Not his first rodeo: Bloomington lineman apprentice qualifies for international competition

On the side of a pole on a Saturday morning, while wearing a wide-brim hard hat and Heat Wave brand protective sunglasses, 28-year-old Duke Energy lineman apprentice Jesse Orr had an egg in his mouth. 

He was competing in his third Midwest Lineman’s Rodeo on April 12 in Plainfield, Indiana. It qualifies lineworkers for the International Lineman’s Rodeo, an annual competition highlighting the skills and knowledge required to install and maintain electrical power lines. 

This event, the pole climb, required Jesse to climb and go down an electrical pole, replacing one “nose bag,” used to hold tools, with another at the top. On the descent, he had to keep an egg intact in his mouth — cracking it would cost him points. 

But on the way down, shortly after transferring the BuckSqueeze, which protects climbers from falling, below the neutral wire, he “gaffed out.” Jesse called this the equivalent of slipping, a hiccup of about a yard down the 40-foot wooden pole. The mistake took him by surprise — he’d been so careful about his speed and placing his steps. Then, a sense of defeat hit him. 

“Matter of fact, I still feel very upset about it,” Jesse said later.  

He placed third this year in the apprentice category. The gaff out, he said, is why; it put him just a few points behind first place. However, his performance was enough to earn him his second qualification for the international competition this October in Overland Park, Kansas.

*** 

His rodeo success comes from a drive to prove himself and a fixation on electrical work, dating back years.  

As a kid, Jesse would watch powerlines pass by through the car window on family road trips. His brother would play his Game Boy to pass the time, but Jesse kept his eyes on the poles.  

“It just fascinated me, knowing that like, mile after mile after mile, that somebody put that wire there,” Jesse said. “Somebody did that.” 

At 15, his friend backed his pickup into a pad-mounted transformer in the driveway and got stuck. The two tried to push the truck out by hand, something he knows now is extremely dangerous. Jesse’s parents called the electric company. He watched in awe as workers used a line truck to lift the vehicle off the displaced transformer. 

Those two experiences, Jesse said, led him to what he does for a living.  

Jesse knew he wanted to do linework, but it took him “longer than the average guy” to get  there. Duke’s application process is lengthy, he said, and he had no background in the field — only “low voltage” electrical work and construction. 

After almost 30 applications for different positions, seven years and learning the application like the back of his hand, he got an apprentice lineman position at Duke. 

The apprenticeship is an entry-level position, according to Duke, that requires four to five years of on-the-job training. Apprentices then take a test to become a journeyman lineworker. Jesse’s been a lineman apprentice based in Bloomington since 2021. April 25 marked four years since he was hired, and next year, he’ll be a journeyman.  

Some Duke employees he’d worked with at a previous job told him about the rodeo, even before he started as an apprentice. So when the competition came up again after he started his apprenticeship, he didn’t hesitate. 

As an apprentice, Jesse competes on his own. When he becomes a journeyman, he’ll be on a team of three. 

The apprentice rodeo features five events. The first is a 50-question written test completed the day before the others. It’s based on material from The Lineman’s & Cableman’s Handbook. Each missed or unanswered question is a two-point deduction.  

Jesse said it’s the most important part of the competition because that’s where competitors get a lot of their points; it can be the difference between winning an award or not. 

The other four events take place the next day, a Saturday, and are scored by judges. 

One is the hurt man rescue. Competitors have to put on proper climbing equipment, ascend a pole and securely lower a dummy to the ground. On the job, seconds count. In the rodeo, exceeding four minutes costs two points. Jesse said at this year’s Midwest rodeo, he placed first in this event. 

There’s also the pole climb — when the egg comes in. Though Jesse lost points for gaffing out this year, he said he’s never cracked the egg in his mouth. The mix of heavy breath, sweat and yolk is something he doesn’t want to experience. It took him just under a minute and 15 seconds to complete the whole challenge. 

The last two events are a mystery until the day of the written test. One at the Midwest rodeo this year simulated a downed wire scenario, Jesse said, which required a flurry of tasks: throwing a rope up and over, tying it down, getting a hoist across it. With a real downed wire, it’s a group effort. At the rodeo, Jesse was on his own. The other mystery task required an armor rod replacement — something Jesse said is notoriously difficult to do for the first time.  

All those challenges and rules made his first year challenging. Jesse admits he’s hard on himself, but the rodeo presents all new obstacles. 

“Rodeo is a sport,” Jesse said. “I mean, yes, we do the job every day. It’s what we do, but rodeo is a whole ‘nother level.” 

***

Jesse’s always been competitive. He said he was no good at sports in high school but loved the competition.  

“There comes a point where you play your last game, you hang up that last jersey and then you’re finished with it,” he said. 

The rodeo gave him another chance to compete. This year, his training routine has some similarities to that of a high school athlete. 

He’s studying the lineman’s handbook. Taking practice tests. Running through the pole climb and hurt man at Duke’s Bloomington training yard. 

He’s even got a coach; Jesse and Logan Pollei sat next to each other their first day of training at Duke. They’re in the same apprentice class, so once a year, they go to training in Plainfield to start the next phase of their program. They’ve stayed in touch, seeing each other at the annual training and sending photos back and forth of what work they’re doing. 

Logan is based in Rochester, Indiana, and has his own history with the rodeo. He’s gone to the international rodeo three times, placing fifth in the “investor-owned utilities” division, where Duke linemen compete, last year. 

Logan wasn’t able to compete in regionals this year due to a non-work knee injury that required surgery. He and Jesse shared study material for internationals before, so when the idea of coaching his friend came up, Logan decided to help him how he could. 

Logan said it’s easy with Jesse since he’s already familiar with the strict schedule of the rodeo. Jesse also gets his own on-the-job practice and climbing experience. Logan’s focus instead will be on preparing him where he can. He sent Jesse some of his own study material, and he plans to arrive in Kansas a day early to help him scope out the events.  

Jesse’s focus should be on getting as many points in the written test as he can, Logan said. But he said, too, success comes down to planning and attention to detail. It’s easy to make mistakes — like a gaff out — when trying to go as fast as possible.  

“But at the end of the day, when you make mistakes, like, you can’t be successful,” Logan said. 

Logan thinks Jesse can stay calm, not make mistakes and succeed at nationals. From knowing him over the years, he recognizes him as a hard worker. As someone with the right attitude. As someone who can keep things light. That’s why Jesse loves the rodeo, despite the high stakes. It’s fun. 

“To go with a bunch of like-minded guys who love — who just live and breathe competition — it’s exciting. I mean, it’s electric,” Jesse said. He laughed. No pun intended. 

Jesse’s seven rodeo plaques sit in his kitchen coffee bar, on a shelf above an ultrasound photo of his daughter, Liberty, and a photo of him and his wife, Emily. Emily said she wants to find a better way to display the awards — plaque stands, perhaps. 

Emily first met Jesse at a conference for Christian schools in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2013. He came up to her and her group of friends to flirt with them — he’s always one to be the center of attention, Emily said. His humor stuck with her, and two years later, they started dating. They married in 2019. 

Emily’s from south of Paynetown Campground, near Lake Monroe. The couple lives there now.  

The rodeo’s become a tradition for the family. The first year Jesse competed, Liberty was just three months old.  

“It was our first little trip away from home,” Emily said. 

She said she loves how family-oriented it is. There are bounce houses, balloon animals and bubbles. There’s ice cream, food trucks and elephant ears. There are songs, including ones about lineworkers. 

Jesse said it was awesome to see his daughter play at the rodeo this past year, as well as see him climb the poles. There can’t be a bring your daughter to work day for linemen, he said. It’s too dangerous. 

Emily’s parents go every year, too. When Jesse went to internationals last year, Emily couldn’t go, so her dad went instead. He’s like a kid in a candy store when it comes to the rodeo, Emily said. She plans to join them in Kansas this year with her mom and Liberty.  

She said she’s proud of his line work, perking up with excitement when people ask her what he does. He’s already getting asked by his co-workers if they can be on his journeyman team after his apprenticeship, she said, something she finds inspiring. 

It’s a little early for Liberty to be inspired by her dad, but the rodeo and line work will stay part of the family going forward. 

“She’s only going to know him as a lineman,” Emily said.