Airborne

Josh Call of Mullen goes airborne on a bull named "Chicken Fried," in a challenge ride at the end of the bull-riding classic Friday evening in the Kiplinger Arena in McCook. Call qualified for the "bounty bull" by scoring an 84 on his bull in first-round action. If he rode the second bull for the required eight seconds, he'd win $500 cash. He came close -- about 4 1/2 seconds -- but "close" doesn't count in bull-riding. Call and about 30 fellow bull-riders performed Friday and Saturday evenings in the classic produced by V Lazy S Bullriding Productions of North Platte, and sponsored locally by the Wagner Auto Group, 105.3 Coyote Country, Nebraska Bull Service, Frontier Genetics International, Coors Light, McCook National Bank, the Chief Motel and the Red Willow Convention and Visitors Committee. More pictures from the bull-riding classic are available for viewing and purchase on the Gazette's Web site -- www.mccookgaz ette.com -- under "Photos" and "Bull riding classic/McCook Gazette photos."