Daredevil’s cousin bullish on new school

Karen Zekan

Thursday, March 18, 1999 | 11:32 a.m.

Programs abound for kids wanting to play football, basketball and soccer in this town.

But an alternative exists -- one for which Gary Laswell Jr. hopes to build a stronger following in the years to come.

Bull riding.

It's an obvious draw for cowboys at heart in a state with its roots firmly entrenched in the sagebrush days of the wild West. Yet few local opportunities exist for anyone eager to give it a try. At least, not until now.

This weekend, Laswell will be launching the first bull-riding school at his Laztech Ranch near Blue Diamond.

The two-day program for ages 14 and up will see riders learn proper form and technique while practicing on barrels and then riding the real thing. Bull rides will be videotaped to assist the learning process. The weekend school's cost is $225 -- money which Laswell will be putting back into buying more bulls.

Brett Leffew, son of former National Finals Rodeo champion bull rider Gary Leffew, will be the lead instructor.

For more information, call Laztech's bull-riding hotline at 456-0699.

"My goal is to have as many cowboys as football players," Laswell said. "There are a lot of kids who want to learn bull riding but don't know where to go, or end up having to travel out of the area. With this school, they can learn locally."

The Laswell name isn't new to Las Vegas, nor to the more gutsy -- and admittedly dangerous -- sports.

Laswell has risen within the ranks of successful riders over the years, and is also the son of prize-winning bull rider Gary Laswell Sr.

Yet it is the younger man's late cousin, Butch Laswell, who pushed the limits -- and simultaneously captured the nation's attention -- with his motorcycle racing and stunts.

Butch Laswell performed four years in "Splash II" at the Riviera hotel-casino with other stuntmen riding upside down inside a steel sphere he built, amid a flood of laser beams and pyrotechnics.

The daredevil had more than 5,000 flawless ramp-to-ramp jumps in his career when he tempted the fates and lost.

During an attempt to top his record height jump of 41 feet on his motorcycle he crashed to the ground. A 20-mph wind blew him off course from a seemingly perfect launch over a bridge at Si Redd's Oasis hotel-casino in Mesquite March 10, 1996.

Butch's memory lives on among the motorcycle fans who knew him. Black-and-white images of the legend on his motorcycle can be seen around town on stickers affixed to car bumpers and truck windows.

And it is through his cousin's memory that Gary Laswell's energy to promote bull riding comes -- an enthusiasm to be the best at a sport that takes passion and commitment.

"Butch was my hero, and he was good at what he did," Laswell said. Gary Laswell in fact adopted his cousin's "Laztech Stunts Inc." name for his Laztech Ranch.

The bulls in Laswell's stock that he'll use for the class are ideal for learning, he said, because none are ranked or mean. One is so calm and passive that Laswell can comfortably place his 3-year-old niece on it without a worry.

And none will be abused, Laswell said, adding that no sharp spurs, rough ropes or improper riding will be permitted.

"Many people are scared about bull-riding because of the stuff they see on TV," Laswell said of the sensationalized accidents, radical riding and nut cases who periodically get into the news.

"What you don't hear about is the skill that's involved," he said, or the chance to understand the sport's thrill.

IFA feed stores will be donating gift certificates for the school's most improved rider and a jackpot winner at the school's conclusion Sunday -- a prize given to the person who best comes out of the chute and rides in the ring.