Living: Don't Shoot the Bull, Ride It

The mechanical bulls that tempt and toss the urban cowboy sell for $7,500 each, about $5,000 more than they cost Gilley's Bronco Shop Inc. in Houston to manufacture. The bionic beast is mounted on a pedestal and powered by a 5-h.p. electric motor that is operated by remote control. El Toro has graded levels of difficulty, working up from a bovine shimmy designated One to a shake-and-break Ten. The headless, vinyl-and-steel contraption was developed as a teaching aid for rodeo cowboys by New Mexico Inventor Joe Turner, who sold his patent to Saloonkeepers Mickey Gilley and Sherwood Cryer for $70-000 in...

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