“We’ve really enjoyed seeing the enjoyment in the kids’ faces,” Alamar Mercado added. “It just blew up,” Cirildo said as he described the growth of miniature bull riding over the past year. Soon, the Leals teamed up with other area miniature bull raisers - JR, Marta, Ray, Alamar and Geraldo Mercado, and Steve and Matt McPherson - to start the Miniature Bull Rider Tour in order to have a platform with which to draw participants to compete for points and learn the sport. Holding their initial exhibition ride at a Cowboy Church in Amarillo, their idea was off and running. “These are miniature bulls just like the children, but they look like real bulls,” Cirildo explained. They decided to produce their first mini-bull riding event. Not long after that, just as things often become bigger than you thought, life changed for the Leals. They were only interested in raising the mini-bulls. Until then, Lillie and Cirildo specialized solely in cotton burr grinding and hauling for the area cotton industry. It could be a fun hobby, so they decided to buy a few of the cute minis and raise them at their Lockney acreage. ![]() ![]() She borrowed the magazine to show the article to husband Cirildo. “I love animals, and this caught my attention,” recalls Lillie. Lillie Leal, a partner in her husband’s agribusiness, was at her local hair stylist’s shop when she thumbed through the magazine and thought immediately how fun it would be to raise the mini-bulls as “pets.” With only a fraction of the aggression carried by their full-size counterparts, the pint-size bulls are the perfect size for pint-sized riders.
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