The buck starts here with new spin on family fun

Riders like Jayda Seed were keen to try out the mechanical bull at the Phoenix Family Fun Day yesterday. Photo / George Novak

Made in England but with a "temperament" as big as Texas, Craig Audas' brand new bucking bull proved a hit with the young and young at heart at the Phoenix Bar's family fun day yesterday.

Jayda and Aaliyah Seed and their mum Kate showed they were more than worthy riders of the handmade $24,000 computer-controlled machine.

Mrs Seed brought some of her horse riding skills to bear on the back of the mechanised bull, which is clad with the actual hide of a cattlebeast.

The ex-Tauranga Girls' College student enjoyed the family outing which, for a few gold coins, provided a load of entertainment.

While daughter Jayda called the bull "a bit scary", Mrs Seed said the secret was to relax your hips so you rolled with the bucking.

One of the bull's tricks was to spin around and around. "I'm glad I didn't eat lunch before I got on," she said. "Horses you can read, it's not very often they catch you unawares," Mrs Seed said after getting bucked off when Mr Audas took things up a notch. The Tauranga-based owner of the hydraulic bull spent hundreds of hours researching what was needed before selecting an English manufacturer. Customers hiring the bucking bull were coming from as far afield as Palmerston North and Auckland.

He said it was not about people getting thrown off straight away, but getting their confidence up before they got biffed.

The family fun day was held in Masonic Park next to the Phoenix Bar. An impressive line-up of motorbikes along The Strand, owned by members of the Ulysses Motorcycle Club, added to the sense of occasion.

Phoenix Bar co-owner Melissa Lawrence said the $682 raised from the rides and bouncy castles would go to the Variety Children's Charity.

They were lucky that the forecast rain did not arrive after downpours last Sunday forced them to postpone the event to yesterday. She said that attendance was down on last year's inaugural fun day because it was a week closer to Christmas - a time when families were getting busy.

Santa arrived at 2pm on a three-wheeled motorbike, followed by a lolly scramble. Other entertainment included lawnmower trailer rides and fire engine rides.