(gentle music) - [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Justin World Bull Riding Championship Terminator Round.

- Programs.

Get your programs.

(hooves thudding) (music continues) (hand thuds) (gate clanks) (hooves thudding) (crowd cheering) (gentle music continues) - [Announcer] From Billings, Montana, Jonnie Jonckowski.

Forget for a moment she is a beautiful, petite girl, but never forget that the bull is still 2,000 pounds of humpback, big-horned, snot-slinging (unintelligible) bucking bull.

(crowd chattering) I wanna hear you tear this dadgum place down for this cowgirl, ladies and gentlemen.

(suspenseful music) (gate clanking) ♪ I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation ♪ ♪ Living in the past, it's a new generation ♪ ♪ A girl can do what she wants to do ♪ ♪ And that's what I'm gonna do ♪ ♪ And I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation ♪ ♪ Oh no, not me ♪ ♪ And I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation ♪ ♪ Never said I wanted to improve my station ♪ ♪ And I'm only doing good when I'm having fun ♪ ♪ And I don't have to please no one ♪ ♪ And I don't give a damn about my bad reputation ♪ ♪ Oh no, not me ♪ (upbeat music continues) ♪ Not me ♪ ♪ Oh no, not me ♪ ♪ Oh no, not me ♪ ♪ Not me ♪ ♪ Not me ♪ (upbeat music fades) (tenser music) - [Announcer] This film was made possible by Dennis Slonaker and Elaine Schoyen, the Big Sky Film Grant, administered by the Montana Department of Commerce, Harper L. Bohr, Jr., Steve and Peggy O'Neil, Heather Jernberg and Robert Sarfi.

Nancy Thompson Flikkema, the Greater Montana Foundation, Barbara Van Cleve, Harvey c. Gannon Jr., David Genter and Heidi McLoughlin, Gary and Norma Buchanan, Liane M. Vadheim, and by these generous donors.

(music continues) (footsteps padding) (footsteps continue padding) (light clicks) (clothes ruffling) (door creaks) (door clicks) (gravel crunching) (ax thuds) (gentle music) - Come on, Gid.

Hi, Yoda.

Excuse me, Handsome.

(footsteps padding) It's a big trailer.

Here it is.

Woo-hoo!

Here, Gid, Giddy.

I'll open up the gate and you can turn around in the arena and we'll offload 'em and put 'em in the side run.

God bless you, sweetie.

What a day you've had.

(door creaking) What do you think of Montana?

Go for it.

(hooves thudding) Oh man, you poor buddy.

Look at your nose.

It's all dented.

You've lived with that on your face.

I'm so sorry.

(gate clinking) - Hi, bud.

Hello, buddy.

How are you?

He doesn't know it now, but he just won the lottery.

Ended up at Angel Horses, I promise you.

- Jasper, he was a registered standard-bred racing horse.

He went from a life of being bathed, best feeds, groomed, exercised, cooled out to 15 years of hard labor pulling a plow.

You know, I was excited before, but now seeing how much in need he really was makes my heart just sing that I saved one more.

It's just one, but this guy's gonna make so many people so happy.

I mean, he's gonna be a gift and hopefully we're gonna be a gift for him, 'cause hopefully he is gonna know what love is and not just work.

(gentle music) (film reel whirring) I was born in Fargo, North Dakota.

Moved to Montana in 1963.

My brothers and I had a pretty grand childhood.

My mom was wonderful.

She always played with us, took us on lots of adventures, and she encouraged each one of us in whatever our dreams were and wherever we wanted to go in life.

Eventually, she also became my confidant and my sounding board.

When I was nine years old, my mom's best friend asked if I wanted to go and spend a summer on the farm.

I'd never had a grandpa, so her father became like a grandpa to me and he taught me how to ride.

(gentle music) Grandpa came up to me and he says, "You know, you like riding a lot, don't you?"

We were gonna go from Wibaux towards Ekalaka, which ended up being about 20 miles.

And he said, we're gonna move 87 head of cattle.

I went out there, only one horse was saddled.

And I said, "I thought we were gonna move cows."

And he said, "You're gonna move the cows, little one."

He wouldn't let me ride with stirrups because he was afraid I'd get hung up going up and down the creek bed, if I fell off.

And he said, "Just follow the riverbed.

It won't be a problem."

(cows mooing) It wasn't like they ambled in a straight line.

They went up the bank and down the bank all day.

And of course, the river forked off two or three times.

The panic just sets in.

I'm gonna take the wrong tributary and I'm gonna get lost.

(birds chirping) (cattle groaning) And finally see truck lights in the distance.

I heard the clinking of the gate and Grandpa Jim's voice.

(gentle music continues) I mean, I couldn't even talk when I got off that horse.

He said, "Great job, kiddo."

You know, grabbed me up, threw me in the truck.

I had this dirt this far from my cowboy hat and where I had the bandana on my face.

Exhausted, but we didn't go home.

(pool ball clanks) Had my first beer with grandpa and a shot of whiskey (laughs).

And I was so sore.

Let me tell you, I still remember how bad my groins and my butt hurt, so bad.

But you know, I just kept pushing through it.

I never had the thought to quit and I guess that kind of fast-forwards into my whole life.

(gentle music continues) I don't know how to stop, even if it's scary, even if it's hard, even if it's fearful.

You know, I want the victory at the end.

(gentle music continues) That competitive thing just is inside of you.

It's a fire, it's born.

I don't think it can be created, I don't think it can be taught.

I was a skinny little kid and I had a tough time competing.

I remember I joined the track team when I was in fourth or fifth grade.

I mean, last every race, last every jump.

I was in the high jump, I was in the long jump, I did sprints.

I was last, always last.

(gentle music continues) Finally, you know, freshman in high school, sprung up eight inches and the athlete came out.

(upbeat music) And now I started winning.

(upbeat music continues) You know, I won't say it's easy.

I trained harder than anybody.

I mean, I would stay there until dark 'till I couldn't run or move anymore.

And by the time I was a senior, I was winning everything.

Coach took me to the Junior Olympics and I had set some long jump records and some high jump records.

I was just hopped up.

I was amped.

(upbeat music continues) (brakes whooshing) It was Nationals and I needed to finish in the top three to qualify for the 1976 Olympic Trials.

My mom had secretly been saving her money for a plane ticket to Texas and she surprised me the morning of the meet.

This meet was everything.

We're in the hundred meter hurdle race.

(starter pistol booming) No one was ahead of me.

First hurdle, boom.

Here's the second hurdle, boom.

I was feeling like superwoman.

(gentle music) My lead leg went up.

I hit the top of the hurdle with my heel, which catapulted me upwards, kind of a somersault down, smashed me between my head and my shoulder.

I couldn't move.

I was just stuck there on the track.

(footsteps padding) I saw a specialist right away.

Their diagnosis and prognosis was not good at all for any future anything.

(somber music) I just knew the Olympics were gone.

(somber music continues) I had devoted my life to track and now I'm working odd jobs, just getting by.

It was more than a year of me just floundering around.

I had nothing to work towards.

It was tradition that mom and I, we'd always go for coffee.

And there was a poster and it advertised an all-girl rodeo at Red Lodge, Montana.

I pull it off the bulletin board and I come and sit down and I show my mom and I go, "Mom, look.

I'm thinking I'm gonna enter this."

And she goes, "Yeah, fine."

She says, "When is it?"

I said, "Um.

A couple weeks."

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Bull riding is no question the most dangerous sport in the world because it's something that is literally car crash scary every time, and it's something that you can die at it every time.

2,000-pound bull, they can kill you on accident.

- [Announcer] Ty Murray.

This is for all the greats right here.

(music drowns out speaker) That's why they call him the greatest living cowboy.

Well, he just proved it to you.

- People can say, "Well, what about car racing, or what about downhill speed skiing?"

I'm like, "Yeah, those are dangerous as well, but the competitor is the one that has their foot on the throttle."

When you're talking about bull riding, the bull has the throttle.

You have to make the decision when you climb over the chute, if you're gonna go to where he takes it.

To reach levels of winning championships, you've gotta be able to get pretty good at that every single time.

- Bull riding's a collision sport, it's high energy, high velocity.

It's been calculated that the force of the hind feet of a bull hitting the ground when they're bucking is somewhere around 200 times their body weight.

When you're talking about a 1,600-pound bull, that's a lot of energy.

- There's no safetying up, there's no putting a toe in the water.

You have to be able to climb over that chute and say, "No matter where this goes, that's where I'm going."

When that gate comes open, it's game on.

(gravel crunching) (metal clanking) - I'd never been on a back of a bull before, but one of my girlfriend's brothers rode bulls a little bit and he had a rope and spurs.

And I got a bull and his name was Man Mountain.

And metal hooks are going in there, they're hooking up my bull rope and getting things set and ready and the guy's flanking 'em and all I had to do was get in and sit on him, and I just remember staring at the back of that bull's head and they're asking, you know, "Is she ready?

Is she ready?"

I was just waiting for the gate to open.

I didn't know it was up to me to nod my head and go out.

So, that lasted about four seconds and the caption on the Billings Gazette the next day said, "Going, going, going, gone."

It got all stages of me flying off.

Man, I hadn't felt a rush like that since track and field.

Sick to your stomach, excited, euphoric, all that stuff.

I mean, I came back with the bulls and then I thought, you know, I could get better.

I could get better.

I could do this.

I could be better.

I'm an athlete, I know how to train, I know the discipline.

Track was gone and I needed something else to strive for, to achieve.

I wanted to be the best in the world at what I did.

I got a Western Horseman magazine and a Horse&Rider and then tried to find the ads for rodeo schools in the back.

(gentle music) (pencil scratching) They all turned me down, you know, "Is this for you, ma'am?

Sorry, we don't take girls."

I got smart and I found an ad for one in Fountain, Colorado.

I'm not gonna say I'm Jonnie, I'm just gonna enter for Jonnie.

And so, I headed down there.

There was 105 of us, but they got to me and froze and they're like, "We'll see how you ride."

It was two and a half weeks long and we probably got on six bulls a day, which is a lot.

And then we would go watch films and they would critique us.

We were learning from the best.

These guys were world champions.

The attrition rate was high.

By the end of the two weeks I made the top 10, so I'm riding for the school buckle.

We'd seen this bull multiple times.

He was the biggest, scariest bull I'd ever seen.

Had horns on him like an ox and spots all over him, thus his name, Spotted Dog.

Nobody lasted two or three seconds on him.

And of course, in the championship round, who do I draw?

(suspenseful music) I remember sliding up on him, nodded my head and I was in there for the fight.

He didn't have a pattern.

He was jumping and ducking and going right and going left.

Couldn't find a good pocket to sit in 'cause he was so long.

(buzzer blaring) I made the buzzer.

(audience applauding) Oh my God, did I win?

(upbeat music) I went to pull the tail of my rope to get off.

At that moment, Spotted Dog went down on a knee, he hooked one of his big, long horns into the turf and he flipped and I flipped.

I'm laying on my back and he jumped up and I saw this hoof coming right at my face.

(hoof thumps) All of a sudden everybody's flooding off of the chute gates.

I'm just hearing their voices, "Jesus, her nose is torn off."

(suspenseful music) I wanted to know, you know, where did I finish in the school?

You got second.

I said, "Are you kidding me?"

And they go, "No."

They said, "You did a damn good ride."

Everybody's talking that it wasn't fair.

Everybody's saying that you won it, they just couldn't give it to a girl to win their school.

And I was going, "This is crazy."

I mean, look at me.

I was pretty much of the mind that it was over.

(gentle music fades) If this is apple flavored, I will never eat another apple as long as I live (chuckles).

Just three weeks of this, my friend.

I know.

You're so good about it though.

You're so good about it.

Attaboy.

Attaboy.

Keep swallowing it.

Keep swallowing it.

I know.

Don't spit it out.

I'd spit it out if I were you.

Yeah, you're so good.

Come on, swallow.

Swallow, huh?

You gonna spit it out?

Good.

Good.

They fed him rocks in the kill pen so he would actually weigh more on the scale to bring a couple more pounds for a killer price.

Took x-rays, found out he had cracked teeth that was causing a horrible infection in his mouth, which caused a respiratory infection, was causing some heart issues.

And I sat up with him all night.

I didn't think he was gonna make it 'cause he was, I mean he's obviously 250 pounds underweight and now he's gone another three, four days without eating.

I had never seen a horse in so much pain and suffering so bad that I just literally, for the first time I actually probably prayed that he would die so he wouldn't suffer anymore.

'Cause obviously you can tell by the looks of him, he's had a hell of a life and I wanted him to know love here.

And he shows up and it's hell.

It's touch and go 'cause he's one sick pony and he deserves more.

A lot more, don't you, bud?

(somber music) - That first time in the bull riding school, when you got kicked in the face, we said you got up and basically your face exploded.

- It really did.

They called it a pressure cut, I didn't do- - We didn't find out why you decided to keep doing it when that happened so early in the career.

- Well, seriously, when that happened and they started putting me together and I'm thinking, "Man, I am never gonna ride bulls again.

This is the craziest thing I could have ever come up.

Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this."

And I said, "If I ever got it in the face, I'd quit."

And then I got one in the face and I took 160 stitches in my face and plastic surgery and the whole bit.

I was so ugly, I thought after a while, there's nothing else I'll be able to do.

I gotta stay in there and keep riding bulls and I jumped back in there and pretty soon it was healed up and.

I was back.

Obviously, I'm back.

And that was really the turning point.

You know, I just became obsessed with winning the world title.

I told myself there would just be no quit in me until I had it.

In my mind, that's all there was.

I walked, I slept, I talked, I ate bull riding, and that was it.

There was no other part of my life.

That was the sole reason for my survival.

(upbeat music) I had this taped on my mirror for two years and I used to stick it right here where I would not miss it.

So, every time I brush my teeth, comb my hair, did anything, that's what I read 20 times a day, and touched it a lot too.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (birds chirping) (footsteps padding) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - Wow.

This is my stuff, and it's been around the block and still looks pretty good.

We met, I think in '86.

You know, she's just one of those, she just walks in the room and it just lights up.

You know, the Fern Sawyers and the Jan Yourens, they're amazing.

There's just something about Jonnie that's really, really unique.

(gentle music) I did a lot of commentating, a lot of interviews.

I did a lot of play by play.

Rodeo is definitely male dominating.

There wasn't a lot of gals.

- Back in the early days of rodeo, and we're talking 1800s into the 1900s, there were a lot of women rough stock riders.

In 1929, there was a bronc rider who was the star of the sport.

(gentle music continues) She died as the result of an accident in Pendleton, Oregon.

The role of women in rodeo in 1929 basically went from one that was relatively equal to the men to one where they were involved primarily in queen's contests and riding and trick roping.

In that same year, there was an organization formed that organized pro rodeo, and that was predominantly run by men.

And so, one of the rules that popped out of that was that they eliminated women in any kind of rough stock event.

- [Announcer] It's a competition where the men are men and the women are confined to the barrel races.

Keep those little ladies away from this rough stock riding and even the roping.

Their role is to add a touch of glamour.

- This is way too serious, way too dangerous for a woman to be involved with.

- In the men's rodeos, they still don't let women compete usually in anything except barrel racing.

- Basically, we're kind of sidelined as an act.

- Now, riding 2,000-pound bulls is a risky enough sport for a man, and certainly no way to treat a lady.

- There's a certain thing for a woman to do and there's certain things men should do, and I just feel like rodeoing's a man's event.

- Jonnie, what are you doing putting your pretty face up there in danger with a bull ride?

- I'm just having fun like the guys are.

- To have people telling you every day all the different ways that you can't do it and shouldn't do it.

She had a lot of that working against her.

- Any women cowgirls at the rodeo dip?

- Oh, absolutely.

Yeah, there's a few that can- - Ooh!

- She had to put up with a lot of cat calling and jokes being made.

You can imagine all the stuff that was probably said.

- You know, grab and rake me with them spurs and ride me, baby.

I mean, whatever, I used to hear it all.

- That just fueled her fire.

(music drowns out speaker) (crowd cheering) (upbeat music) (audience applauding) - [Announcer] Well, how do you like her now?

- [Announcer 2] Rodeo will air on the Nashville Network.

- Watch this one, Lynn Jonckowski, Billings, Montana, four for the World League right now and we're gonna make it happen again.

All right, Jonnie!

- Perfect - Lynn Jonckowski's hustle, get away.

Save your life, cowgirl.

- This one actually got a standing ovation from the crowd.

They had never seen a gal hang onto a bull quite like this one right here.

You know, not all of my greatest rides were to the whistle.

Some of them made a statement and a lot of 'em were exhibitions that just won your popularity and you knew you were instantly famous in a little town.

(upbeat music) - I know that she's gonna win because I've seen her ride before and I have no doubt in my mind this hundred dollar bill's gonna buy me some drinks tonight.

- The rules of bull riding are pretty simple, really.

The men ride for eight seconds.

If you don't stay on for eight seconds, you get a zero.

You have to stay on for eight seconds in order to be scored.

The women rode for six.

(gentle music) Judges are looking for good form, control, and grace.

The men have to ride with one hand, the girls can ride with two, but you know, riding with two hands is not an advantage.

(gentle music continues) - All the women rough stock riders, meaning all the gals that rode broncs and bulls, were riding two hands.

Even the girls gave me a bunch of crap.

You know, "God, Jonnie, you know we can ride two hands."

- Jonnie always says, "It kind of gets you off balance, you know, 'cause you need that motion with your other arm to keep things in play."

(gentle music continues) So, she just was gonna ride like the guys.

Sometimes she just did it better.

- [Ty] When you're looking at her mechanics, there's not a lot to criticize.

- I never looked off a bull.

If you're looking off, that means you're just looking for a place to get off.

- She's committed.

She's gonna do whatever it takes to get to the whistle and make a qualified ride and get a score and win.

- In all the sports I've been in in my life, this is so much put into six seconds.

If I make a mistake, I just go home with nothing.

- You don't make a lot of money doing this, do you?

- You don't make any money.

- I mean, this is a little nutty.

- It's the only pro sport out there where we have to pay to play.

- So, why do it?

It just can't be that rush- - It really truly is.

- Because you ride a bull for a few seconds.

- It truly is an addiction.

If I was a junkie, the adrenaline would be it.

I did anything to come up with the entry fees.

I traveled 3,200 miles just to come here for about maybe $500 if I win.

You know, it doesn't cover expenses by a long shot.

Like anybody, I guess you'd like to win the world title, and who could put a price on that?

(whistle blowing) - I love you.

It's the only reason I'm here, because of you.

Thanks a lot.

(audience applauding) And having the drive that I had to be the best in the world, it takes so much commitment and so much passion and so much devotion that I personally didn't feel like I had 40% to give somebody, 10% to give somebody.

It hurt me a lot of times to walk away from the relationships that got very serious.

- I'd like to know what kind of guys you date, just- - [Host] Well, let's talk to Jonnie about that.

Yeah, because this is interesting.

- Unfortunately, my very first serious relationship was violent.

It was very abusive and I didn't see it.

I didn't see it coming.

I didn't know it was coming.

And until I was deep into it and then the verbal abuse and physical abuse, and people look at me and go, "Gosh, Jonnie, you're so strong.

I can't imagine anybody would take advantage of you like that."

But I was young, I was in 20s and you know, thought I knew.

But so, partly, in the back of my mind, I was in fear that I was always gonna unearth something when I committed, that I would find something out that would ruin everything again.

I dated some amazing men and they were artists and musicians and we had the same passion.

I think the biggest thing that we had in common was that we were very selfish and very driven and didn't want to be distracted.

I had to have a relationship, but I couldn't have one that was an anchor.

I had to have one that would, you know, support me and propel me forward only because they knew there was no way to hold this person and there would've been no way for me to really hold them either.

But as my career grew, my notoriety grew, my popularity grew, the more famous I got, the more TV I did, the more exposure I got, I mean, I was also victim of stalkers, perpetrators in my home.

You know, bad things happen, you know?

My mom was always afraid that those bad things would happen going down the road.

Was going to do Wild West shows.

My job was to ride bulls.

I was fortunate to ride in front of the president of Mexico and I would ride and people would throw roses into the arena.

And the first two times I went down there, it was pretty fun and the money was really good and I was with a great crew.

And then it was the third time that wasn't anything like the times before.

Flew into Guadalajara and they were supposed to meet me there.

Well, there was nobody there.

And I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited four hours, five hours.

I'm a gal that obviously is alone.

Pack of young teens have got their eyes on me.

I went to the payphone, pretend talking, and this little gal sitting at the card table with her half a dozen bottles of booze, she knew it was about to come down.

(somber music) There were seven of them, and pretty soon I just felt them.

(somber music continues) Two grabbed me, threw me down, ripping everything off.

One guy raped me.

I was close enough to the card table.

I busted a bottle of booze, slit a throat.

(somber music continues) (somber music continues) I made it home and never breathed a word about it.

I mean, I didn't wanna instill any more fear in my family and friends that they already had for me just by riding bulls.

I just stayed in isolation 'till most of the cuts healed up and kind of sort of pretended it didn't ever happen.

(somber music continues) (somber music continues) (weights clanking) I really have to rely on pure physical training.

I've been an athlete all my life, I don't know how other rodeo people train.

I know it's not like I do.

I run, you know, four or five miles every morning.

I head into the gym.

I work out high intensity, about as much as I can take.

If I feel physically strong enough, it's easier to convince my mind, obviously, that I can do this.

And if my mind believes it, it tells my body it can do it.

With my body's skill, hopefully it'll work and I can say some of the world's greatest athletes don't wear jocks (laughs).

- I wasn't afraid to show off some ripples in my back and a six pack stomach.

I loved it.

That was just another game over the other girls, 'cause most none of them could have gotten away with that, and I did.

I deliberately did anything I could to look more powerful behind the chutes.

I would tape up my arms, used to hyperextend my elbow a little bit so I'd always have a bicep popping.

I used to do at least five pull-ups from here.

And then I would do like at least five pull-ups this way.

And it would just loosen me up and also would intimidate my opponent.

That was the best part.

- You know, you don't casually become the best in the world at anything.

To take an art form that is that difficult, both physically and mentally, and learn how to make it look effortless, that's a tall order.

(audience cheering) - [Announcer] In the man's world of rodeo, Jonnie Lynn Jonckowski is breaking all the rules.

- I tried in the beginning to look like them and to be like them, but it just wasn't comfortable for me.

I was truly a jock as opposed to the cowgirl.

So, I ultimately came up with rugby shirts.

They razzed me about it, told me it was illegal.

I looked in the rule book and it said you have a long sleeve collared shirt.

So, against the rule book, there was no fight.

And that became my uniform.

It really did truly set me apart from everybody else.

Pretty soon I got known for the gal with the striped shirts.

- [Announcer] Well, here's what you've been looking for, Jonnie Jonckowski.

Billings, Montana.

(crowd cheering) - You guys wanted some action footage, man.

I think you got some file footage now.

- [Interviewer] Jonnie, your face, he stepped all over you.

- Yeah, no, just like around me.

(gentle music) (crowd cheering) Injuries are commonplace riding bulls and I would get close to a world finals and I would have to sit out for two months to heal up.

(gentle music continues) - Bull riders do ride with injuries that athletes in other sports don't compete with.

There's what's called a cowboy up mentality.

That is, you're supposed to just do your job, keep your mouth shut, go out there whether you're hurt or not.

I can tell you that the women riders have injuries that are of equivalent severity to those of the men that I've taken care of and that they are as tough, and perhaps even tougher (chuckles) than most of the men bull riders I've taken care of.

- Been drug down the side of the arena, had my skin burned off, teeth knocked out, contusions, soft tissue injuries, sprains, broken noses, probably 40 rib fractures, fingers broken, multiple broken ankles, broken ribs, fractured my forearm in 12 places.

That put me in the hospital a long time.

I had a bull step on the back of my head and drove it into the ground so hard, he broke the orbital bones in my face.

- Even when she was really hurt, she never let it show a bit.

She would jump up and pump her hands in the air.

That was just pure toughness.

You know, I could see through the pain, she was not gonna lay there.

And I respect that because I felt the same way.

- Bull riders are anxious to get back because quite honestly, it's the one thing that they wanna do more than anything else.

- The danger is a big part of why we like this sport.

The danger is a big part of why people like to watch this sport.

(door clicks) (gravel crunching) I'm excited for you.

Yeah, because you're all better.

I hope you're all better.

Yeah.

Are you helping?

Are you helping me?

There you go.

There you go.

- Last week we had another incident with him that we could have lost him.

He went down, tried to roll, and put his legs through the fence.

Of course, no one was here when he basically had his belly up against the bars and there was no leverage for him to get out.

And so, he thrashed and thrashed and thrashed and thrashed until he finally freed himself.

We found him the next morning on basically two legs.

If what we had feared would've come to fruition and he had broken a pastern bone or a lower front leg, I mean, that would've been the end.

We would've had to put him down.

There you go.

Now, walk for me.

(gentle music) Looking good, buddy.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) - This is what four inches of rain in two days looks like.

Numerous roads flooded, homeowners trying to salvage what they can.

- [Reporter] Horses are now living in a swamp after a disastrous flood swept over the property.

- At about 2:30, I just sat up in bed thinking something's not right here.

And I looked over the railing, I saw things floating around my living room.

Unbelievable.

Paperwork.

I hope my accountant has a sense of humor.

(gentle music continues) Appliances are gone.

Nothing works.

My pickup to pull the horses, and the office, and the barn, and the hay, and the feed is underwater.

It's hard to watch.

(gentle music continues) (water splashing) (gentle music continues) (vacuum whirring) (gentle music continues) God bless we have people to help us, Giddy.

We couldn't do this alone.

(gentle music continues) (car engine whirring) And this is Angel Horses.

This is where all the magic happens, used to anyway.

And not so much right now.

Oh my God.

It's gone down though, maybe a foot or two.

Let's go check it out.

(car door thumps) We keep the horses across there.

What are we gonna do?

We can't get there.

(water gushing) I've never seen this happen.

(water continues gushing) (water continues gushing) (water continues gushing) (water splashing) (footsteps pattering) (water continues gushing) (footsteps padding) (match strikes) (shoes squeaking) (gentle music) You know, Angel Horses is a pretty unique program.

We use rescued horses that have been beaten and abandoned and left for dead.

(gentle music continues) To have our seniors come out here that have lost their spouses, lost their friends.

Maybe they lived on a ranch, maybe they had horses, maybe they had cattle, maybe they had a cat, maybe they had a dog, maybe they just had a flower garden.

They had something personal to them.

And living in assisted living, most of them are on Medicaid that come out here, so they live on a twin bed, a metal nightstand, share a commode, a room divided by a curtain, no personal effects.

This is their place to be seen, to be loved.

(gentle music continues) People that need this need this.

(gentle music continues) I can't fail.

I can't fail.

I've never failed.

I can't fail.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) 1986, now I'm having a good year.

I mean, I'm riding, I'm staying healthy, I'm winning.

But I'm poor as a church mouse.

Didn't have two bits to buy a cup of coffee.

I'm pulling things off of shelves in stores, running down borrow ditches, stealing hay.

I mean, anything to feed my horses.

I'm turning into a dime-store crook.

And there was ice on the floor.

The pipes had froze and broke.

My dogs were starving.

I had no wood, I had nothing.

And I've said, rodeo's an addiction and it was taking a toll on me.

I'm sitting here in my house, dawn-thirty in the morning, (door knocking) and I hear a knock on the door in the back.

Oh my God, here's the biggest cop that I had ever seen in my life.

And I'm just like, "Okay, I got caught."

And he goes, "I drive up and down here all the time.

There's no smoke coming outta your stacks.

How you doing in there?"

I said, "I'm fine, just fine."

He goes, "Okay."

I mean, he pushes his way in past me, takes a little once around my house.

Said, "That's kind of what I was thinking."

He's got a pickup truck, he's got a trailer behind it, pulling tree stumps, some wood, and he pulls 'em out and this big man is busting up wood.

(ax thumps) Eddie stayed there all day, splitting the wood, fixed the plumbing and stoked the fire, brought the hay for my horses, brought elk and deer (dog whimpers) and bones for my dogs.

For the first time in three weeks, got a full stomach, I'm warm.

He says, "You're going after a world title."

He said, "I know that.

I've heard about you.

And I came out here to check on you, and I'm glad I did.

You go after it."

He took off.

My dogs were eating and my horses had hay.

And you know, I still didn't have the money.

I took my dogs and we went running through the snow.

And I came back, I stopped at the mailbox and one envelope was sitting there.

And of course, it was a window envelope and I was just like, you know, something's gonna be turned off.

Something's gonna be repossessed.

(paper ruffling) It was an escrow refund check for the sum of about $490, which was the exact amount of how much I figured it would cost me to get to the '86 World Championships.

(gentle music continues) I'm 32 years old now, trying to win this world title.

(gentle music continues) It was about all I had left in the tank.

This is my last shot.

If I don't win, it's over.

And I was leading going into the world championships.

I just knew I was healthy and I was strong.

I could outride anybody when I was strong.

I drew a good bull first round.

And this is my year.

This is my year to win it.

- Let's go to the bull riding, down in the bucking shoot #2.

(gate clanking) (hooves thumping) (suspenseful music) (suspenseful music continues) (suspenseful music continues) I got stepped on, nearly severed my calf from my knee.

There was no running out of the arena with this deal.

(somber music) They took me to the emergency room, said, you know, "You've got a compartment syndrome.

We recommend absolutely that you don't get on and ride again."

(somber music continues) - Compartment syndromes occur either with a fracture or with some sort of crush injury where the muscle swells, impedes the blood flow to the muscle.

You can lose a limb because of compartment syndrome.

- From so many push downs and so many losses and so much trial and error and loneliness and pain and suffering.

- We do everything we can to protect 'em and make it possible for them to compete.

But ultimately, those kind of things, those kinds of injuries, it's their choice.

- And then I had to finally tell mom and I said, "Mom, you know, I got stepped on, it's over."

(birds chirping) (phone buzzing) - What you doing, cowgirl?

- [Jonnie] Sitting with my feet up on the desk, drinking a whiskey.

- Okay, well, I'm making squash, so you should come over.

I know you're really close by.

- [Jonnie] Yeah, just a few hundred miles, but what the hell?

They got dehumidifiers running in the house tonight.

I don't know, maybe four or five more hours of packing and my house will be totally stripped and then they'll start gutting it out on Monday.

- Hey, so how's the GoFundMe page working out?

- [Jonnie] The community just rallied to support me.

People came out of the woodwork to help, saying how I'd helped them over the last 25 years, offered every means of support possible.

Well, they just don't want me to quit and by God, I'm not gonna.

- I'll try to get up there in a couple weeks, okay?

- [Jonnie] I love you, sweets.

- I love you too.

- I love you so much.

- All right, baby.

- [Jonnie] Good talking to you, cowgirl.

- Okay.

Hey, go get on that whiskey.

I'll talk to you tomorrow.

- Thanks, kiddo.

- All right, love you, honey.

- Love you.

Bye.

- Bye.

There was just a few nights ago, she was literally having to sleep in the car.

There wasn't any motels available and she had her dog and her dog felt more safe in the vehicle with her.

And I think that's kind of where she wanted to be too, just that quiet time to probably absorb all what had just happened, I mean, 'cause it's horrible.

(gentle music) - After I got stepped on, I called an orthopedic surgeon.

I said, "What would happen if I ride?"

And he said, you know, "Getting slammed in the shooter, getting that hit, you know, I can't even imagine you could handle that pain."

And he said, "You're gonna risk your life."

- I'm sure everybody can take a look at it and go, "Wow, that is very, very dangerous," but nobody knows how dangerous it is better than us.

You know, we've been down there and looked the devil right in the eye.

My traveling partner, Lane Frost, got killed in Cheyenne.

I was there.

I was 30 feet from him.

I've been asked a lot over the years, "Was it hard to come back from that?"

I was like, "I knew what I was signing up for way before, you know, I saw Lane get killed."

- I have to have this world title, I have to.

I will die or I will win.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) I told my friends, "I'm riding this one."

My boot slit down the back to allow my foot to even get in.

(gentle music continues) I made a conversation with the bull fighters.

I said, "Look, you guys, if I buck off here, I cannot get away.

It's up to you to save me."

And they said, "Jonnie, just do your job.

We'll do our job."

Three people picked me up off my crutches, dropped them behind the chutes.

They hoisted me up, helped me pull a leg over.

Dropping my legs down in that chute was the scariest thing I had ever done in my life.

This is for all the marbles.

I have to ride him, I have to.

(metal clanking) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gate clanking) Everything slowed down.

It just slowed down.

(gentle music) The pain was incredible 'cause it was just compressing on the nerves.

(hooves thumping) (bull snorting) Struggling to keep my brain in it.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (buzzer blaring) (crowd cheering) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) Everybody was pretty jazzed 'cause they knew how long I'd been trying to win it.

And you know, I had my one moment in time, finally.

I sat down there in disbelief, almost.

I had it.

They helped me out of the arena.

I mean, I couldn't walk.

And I remember seeing it a hundred feet away from me, scuff, drag, scuff, drag.

Dropped that quarter in, and the conversation went, "Mom, I rode.

I told you I wasn't riding, but I rode.

It's over, I did it.

We did it.

I finally won, Mom.

I'm coming home."

To make, you know, 11,000 people just stand up and cheer, you know, what can you say?

- [Announcer] She's the Billie Jean King of the rodeo ring.

- Remember this name, Jonnie Jonckowski.

- [Announcer 2] Her name is Jonnie Jonckowski.

- Jonnie Jonckowski.

- Jonnie Jonckowski.

[David Letterman] World champion bull rider, folks, please welcome Jonnie Jonckowski.

(audience applauding) - You have won the championship of the world at bull riding.

What's in store for you?

- Winning the title was half the goal.

The other half is to hopefully capitalize on the lady's bull riding.

Everybody's looking for a new idea.

I'm hoping that I'm gonna be it.

- [Reporter] She is one cowgirl who doesn't believe a woman's place is in the kitchen.

- All I want for any woman just to go and do whatever she wants to do.

I don't care.

Somebody's gonna tell you you're crazy no matter what you are.

- [Announcer] Jonnie Jonckowski comes to us from Billings, Montana.

- I mean, when she went out for "American Gladiator," I said, "You gotta be outta your mind."

- [Announcer] Her golden moment.

Somehow she maintained her compose.

She's unbelievable!

- These three women all claim to be the real Jonnie Jonckowski.

Will the real Jonnie Jonckowski please stand up?

Oh, it is number three.

- Jonnie brought a ton of exposure to the sport.

I've never done David Letterman.

I've never done Charlie Rose.

She got some big reach for the sport of bull riding, and she deserved it.

- I went back hard in '88.

In '88, I was damn serious.

(announcer speaking faintly) - [Announcer] Jonnie won the Women's Rodeo World Championship of 1986.

She did it again in 1988.

- Lynn Jonckowski, World Champion Bull Rider.

Needless to say, you're excited.

You won the national finals.

How do you feel?

- Hey, I am doggone excited, and to win on a bull like that and put on a good ride, it feels better than great.

- [Host] She's a two-time World Champion Bull Rider, Jonnie Jonckowski.

- Hi.

- How are you doing?

- Well- - How do you feel now?

- I'm feeling great now.

After I won my world title, I really thought that that was it, it was over, I had done it.

But what became such a reality to me was that not many people knew that women rode bulls, so it didn't have the impact that I thought it should have had.

They need to know there's girls out there that do this, and they need to know there's girls out there that do this really well.

I was totally happy with hanging up my shoes and my cowboy boots and walking off into the sunset.

I mean, I was a world championship bull rider, but the bottom line is we just wanted to compete at a level where there was great bulls, great bullfighters, already established crowds.

Now I wanted the stage, I wanted the big stage, and Cheyenne's as big as it was getting.

They weren't gonna let us compete that year, but I hoped that if we rode well enough, they would see how much we belonged in that arena.

First time in 52 years a lady's ever ridden the bull at Cheyenne Frontier Days.

- And you're responsible?

- And I'm responsible.

We're gonna be accepted.

Equal time, maybe equal money, not quite freaks.

(crowd cheering) (music drowns out speaker) - Praise the Lord I made the whistle.

(crowd cheering) (music drowns out speaker) - [Jonnie] I can't do this forever, there's just no way, but I want this opportunity to be there for the other girls to do it.

I want it to be as safe and as spectacular and all heights of grandeur that it can be.

♪ The land of the free ♪ ♪ And the home of the brave ♪ - [Interviewer] Why are you feeling emotional?

The same person will ride a bull, yet tear up through the national anthem.

- I guess 'cause I'm out here doing what I wanna do, and I can.

(gate rattling) (crowd cheering) (gentle music) (audience applauding) (gentle music continues) We saw the trophy saddles that the guys were winning and saw the Cheyenne buckles in the room on display.

You know, it was hard to know that we wouldn't have a shot at those, you know, it truly was.

And I'd be honored wearing a buckle from Cheyenne.

It would've been wonderful if it would've grown to a sport annually for us there.

I didn't think that was ever gonna be possible, just how they treated us as paid performers.

And ultimately, just a few years after I left, it dried up.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (horse neighing) (gentle music continues) (crowd applauding) - [Julie] Girls night out.

- [Jonnie] This is my first night out to do anything since the flood.

Yeah, girls night out is right.

- [Julie] Thank you so much.

- [Jonnie] I would've liked that black one or this little speckled one.

Then, that's a banana horn.

This one here is supposed to be quite a bucker.

- [Woman] Get your picture?

- [Jonnie] Oh sure.

Absolutely.

- [Man] You still up walking?

- [Jonnie] Barely, but I am.

(group laughing) (gentle music) You know, coming back here and seeing this level, yeah, if I had a rope right now, I'd be in trouble (laughs).

- We probably got an extra flank or something.

- I know, I just... I was in my late 40s when I gave this up.

The cheap hotels, 10 in a room, dancing, great dance halls.

Yeah, this is what rodeo is.

(hooves thumping) (audience cheering) (announcer speaking faintly) (gentle music continues) What you think there, little girl?

My buds, my buds, my buds.

(donkey braying) (laughs) I wish I could do that.

The restoration outfit finished.

Left me with what is here, which is a dehumidified home and you know, gutted to the studs.

I have an 8x20 storage unit out back and it's maybe a third full of my belongings after a lifetime.

But that's all that was salvaged out of this house.

(gentle music continues) (mechanical whirring) Washer, dryer go back here.

- Okay.

- And you don't need to hook up.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - She's had some hard times.

The way she's handled the tough times to me says a lot about her character and really, truly, that's a cowgirl.

She is the epitome of a true cowgirl.

(birds chirping) (gentle music continues) (people chattering) - When I got outta bull riding and I tried to find a job and my resume was a joke, no one would hire me.

So, I went to school and I became a PT assistant and I wanted to specialize in geriatrics because I wanted to know what my mom was going through when she was dying.

She was really sick.

She had Parkinson's and cancer and I just wanted to learn a better way to take care of her, so I got a job working with geriatric patients and one of my favorite patients was Ruby.

She had osteoarthritis.

She was maybe 90 pounds.

Fingers didn't open much, couldn't see very well.

She grew up on a ranch.

It was her 99th birthday.

I asked her what she wanted and she said, "Jonnie, I want a paint pony more than anything in the world."

Took my horse, gave him a Pine-Sol bath, wrapped Elasticon around his feet.

And I literally clipped and clopped him down the hallway into her room.

(hooves clanking) Buddy walked right in and stuck his nose there into the grain bucket on her lap.

She said, "My God, Jonnie, I can smell him."

(gentle music) It was the greatest gift to give her.

And the next day I was fired.

(gentle music continues) I just started thinking about how easy it was to make people happy with this horse.

That summer in 1998, I established Angel Horses.

It took a while to figure out our program, but over the years we found our purpose.

We give horses and people a second chance.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) All right, Gid.

Come on, bud.

Let's go.

Come on, Gid.

Come on, let's go.

Taking your time, Pokey.

Come on.

(car door thumps) (gravel crunching) All right, boys.

All right, boys.

(door squeaking) (gentle music) Us warriors, we don't quit, you know?

(Jonnie laughs) We're looking at four months and you can't even believe he's the same horse.

We put 300 pounds on him, brought him back to life three times, and now here he is just amazing.

It was a huge battle financially, emotionally, spiritually with him.

This is your big day, bud.

Yeah, this is why we came through the storm.

From the moment I saw him, I knew he was more than an old broken down horse.

(gravel crunching) Got a bunch of ranch women today and they're in the memory care, so it'll be interesting to see what the horses trigger in their minds.

(gentle music continues) All of them were in the kill pen, and now look at what they're doing.

(gentle music continues) It'll be fun.

It'll be a good day.

Huh, Giddy?

(gentle music continues) [Jonnie] I'm so glad you're here.

- Oh, I am too.

- [Jonnie] Are you a horse lover?

- Oh yes.

Yeah, raised on a ranch.

Yeah.

Yeah.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (horse neighing) (hooves thumping) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (people chattering) (people laughing) (gentle music continues) (people chattering) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - I feel better already.

- [Jonnie] (laughs) So do I.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) [Jonnie] Thank you, sweetie.

Thank you, love, so much.

A kiss too.

Okay, you guys, you all come back.

Promise?

- We will.

- Okay.

(laughs) All right.

(gentle music continues) I don't even wanna go home.

This is such a high.

This is like a rush.

(gentle music continues) I can't even say enough about this horse.

I am so proud of him.

It was like he just had his, what?

212th start and won the whole dang thing (laughs).

Yeah, you.

Exactly you.

And we're a great team, me and him.

We're buds now, aren't we, bud?

(gentle music continues) To quit bull riding was tough, but you know, we all get old.

We all gotta walk away and we can't fight father time.

I mean, if I broke down today, I've experienced all of that freedom.

I have run like the wind.

- That's a real young game and it only lasts for a while.

(gentle music continues) - [Ty] What she was doing was super hard on a lot of different levels.

- If I still wear those (laughs).

- Think you can wear 'em?

- Yeah, no.

- She was pioneering for what she tried to grow and make better for her passion, for her guts, for her determination, her dedication and how hard she worked at it.

And that's all without talking about riding a bull, you know?

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - [Announcer] Sometimes the toughest cowboy is a cowgirl.

Folks, we're in the midst of a legend here tonight.

2024 Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame Inductee, breaking barriers in bull riding.

The first woman invited to compete in the World Bull Riding Championship, two-time Women's World Champion.

She opened the door for so many ladies around the world.

Jonnie Jonckowski.

(audience applauding) - Hi, cowgirl, how are you?

- I'm good.

And you?

- Thank you so much.

- Hi, Jonnie.

How are you?

- Hi, guys.

What was your name?

- I'm Malia and that's Elena.

- Man, you are big fans.

- Yeah, we are.

- [Jonnie] Cool.

- I'd love if you could sign my hat.

- I would like that.

(gentle music continues) - I've been working on becoming a pilot for a while and I think it's amazing having role models to lift you up and telling you that it's possible even when everyone's looking at you like you're just a little girl.

- Thank you.

- Thank you so much.

- Yeah, of course.

- You're the best.

- So are you.

Thank you.

- You bet.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) I'll be there forever.

How great is that?

That I made a mark, that I made a difference.

That's all I ever really wanted to do in my whole life anyway, is to have somebody know that I was here.

I think that's what anybody wants.

And to make it so much better for someone else.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (upbeat music) I haven't been on one in 24 years and I'm 70 years old.

I mean, I'm never gonna get another chance, right?

- Yeah.

Get on up here.

- [Jonnie] All right, let's go.

♪ Where we go nobody knows ♪ - Awesome.

Oh, shush.

Oh, shush.

Oh, shush.

(upbeat music continues) Oh, perfect.

Pull up slack?

Okay, pull.

Good, good.

Okay.

(music continues) (music continues) (music continues) (music continues) (tense music) - [Announcer] This film was made possible by Dennis Slonaker and Elaine Schoyen, the Big Sky Film Grant, administered by the Montana Department of Commerce, Harper L. Bohr, Jr., Steve and Peggy O'Neil, Heather Jernberg and Robert Sarfi.

Nancy Thompson Flikkema, the Greater Montana Foundation, Barbara Van Cleve, Harvey c. Gannon Jr., David Genter and Heidi McLoughlin, Gary and Norma Buchanan, Liane M. Vadheim, and by these generous donors.

(music continues) (gentle music)