Before the cowboys can soak up the flashbulbs, the girls and the glory of the rodeo, they're just a handful of guys in worn boots chewing Copenhagen and chugging Red Bull, loading horses and bulls into a manure-packed trailer.

In the hours before the 2006 Wild Rogue Pro Rodeo, the men of Growney Bros. Rodeo Company out of Red Bluff, Calif. work silently, separating horses and bulls in a pen behind the Jackson County Fairgrounds arena.

The goal is to convince the animals to leave the pen and funnel themselves through a narrow shoot and up a metal ramp that leads into the trailer.

One bull in particular, a massive grey and white beast named Lime Light, has the attention of everyone present.

"He's a young bull with a lot of attitude," Tim Bridwell said. "The trick is to get out of his way and make him think it's his idea to get on the truck."

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Bucking bulls are a lot like little kids that way, it seems.

Lime Light minds his manners for the most part. He crashes around in the shoot briefly before rumbling up the ramp.

"I thought he was supposed to be bad," one man said to Bridwell.

It takes an amazing amount of work to move the animals the mere 200 feet to the arena. It's a job that keeps these people busy all summer on the rodeo circuit.

A mutual respect between man and animal exists. The guys mutter curses when things get hectic — a large black horse that wants to run full speed through the shoot or a smaller brown one that bumps against a gate — but for the most part it's business as usual.

Clint Humble, a "pick-up man" who will work the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December, describes the animals as star athletes who are accustomed to the circuit.

"When we load up to go to the rodeo, they line up to get into the truck," he said. "Just like a boxer getting into the ring."

There is no whistling and "hee-yawing" as the men work. That stuff looked cool in "Bonanza" but doesn't translate well when you're faced with a 1,500-pound bucking bull.

"All that whooping and hollering does is scare them," Neila Johnsurd said. "You stay quiet ... and keep them as calm as possible."

Johnsurd and Bridwell are set to marry sometime soon. The two have known each other since childhood. In fact, Bridwell lost his front teeth while riding a bull on the couple's first date. He has, thankfully, given up bull riding, Johnsurd said.

"Cowboys are so damned tough," she said. "Tim's broken both arms, had his spleen taken out and dislocated both shoulders so many times."

Johnsurd, who has trained horses for a Phoenix ranch, said injuries are uncommon among the men who help prepare the animals for the big show.

The horses are set loose inside the empty arena about two hours before the rodeo. They run in circles and roll in the dirt, learning the environment, including where to escape once the men on their backs are duly thrown to the ground.

The struggle will begin anew after the crowds have fled. These "star athletes" will be loaded back into the trailers, fed, watered and ready for the next town.

Reach reporter Chris Conrad at 776-4471, or e-mail cconrad@mailtribune.com.