Sand Surfing New Sport In Texas

Sand Surfing New Sport In Texas CROPS New Crops 10-6-20 Texas cowboys like anything that involves horses and, if you can throw in a bit of rough riding and an element of risk, you'll get their attention fast. That's why a new "sport" called sand surfing is the latest cowboy craze. Sand surfing is a little like water skiing except that instead of being towed by a motorboat, the "surfer" skims along the sand behind a horse running flat out. In place of water skis, Texas sand surfers ride on a slab of ¥ in. plywood attached to a tow line. And, if you wipe out in sand surfing, you don't take a cool dip in the water. You take a bone-jarring, skin-scraping slide across the arena. Bob McPheeters, Woodlawn, Texas, who's tried the sport, says it won't show up as an event at national rodeos in the near future. So far it's been limited to hometown events in rural Texas. Beginners usually sit down on their first couple rides. More skilled riders stand and a few "surf-board cowboys" have even learned to manage tricky maneuvers during the ride. Competition is staged as a timed event to see which rider can finish the course fastest and still stay on the board. However, the majority of surfers don't finish the course, which is laid out in a standard rodeo arena. It runs from a starting line at one end to a barrel at the other. McPheeters says the most difficult part of the ride is when the horse rounds the barrel. Centrifugal force created by the turn has a "crack the whip" effect that sends all but the most skilled surfers flying. Besides scrapes, bruises and torn clothes, the most common hazard of the sport is a coating of dust that makes the surfer look like he just survived a Texas sandstorm.

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