The Iowa State Rodeo Club’s mechanical bull should be back and bucking in the near future.

“We were in search of a ‘vet’ for our bull to give him a shot of go-go juice,” said Angela Johnson, member of the ISU Rodeo Club.

Johnson was one of the people who turned the bull over to the to the Agricultural Systems Technology Club for repairs.

The bull, a “Toro Twister,” is at least 25 years old and has “ancient wiring,” said Johnson, senior in animal science.

Because of this, the ISU Rodeo Club has been unable to find diagrams or wiring schematics for the bull, let alone replacement parts, since it quit working in May 1998, she said.

“The AST Club’s mission is to design a new brain for our bull. He is run by two motors, which both work, but what tells them to work is not working,” Johnson said.

Johnson said the club members want the bull to be able to do four things: spin, buck, return to a home position and stop the minute the power is shut off as a safety precaution.

Dan Baum, president of the AST Club, said with any luck, the bull will be completed before break.

“We think we know what is wrong with it, but it was a bigger project than we expected,” said Baum, senior in agricultural systems technology.

Baum said once the club got into the project, members found the problem “a little over our heads.”

They have repaired the mechanical problems; now they are trying to tackle the electrical trouble, he said.

“It’s been a struggle, but we haven’t lost hope in it. We have been working on it continually all semester,” Baum said.

AST Club Adviser Victor Bekkum said the project gives “the students a chance to have some practical experience with the electrical and mechanical aspects of the bull.”

“It’s the spirit of cooperation between the groups that makes this a great experience … helping each other work though problems,” Bekkum said.

In the past, Johnson said, the club has used the bull as a fund-raiser.

“We have let houses have riding contests, taken him to frat parties as entertainment and have used him at Veishea for the little kids. We also use him for training our bull and bronc riders out at the arena,” she said.

Club members are anxiously awaiting the bull’s return.

“We miss him and would like to have him fixed,” Johnson said.