DUNKIRK – The high flying, action-packed Motorcycle Aerial Stunt show, featuring what most would call daredevils, filled the seats of the Budweiser Grandstand Friday night at the Chautauqua County Fair.

Three professional freestyle motocross riders from the MotoOption Freestyle Team lit up the sky making perilous stunts look almost elementary. Each time a rider hit the towering ramp launching them into the sky resulted in gasps, followed by “oohs” and “ahhs” from the dazzled crowd.

“I love it,” thrilled audience member and Cattaraugus native Matt Pritchard said. “I’d like to do it, but I’d get hurt. I like watching the X Games. I’ve ridden four wheelers all my life, so I like moving around and doing stuff like that.”

Forty-year-old Gary Robertson of Greenville, Pennsylvania, and 36-year-old Casey Higgins of Elkland, Pennsylvania, proved that the sport of Freestyle Motocross is not just for the young, as they put up just as impressive of a performance as 28-year-old Mike Angerman of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Despite the age differences of the riders, each had more than 10 years experience in the sport and have experience riding with some of the biggest names in Freestyle Motocross, such as Travis Pastrana and “Mad” Mike Jones.

The packed grandstand was into the show right from the jump as the riders warmed up with wheelies and timed their jumps. After the quick warmup, the emcee explained a brief history of the sport as riders demonstrated the progression of tricks behind him. The riders began with the simple “whip,” where the riders flared the bike out from under them as they soared through the air.

The riders progressed to more dangerous maneuvers, such as the “knack-knack,” where the rider lifted a leg over the side of the bike and ended the progression demonstrating “seat grabs” as the rider released the bike and grabbed the seat in mid-air before returning to the bike and landing safely.

After the intriguing history lesson, announcer Steve Manciocchi then traveled through the crowd looking to give away trophies and prizes to the “craziest fans” in attendance. Some fans got trophies, others got coozies and some recieved numbered tennis balls that could later be exchanged for prizes such as T-shirts, hats and even two BMX bicycles.

Following the handouts, a wheelie competition commenced in which each rider was given an opportunity to pop the front tire of their bike and ride as far as they could. Higgins had the farthest distance, which enabled him to open up the trick competition. Angerman pulled out the win in the trick competition, where each rider had the opportunity to make three jumps to match each others tricks.

The best trick competition ensued where each rider had three consecutive tries to perfect their finest trick. All three riders pulled off impressive tricks, but none could top the most anticipated trick of the night. Angerman’s final attempt took a bit longer as he prepared himself for one of the sports most gutsy tricks. He then pulled off a back flip, which resulted in a roar from the crowd which began chanting “one more” in hopes to see another. He did not disappoint as he hit the ramp and flipped his bike one more time, securing the victory for best trick of the night.

“How many times have you ever seen a guy do a back flip on a motorcycle?” Dave Wilson, fair director for the grandstand asked. “It’s incredible, they make it look so easy. It was a good show and I hope everybody enjoyed it.”

The show concluded with the three riders hitting the ramp in train fashion as they ripped through the air wheel to wheel doing one last trick for the crowd to admire. After the riders parked their bikes, they happily greeted eager fans to sign autographs and take pictures.