This morning my photographer and I had a "near death experience" at the Days of 47 Rodeo. Key word is near.
Whoever came up with the phrase "near death experience" really left the door wide open. That could mean anything from a bullet nearly missed your head to you nearly bought some bad chicken which may have nearly led to a fatal stomach bug. Nearly, nearly.
Here's what "near" meant to me today:
My photographer and I were going live this morning for the Days of 47 Rodeo at the Maverik Center in West Valley City. We were in the arena featuring some riders who compete in barrel racing. We had all the barrells set up, and we showed one of the riders going through the course. So was our competing station. Their live shot was shortly after ours. So after we finished, we were standing alongside the arena wall. The other station began doing their segment with a barrel rider taking the horse through the course. However, unlike our live shot, which went off without a hitch, during the other station's live shot the horse did not want to cooperate. While the horse was rounding the barrel closest to my photographer and myself, the horse decided it did not want to turn, and instead began running straight at us. Normally, us standing along the fence wouldn't have been a problem. But this time, the approaching horse had us pinned up against the wall, and we didn't have anywhere to go.
I had four thoughts in my head. I could see the rider struggling to turn the horse, and I thought she's going to turn. Right? Of course she is, she's a pro. But as the horse got closer, and I began to think maybe she's not. Maybe she's going to run right into us. At this time I figured we were probably live on the other station's air. Once, I realized this, I thought I can either run or stand my ground. So, not wanting to look foolish being live on the other station, I decided I would stand tall, stay put, and hope the horse turned. Fortunately, she did. But it was awful close. What should've been a turn 20 feet away from us, became less than two.
Would we have died when the out of control horse ran into us? I dunno. Maybe. Perhaps that's why it's called a near death experience.
