Reinert retires after 28 years at StampedeHe's had surgeries on both of his knees. There were a couple broken ribs and a broken tailbone. Both of his hands are torn up from years of encounters with horns. Yep, all in all, Rich Reinert will be the first to tell you he's been a pretty fortunate man.“As far as bull fighting goes, I've been pretty lucky with injuries,” said Reinert, 59, who announced earlier this year that he was retiring after appearing for 28 years at the Cody Stampede. “I think it's because I just don't take a lot of chances.”Those may sound like odd words coming from a man who routinely spends his time mere inches away from angry one-ton stock. Those who make their living around a rodeo arena know exactly where Reinert is coming from, however. Reinert, a native of North Platte, Neb., has been a Cody Stampede staple throughout the years. Part entertainer, part protector, his antics and attire made him a favorite of spectators while his experience enabled him to draw the attention of bulls away from dislodged riders, allowing them the chance to scramble to safety. “We've gotten contract people over the years at the Cody Stampede that we don't have to say anything to. We just know they'll be there,” said former Cody Stampede Board president Al McCreery, who has known Reinert for 17 of his 28 years at the event. “Rich was always one of those folks. He always had us penciled in, and we'll always welcome him back. He was an excellent bull fighter.”“The thing that impressed me with Rich is how smart he is,” said current board president Paul Fees. “He's always in the right place at the right time. He sees his job first and foremost as the protection of the cowboy and he knows where he needs to be.”Being a bull fighter was always in Reinert's veins. As a youth, his father was a member of a county fair board in Nebraska. Among other things, the board was tasked with organizing two rodeos each year. “As a kid, I went to one of the rodeos and saw this guy fight bulls and I thought it looked like fun,” Reinert said. “I bugged him and bugged him trying to learn whatever I could. He came back year after year to work the rodeos and I kept bugging him. Finally, one year he said I could help him.”Reinert still remembers his first trip into the arena with vivid clarity. “It was a beautiful day with sunshine and perfect blue skies,” Reinert recalled. “Then right before the rodeo, the skies just opened up and it poured rain. I worked my first rodeo in 1969 knee-deep in mud. I didn't get run over and I liked it.”Thus, a career in the arena was born. Over the years, Reinert juggled his love of bull fighting with a teaching career that saw him teach both math and physical education before serving as the activities director at North Platte for the last three years. He joined the PRCA in 1977 and, by his estimate, worked an average of 10 rodeos and anywhere from 40 to 50 performances during the summer months when school wasn't in session.Despite traveling around a broad swath of the country to work at various rodeos, Reinert still remembers his first trip to the Cody Stampede. “There used to be a drive-in there at the mouth of the valley and we'd stopped there to grab a bite to eat,” said Reinert. “The waitress was used to talking to tourists, so she was asking us where we were from and what we were doing in town. I said I was in town to be a bull fighter at the rodeo and she left to make a phone call. A while later she walks back over, gives me an address and says the rodeo board is having a potluck dinner and would like us to join them.”That act of hospitality won over Reinert for a lifetime. “That's how they are,” Reinert said. “They always treat you well. I've never been treated better than I have been in Cody. That's a first-class rodeo, and I wish they'd get a little more recognition for what they do up there.”As one would imagine from someone who has spent so many years on the inside of a rodeo arena, Reinert has plenty of stories. He can tell you about the July that he got snowed on while working the Stampede or the summer where the mercury read in the triple digits and “there was about a 70 mile-per-hour wind howling straight out of the canyon.” He remembers the one time a bull hooked its horn inside his partner's barrel, causing considerable injury. Most of all, however, he recalls the people he's come in contact with over the years.“That's the thing I'll miss the most,” Reinert said. “More than anything else, I'll miss the acquaintances that you make over time doing a job like this. After all these years, the thing the sticks out the most are the people that I've met.”Those feelings run both ways. Many in Cody who have come to know Reinert have been struck by the impression he made on them.“He was determined to do whatever he could to make things more fun for everybody,” said Fees. “He'd ride that four-wheeler up and down in the parade and take time to talk with kids. It was a delight for us to have him come back and do one more Stampede. I think the world of him.”Retirement hasn't come easy for Reinert. While he admits there's plenty of fence to mend and cedar trees to cut down on the family ranch in Nebraska, not to mention plenty of golf courses longing to be played, there's also the chasm created by giving up an activity that has dominated so much of his life. Just weeks removed from his final Stampede appearance, he's already feeling pangs.“We were sitting in Cheyenne last week watching the rodeo and one of the bull fighters got injured,” Reinert said. “The first thing that I thought was, I could go down there. I can help out. It's hard to accept being in a spectator's role.”A spectator's role probably won't be what Reinert finds himself in the next time he comes to Cody — and he's adamant that he will be back to Cody. “I've already told them, I'll come back up and work at the performances doing something to help out,” Reinert said. “I may have retired, but they can't get rid of me that easy.”

Reinert retires after 28 years at Stampede

He's had surgeries on both of his knees. There were a couple broken ribs and a broken tailbone. Both of his hands are torn up from years of encounters with horns.

Yep, all in all, Rich Reinert will be the first to tell you he's been a pretty fortunate man.

“As far as bull fighting goes, I've been pretty lucky with injuries,” said Reinert, 59, who announced earlier this year that he was retiring after appearing for 28 years at the Cody Stampede. “I think it's because I just don't take a lot of chances.”

Those may sound like odd words coming from a man who routinely spends his time mere inches away from angry one-ton stock. Those who make their living around a rodeo arena know exactly where Reinert is coming from, however.

Reinert, a native of North Platte, Neb., has been a Cody Stampede staple throughout the years. Part entertainer, part protector, his antics and attire made him a favorite of spectators while his experience enabled him to draw the attention of bulls away from dislodged riders, allowing them the chance to scramble to safety.

“We've gotten contract people over the years at the Cody Stampede that we don't have to say anything to. We just know they'll be there,” said former Cody Stampede Board president Al McCreery, who has known Reinert for 17 of his 28 years at the event. “Rich was always one of those folks. He always had us penciled in, and we'll always welcome him back. He was an excellent bull fighter.”

“The thing that impressed me with Rich is how smart he is,” said current board president Paul Fees. “He's always in the right place at the right time. He sees his job first and foremost as the protection of the cowboy and he knows where he needs to be.”

Being a bull fighter was always in Reinert's veins. As a youth, his father was a member of a county fair board in Nebraska. Among other things, the board was tasked with organizing two rodeos each year.

“As a kid, I went to one of the rodeos and saw this guy fight bulls and I thought it looked like fun,” Reinert said. “I bugged him and bugged him trying to learn whatever I could. He came back year after year to work the rodeos and I kept bugging him. Finally, one year he said I could help him.”

Reinert still remembers his first trip into the arena with vivid clarity.

“It was a beautiful day with sunshine and perfect blue skies,” Reinert recalled. “Then right before the rodeo, the skies just opened up and it poured rain. I worked my first rodeo in 1969 knee-deep in mud. I didn't get run over and I liked it.”

Thus, a career in the arena was born.

Over the years, Reinert juggled his love of bull fighting with a teaching career that saw him teach both math and physical education before serving as the activities director at North Platte for the last three years. He joined the PRCA in 1977 and, by his estimate, worked an average of 10 rodeos and anywhere from 40 to 50 performances during the summer months when school wasn't in session.

Despite traveling around a broad swath of the country to work at various rodeos, Reinert still remembers his first trip to the Cody Stampede.

“There used to be a drive-in there at the mouth of the valley and we'd stopped there to grab a bite to eat,” said Reinert. “The waitress was used to talking to tourists, so she was asking us where we were from and what we were doing in town. I said I was in town to be a bull fighter at the rodeo and she left to make a phone call. A while later she walks back over, gives me an address and says the rodeo board is having a potluck dinner and would like us to join them.”

That act of hospitality won over Reinert for a lifetime.

“That's how they are,” Reinert said. “They always treat you well. I've never been treated better than I have been in Cody. That's a first-class rodeo, and I wish they'd get a little more recognition for what they do up there.”

As one would imagine from someone who has spent so many years on the inside of a rodeo arena, Reinert has plenty of stories.

He can tell you about the July that he got snowed on while working the Stampede or the summer where the mercury read in the triple digits and “there was about a 70 mile-per-hour wind howling straight out of the canyon.”

He remembers the one time a bull hooked its horn inside his partner's barrel, causing considerable injury.

Most of all, however, he recalls the people he's come in contact with over the years.

“That's the thing I'll miss the most,” Reinert said. “More than anything else, I'll miss the acquaintances that you make over time doing a job like this. After all these years, the thing the sticks out the most are the people that I've met.”

Those feelings run both ways. Many in Cody who have come to know Reinert have been struck by the impression he made on them.

“He was determined to do whatever he could to make things more fun for everybody,” said Fees. “He'd ride that four-wheeler up and down in the parade and take time to talk with kids. It was a delight for us to have him come back and do one more Stampede. I think the world of him.”

Retirement hasn't come easy for Reinert. While he admits there's plenty of fence to mend and cedar trees to cut down on the family ranch in Nebraska, not to mention plenty of golf courses longing to be played, there's also the chasm created by giving up an activity that has dominated so much of his life. Just weeks removed from his final Stampede appearance, he's already feeling pangs.

“We were sitting in Cheyenne last week watching the rodeo and one of the bull fighters got injured,” Reinert said.

“The first thing that I thought was, I could go down there. I can help out. It's hard to accept being in a spectator's role.”

A spectator's role probably won't be what Reinert finds himself in the next time he comes to Cody — and he's adamant that he will be back to Cody.

“I've already told them, I'll come back up and work at the performances doing something to help out,” Reinert said.

“I may have retired, but they can't get rid of me that easy.”