Smiley is still all smiles: Cuddling his dog Aussie, who managed to jump eight feet high in the dog jumping contest, Daryl Grahame recalls a lifetime spent on the rodeo scene.By Glen Atwell
THE Lang Lang Rodeo is a special day on Daryl ‘Smiley’ Grahame’s annual calendar.
Every Easter Monday for the past 45 years, Smiley has watched all the thrills and spills of the local rodeo, but it wasn’t too long ago that Smiley was a part of the action himself.
“One time I was bucked off and I ended up with a couple of broken ribs, but I still smiled and lifted my hat to the crowd,” he said.
“Ever since, the nickname Smiley has stuck.”
Smiley unexpectedly started on the rodeo and circus scene at the age of just 13.
When the big top came to town, Smiley managed to get a job helping set up and pack up chairs.
“When the circus left town the next day, I left with them,” he said.
“Mum and dad were petrified – they didn’t know where I’d gone.
“They traced the circus for six weeks before a detective found me in Queensland.”
Smiley said his favourite memory was being blasted as a human cannonball.
“The force of the blast sent people’s hats flying, it was great fun,” he said.
After spending five years in the circus, Smiley swapped the cannon for bucking bulls and joined the rodeo circuit.
Smiley rode Brahman bulls, bareback horses and saddle bronc for the next 25 years.
His record on a bucking bull stands at 10 minutes – a gallant effort considering the bull he was on jumped the bullring fence and bucked into a neighbouring paddock.
“I thought I’d better stay on until it was safe to get off,” he laughed.
But it has not been all smiles for the 60yearold Narre Warren North resident, most notably after an incident when his foot became stuck in a stirrup.
Smiley was dragged around the arena six times and ended up in a coma.
He didn’t leave hospital for three months.
But in true spirit, Daryl put a smile on his dial and got back in the saddle.
