At his ranch in Black Pines, just outside Kamloops, B.C., Ed LeBourdais knows how to get his bulls’ attention.
Grabbing a five-gallon bucket, he gives it a few firm thumps to summon his herd.
“They all come once you beat the bucket,” he told CBC’s Daybreak Kamloops host Shelly Joyce. “The older guys will definitely come first. The younger ones, they’ll follow when we start [scattering grain].”
Among the towering figures lured by the rhythmic thuds is Potlicker, a 1,700-pound bull who has made a name for himself in B.C.’s competitive rodeo world.
Last week, four-year-old Potlicker was crowned the B.C. Rodeo Association’s 2024 Bull of the Year — a title voted on by professional bull riders, and considered one of the sport’s highest provincial honours.
For LeBourdais, the award is a testament to his decades-long commitment to breeding top-tier rodeo bulls.
“It’s an athletic award for these bulls,” he said proudly. “You don’t train them to buck, it’s bred into them.”
LeBourdais, a former professional bull rider with 21 years in the arena, said he understands both the physical and emotional demands of the sport.
“My body knows I rode bulls,” he said, pointing to old injuries.
Now, his focus is on raising the next generation of champions.
He started S&E Bucking Bulls in 1981 with his childhood friend Schaan Perry.
The former bull rider said each animal at the Black Pines ranch is given care, attention and a name that reflects its unique personality.
LeBourdais said Potlicker’s name came about organically.
“When he was a calf, my wife, Alina, used to feed him grain in an old pot. He’d lick it clean every time.”
While the prize bucking bull thrives in the spotlight, his mother, Little Moo, is content with a quieter life.
LeBourdais said she was raised as a bottle-fed calf and is known for her gentle demeanour.
“You can pet her all day, and she’ll just stand there, eating her grain.”.
A bull built to buck
Potlicker’s natural talent has earned him respect from rodeo riders like Sukhveen “Veen” Barmi, who has climbed onto the bull a couple of times only to find himself on the losing end of its agility.
“He smashed me on the ground so hard I couldn’t get up for a while.”
What makes Potlicker stand out, Barmi explained, is his unpredictability.
“With bulls, they have a certain pattern which you can see and which you can make your game play with, but with Potlicker, it’s completely different.”
Originally from India, Barmi moved to Canada in 2018 to pursue higher education. He began riding professionally in 2022, but said despite his growing experience in the arena, every bull he faces — including Potlicker — still fills him with a sense of fear.
“If I stop getting scared, that’s the day I stop bull riding,” he said. “You have to be scared a little bit, but you have to fight it off.”
For many riders like Barmi, Potlicker is both a challenge and a goal, said LeBourdais.
“Every bull rider wants to get on that guy … they’ll push themselves so they win.”
