As a kid, Gene Johnson decided to compete in rodeos after watching old Westerns and seeing champion cowboy Casey Tibbs in action.

Now 63, Johnson has taken to working behind the scenes to support younger incarnations of himself. He’s known as a “chute boss” at the Puyallup Fair’s Puyallup Pro Rodeo, which ends today.

A lot depends on Johnson, his colleagues say. He’s responsible for opening the chutes in timed rodeo events, which include steer wrestling, cattle roping and team roping. It’s his push of a lever that releases the bovine – a time-sensitive duty that can have big consequences for the competitors.

The job is full of tense moments when Johnson carefully waits for a cowboy’s signal.

“I don’t want to blink, because I can’t miss that nod,” the Port Orchard resident said. “I can cost him a paycheck.”

Johnson stands at the front of a rodeo chute, watching for the cowboy’s cue to release the animal.

If he opens the chute late, a cowboy might break the barrier, or start too soon. That’s a 10-second penalty – a significant handicap in a world where professional riders can rope a calf in six or seven seconds.

A cowboy could lose a share of the $540,000 in prize money and fail to advance to the next level of playoffs.

“You don’t want to mess up this rodeo,” Johnson said. “That cowboy will come back and yell at you.”

Rodeo organizers assign only the most experienced workers to operate the chute doors, said John Growney, one of seven stock contractors at the rodeo.

“We need guys who really know what’s going on up here in front,” said Growney, who has known Johnson for more than 20 years. “Everything has to flow smooth.”

Johnson certainly has the chops.

He worked at the rodeo at the Kitsap County Fair for 27 years, serving as rodeo director there between 1999 and 2006. This is his 16th year working the rodeo at the Puyallup Fair.

Before that, he spent 10 years riding bareback and five years competing in team roping events on the local rodeo circuit. He still sometimes competes in team roping events.

For his day job, he spent 32 years at the Bremerton shipyard before retiring.

“I only worked there to keep me busy until the weekend so I could go rodeo,” Johnson said. “For me, it’s a way of life.”

He said he feels a responsibility to help younger rodeo workers develop. Besides managing the chutes up front, he also heads a team of chute workers who sort the animals and get them ready to enter the arena.

“It’s a dying way of life,” Johnson said. “The pressure is in letting these guys know how it should be done.”

Melissa Santos: 253-552-7058

melissa.santos@thenewstribune.com

JOBS AT THE FAIR

This is the first in a series of stories about workers who give the Puyallup Fair its flair.

attendance record

The Puyallup Fair set an opening day attendance record Friday. The fair welcomed 86,332 people through its gates, topping the previous first-day record of 76,022 attendees, set last year.