64-year history to complete the 8-second bull ride. Only a handful of women in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association have done so.

"Are you going to do another 8 seconds?" a friend asked Ehrlich as she gets the last pieces of mud off.

"I'm gonna try," Ehrlich said, smiling. 

She's been bull riding for the past five years, three of which she's been competing at the professional level. She grew up playing adventurous sports and riding horses — always having a liking for the wild ones.

One day, Ehlrich decided to attend a Cowtown practice session where the rodeo staff trains its young bulls. She got on six calves her first time and loved it. She kept coming back.

Ehlrich, who works at Corporation Service Company, now tries to practice a couple times a week. She runs and lifts weights to stay in the right kind of shape. And she has a barrel in her backyard, where her neighbors regularly find her practicing.

Ehlrich says she doesn't always experience an adrenaline rush when she's on a bull. 

"For me, I try to get as calm as possible and try to shut my brain off because it's all muscle memory," she said. 

Injuries are common for bull riders. It's not a matter of if, but when, Ehlirch said. During the competitions, an ambulance is no more than 30 yards away.

In 2016, a 19-year-old cowboy died after being repeatedly stepped on by a horse at Cowtown. It was the first time a participant died from injuries stemming from a competition there. 

Ehrlich said she's taken her fair share of beatings, including breaking several ribs. She once "took a nap," in which she got knocked out in the arena. She now wears a protective vest and a helmet. 

At her first competition, Ehrlich hit her head when she fell off a bull, and bled a lot from her forehead. She needed to get stitches. 

Her mother, Caroline McGuire, was in the stands that day. She remembers Ehrlich walking toward her after the competition, with a bloody face and a huge smile. 

Cowtown Rodeo is the longest running weekly rodeo in America. In its 64 year history, Lauren Ehrlich is the first woman to successfully ride a bull for 8 seconds.

Now, McGuire usually stays home on Saturday nights. It's too nerve-wracking to watch her only child. When she does, McGuire says she has to really psych herself up for it.

Most times, she'll watch Ehrlich's ride days after the competition on Cowtown's website. 

"It's lot easier," she says. "I know it's already happened. She's usually in the house when I watch it."

McGuire has seen her daughter transform from a "kind of shy" high schooler to a more confident and grounded woman, which she credits in part to bull riding. 

Ehrlich knows of a few other female bull riders in the country, but there aren't many in the area. About a year ago she recruited her best friend. Ehrlich says she hasn't been treated differently for being a female bull rider, but has heard some sexist comments here and there.

"I usually hear it after the fact that someone says something," Ehrlich says. "They're usually the ones that don't matter. It's usually some random person who doesn't even ride bulls."

Cowtown Rodeo is the longest running weekly rodeo in the country and has been in the Harris family for five generations. Owned by Grant and Betsy Harris, the rodeo at one time would have 50 to 60 bull riders competing night — all of whom were cowboys trying to make a living.

Now, there about 15 to 18 riders every competition. On this Saturday, there are seven bull riders — Ehrlich is the only woman. 

Besty Harris calls the cowboys and cowgirls "weekend warriors." From Monday through Friday, they work regular jobs. And on Saturday nights, they ride bulls.

In the 40 years she's owned the rodeo with her husband, she's never seen a female bull rider — and isn't exactly sure why. Women have competed in other events, such as barrel racing, over the years. But never bull riding.

Lauren Ehrlich participated in bull riding competition on July. 28 at the Cowtown Rodeo in Pilesgrove, New Jersey.

Harris recalls meeting Ehrlich a few years back at the rodeo's practice session in the spring. She remembers Ehrlich not being afraid to get on a bull. And when she fell off, she got right back on.

"One time someone said to her, 'Why are you riding bulls?' And she just goes, 'Because it's fun,'" Harris said. "She likes to challenge herself and we're excited for her."

Something has clicked for Ehrlich this season, Harris says.

Now that's she's "covered a bull," Ehrlich's next goal is to one day make it to the PRCA Circuit Finals, a regional competition. But she needs to qualify by racking up enough points at local competitions, like those at Cowtown.

As the sun's golden hour kicks in on this Saturday night, the competition begins with a parade of American, New Jersey and Cowtown Rodeo flags. The first cowboy, who has wanted to ride bulls since he was 3, is on "Little Willie" for about 11 seconds.

Ehrlich is next. 

"She won her first check here a couple weeks ago," says the commentator introducing her. "First female to ever ride a bull here in Cowtown."

The gate opens, and the grey speckled bull and Ehrlich burst into the arena. The crowd cheers. In less than three seconds, she is on the ground. 

Her form was good in the beginning, the commentator says. The bull just had other plans. 

"There's a bucking dude right there," he says as the rodeo clowns try to corral the bull back into its pen. 

As the rest of the cowboys take their turn, the sun sets and the crowd gets more and more jovial. Two of the seven bull riders make the full 8 seconds. Ehrlich quietly packs up her bag and heads out of the arena. 

She won't be gone for long.

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Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or mnewman@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @MereNewman.