An 18-year-old man is dead following a tragic bull riding accident on the first night of the Valemount Canoe Mountain 2010 rodeo.

Makwala Derickson-Hall, from the Westbank-Oliver region of B.C. had his chest trampled by a bull during the ‘Bullarama’ section of the rodeo after he was thrown off the animal around 7:45 p.m. on Friday, July 9. 

In front of 200 spectators, Derickson-Hall stood up and attempted to run from the bull following the accident, but collapsed while the bull was being distracted by cowboys and dogs. First aid workers on the scene gave CPR to Derickson-Hall for a long time, said witnesses. According to B.C. RCMP, Derickson-Hall was alive when transported by an ambulance to the clinic in Valemount. Medical responders there could not save him and he died at the clinic, stated the RCMP.

“We had just been saying that this was the last thing that we wanted to have happen,” said a female organizer of the event who did not want to be identified. “It’s really just a tragedy.”

The man who first attended to the collapsed body of Derickson-Hall at the rodeo, who also did not want to be identified either, said that he has been badly shaken by the accident.

“The boy’s heart, it must have just exploded,” he said. Derickson-Hall was probably on the bull for about three seconds before he was thrown, he added.

According to Chris Hasbord, a spokesperson with British Columbia Ambulance Services, it took 15 minutes for a McBride ambulance that was driving in the Valemount area to respond to the rodeo grounds. The emergency call was received at 7:56 p.m. and paramedics were on the scene at 8:11 p.m. with Derickson-Hall then arriving at the Valemount clinic around 8:24 p.m.

While emergency first aid responders at the rodeo grounds were on hand to handle the accident, Hasbord said that British Columbia Ambulance Services received no request from the rodeo organizers to have an ambulance on site.

An 18-year-old man is dead following a tragic bull riding accident on the first night of the Valemount Canoe Mountain 2010 rodeo.

Makwala Derickson-Hall, from the Westbank-Oliver region of B.C. had his chest trampled by a bull during the ‘Bullarama’ section of the rodeo after he was thrown off the animal around 7:45 p.m. on Friday, July 9. 

In front of 200 spectators, Derickson-Hall stood up and attempted to run from the bull following the accident, but collapsed while the bull was being distracted by cowboys and dogs. First aid workers on the scene gave CPR to Derickson-Hall for a long time, said witnesses. According to B.C. RCMP, Derickson-Hall was alive when transported by an ambulance to the clinic in Valemount. Medical responders there could not save him and he died at the clinic, stated the RCMP.

“We had just been saying that this was the last thing that we wanted to have happen,” said a female organizer of the event who did not want to be identified. “It’s really just a tragedy.”

The man who first attended to the collapsed body of Derickson-Hall at the rodeo, who also did not want to be identified either, said that he has been badly shaken by the accident.

“The boy’s heart, it must have just exploded,” he said. Derickson-Hall was probably on the bull for about three seconds before he was thrown, he added.

According to Chris Hasbord, a spokesperson with British Columbia Ambulance Services, it took 15 minutes for a McBride ambulance that was driving in the Valemount area to respond to the rodeo grounds. The emergency call was received at 7:56 p.m. and paramedics were on the scene at 8:11 p.m. with Derickson-Hall then arriving at the Valemount clinic around 8:24 p.m.

While emergency first aid responders at the rodeo grounds were on hand to handle the accident, Hasbord said that British Columbia Ambulance Services received no request from the rodeo organizers to have an ambulance on site.

“It is not mandatory for event organizers to have an ambulance and paramedics on site at events, although some municipal licensing policies require it for higher risk events,” said Hasbord in a statement.

Lorna Griffin, an organizer of the rodeo, said that a request for an ambulance at the rodeo may not have been made. However, that’s because requests for ambulances over the years have always been rejected. She said that she recently made a request for an ambulance at last month’s high school rodeo, but that was rejected.

“If you can’t get an ambulance, what are you supposed to do?” she asked. “We would love to have one out here, but the supply is just so limited. You just can’t get one, especially with all the car accidents around here.”

The Highway 16 area near Valemount is notorious for car crashes. About one hour after the accident at the rodeo, a major three vehicle collision on Highway 16 happened, where two people were seriously injured. Prior to that, two Valemount ambulances were already on call dealing with other emergencies in the area.

Valemount Fire Chief Rick Lalonde said it would have been next to impossible to get an ambulance at the rodeo for the entire night. B.C. Ambulance services will never guarantee an ambulance can remain at an event for any set time, he said.

“All you can do is get one of those pick-up truck, industrial rigs,” said Lalonde, which was on hand at the rodeo. Several first aid workers, who were organized by Griffin to be at the event, were also on hand and provided CPR to Derickson-Hall before the McBride ambulance arrived.

However, having an ambulance on hand at rodeo grounds is standard practice at many rodeos in Canada.

According to Jessie Lisk, a membership co-ordinator with the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association which holds some 50-60 rodeos a year, many of them the same size as the Valemount rodeo, all rodeos sanctioned by the CPRA must have an ambulance on-site. She said the rules were so strict that even if someone at the rodeo broke an arm and had to be driven away in the ambulance, the rodeo could not go back on until another vehicle showed up.

“It’s not usually that long, maybe half hour to an hour,” she said.

Fines of up to $1,000 can be levied against CPRA members who do not comply.

The B.C. Rodeo Associations (BCRA) rule book states “The management of each association approved rodeo shall be required to provide an ambulance and adequate first aid facilities on the grounds for all performances and competitions held at times...” 

“This year’s Barrels and Bulls Rodeo is not a BCRA sanctioned event,” states the Canoe Mountain Rodeo’s website. Neither was it sanctioned by the CPRA.

The B.C. Coroners Service is currently investigating the death. They will determine at a later date whether or not a full inquest into the death is necessary. Recommendations about requiring ambulances at future B.C. rodeos could be forthcoming.

Jessie Bates of Kelowna went to high school with Derickson-Hall and was also planning on travelling to the Canadian National rodeo in Virden, Manitoba with him this August. 

“He was a really honest and tough kid. Just someone who you thought was really solid,” she said. “He just had one of those personalities that you were really drawn too.”

Her father is Blair Bates, president of the Peachland Riding Club in the Kelowna area. While Derickson-Hall was not a member of the association, he was friends with many members, many of who thought very highly of him, said Bates.

“It’s a tight knit scene,” she said of rodeos in Western Canada. “It’s really affected a lot of people around here. It’s just a huge loss.”

Derickson-Hall appeared to have a bright future ahead of himself in bull riding.

He recently qualified for one of the top rodeos in North America, to be held in Gillette, Wyoming later this month. As well, he also recently qualified for the Canadian National rodeo this August.

His family has asked it be made public that Derickson-Hall was a member of the Okanagan First Nations. Derickson-Hall also recently graduated from a Kelowna High School in June.

Funeral services were held on Wednesday, July 14 on the Osoyoos Indian Reserve in Oliver, B.C.