WATCH: UCP candidate Leela Aheer helps rodeo participant charged by bull
Posted Aug 2, 2022 7:56 am.
Last Updated Aug 2, 2022 10:21 am.
UCP leadership candidate Leela Aheer is getting a lot of attention for her efforts to help rescue a rodeo participant from a charging bull.
The moments were captured in nail-biting video, shared on Twitter by Aheer’s campaign manager Sarah Biggs.
It was taken at the Strathmore Stampede over the weekend.
The participant can be seen trying to get up. Several people rush in to try and help, including Aheer, who literally grabs the bull by its horns to defend the participant on the ground.
“Honestly, I wasn’t thinking, I just saw the whole thing happening right in front of me, and your instincts just kick in, and you just jump in,” Aheer told CityNews.
“There is tremendous respect for these animals, they’re huge, they’re beautiful, they’re smart,” Aheer added. “They’re in there for a reason, they know what their job is, right? I mean they’re bowling for people basically, that’s their job while they’re in there.”
If you ever wonder what kind of leader @LeelaAheer would be…
Yesterday she grabbed a bull. Jumped right in front of it. Pushed it, to save someone who was stuck under.
She did not hesitate one minute.
This is my friend. And this is who I want as a leader#ableg #abpoli pic.twitter.com/MGRVonSlMV
— Sarah Biggs (@sarahbyyc) August 1, 2022
“These people all jumped in and helped to move that bull, I was just able to distract from the front and then grab him out from underneath and get him onto the fence,” she continued.
The video sparked several replies on social media, with some applauding Aheer’s actions. Others, meanwhile, highlighted the danger.
https://twitter.com/CraigLoewen/status/1554150872795402240
Aheer adds it was a “fight or flight” reaction, and compares the high stress situation to her career in politics.
“We’re under immense pressure all the time to be making difficult decisions under duress and all of that,” Aheer said. “I think what it does in all honesty is it shows the compassion and the human spirit of those of us that were there at that moment.”
