John Legend and Chrissy Teigen (Getty).

Every year, after being inundated by the various social responsibilities of the holiday season as well as various boisterous New Year’s soirées, the city’s movers and shakers take a perennial pause. Jet-setters dash off to the Caribbean, fashion mavens begin migrating to Milan and Paris, and socialites take to the slopes of Deer Valley and Aspen. Shindigger, your genteel stalwart, was in search of VIP action last week, but immediate options were scarce. That is, until we received a welcome “howdy” to partake in the Professional Bull Riders’ VIP schedule of events. Was Shindigger ready to exchange hefty pours of Veuve Clicquot for Pabst Blue Ribbon? Why the hell not?

On January 4, outfitted in our finest Western attire, we trotted into a clandestine palatial lounge space in the bowels of Madison Square Garden. (Yes—Shindigger does own a cowboy hat and some flannel for times such as these.) This was the Professional Bull Riders’ opening night VIP reception, hosted by model Chrissy Teigen. Top-ranked bull riders L.J. Jenkins and J.B. Mauney and NASCAR star Kyle Busch—ever the rebel, he uses his full name as opposed to rodeo-friendly initials—also made brief appearances at the opening festivities. 

“I don’t ride!” Ms. Teigen told Shindigger, cabernet in hand, outside one of the executive salons. “I’ve been to rodeos, but I’ve never seen a bull ride ever in my life, and now we’re up and close and center—I’m freaking out!” Impressive enthusiasm for a Utah native.

This evening, the waifish brunette looked delectable in one of Isabel Marant’s black fringe suede jackets. “She went Midwestern last season,” the model gushed. “Finally a reason to wear it!”

We wanted to know how this rustic experience differed from her usual outings.

“I feel like everyone pulled their cowboy hats from the top of their closets, dusted them off and put them on for tonight,” she answered graciously with a laugh.

Her fiancé John Legend kept a low profile, preferring to hide in the shadows of a colossal sports trophy. Shindigger even saw one attendee point and yell, “Is that Usher?” Oh dear.

“I asked him to come,” said Ms. Teigen of her skittish companion. “He’s a little jet-lagged. We were in Tokyo right before this.” The couple had spent Christmas in Japan before flying to Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve festivities.

“Hopefully the bulls will kick him in the face and he’ll wake up a bit,” she said, sotto voce.

It’s always satisfying when the hostess enjoys an event, and Ms. Teigen expressed sincere pleasure. Especially with the heavy buffet swarming with bull riders’ entourages, cowboys and the occasional scantily-clad cowgirl seductress promoting some product.

Guests were asked to proceed into the stadium, and Ms. Teigen said she was excited to witness the live action, but feared for the bull riders’ crown jewels. “It’s violent for their junk,” she blurted with a chuckle. “I mean, it gets penetrated back inside of them!”

Shindigger and crew meandered to our seats for the gladiatorial spectacle, which kicked off with gunpowder explosions, fireworks, confetti cannons, flames and a Christian blessing for each rider. An interesting start indeed. We guzzled our drinks and dutifully replenished them before the first ride. A good thing too, as we were not prepared for the nail-biting drama: enormous bulls bucked and raged in the massive dirt area, jolting and flinging the adorable but no doubt soon-to-be-toothless riders like flimsy pieces of cardboard—over and over again.

The triumphant ones rode for the required time of eight seconds before hurling themselves off—as gracefully as possible—and sneaking out of harm’s way. The unfortunate few were dislodged violently and dashed quick as lightning to avoid being trampled, sometimes unsuccessfully. It was both exhilarating and horrifying all at once, like one’s first Internet dating experience.

That night, sinewy ectomorph J.B. Mauney rode the bull “Unpredictable” for 88.50 points in front of 15,811 fans (but who was counting?) to win round two and move into the lead. Afterward, we hunted Mr. Mauney down to hear about his experience.

“It was pretty cool—seeing those type of people at a thing like that,” he told Shindigger, referring to the reception, where he posed with Ms. Teigen and Mr. Legend. “When we come here, people don’t really know about bull riding, but they are all about it. It’s fun being around this atmosphere.”

Despite enjoying the fanfare of the city, Mr. Mauney confessed that it’s not exactly for him. “I like being at home. I gotta have wide-open spaces,” he said in a hunky North Carolinian drawl. “It’s important to show people who have never even laid eyes on bull riding how much fun it can be to watch and follow, and what kind of sport it is. You have to kind of open people’s eyes to it.”

Unfortunately, Mr. Mauney lost in the end to Robson Palermo, who rode “Whitewater Trouble” for 90 points on Sunday afternoon to win the Championship Round with 261.50 points total. Mr. Mauney and Aaron Roy tied for second place with 260.50 points. (Truth be told, on the several nights Shindigger nestled into a box at MSG, we were clueless about the point system, fixating instead on the numbers on the riders’ future chiropractic bills.)

Professional Bull Riders Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Haworth enthused over the event, which kicked off bull riding season at Madison Square Garden.“This crowd that’s here in New York City, they really embrace bull riding!” the brawny executive raved in his Oklahoma twang. “They were pumped up both nights. That encourages our riders to ride better. This really has started our season with a big bang!”

Easy for you to say, Shindigger thought—you’re not the guy being impaled by a bull horn.

blehay@observer.com

The evening was sophistication itself, with the flavor of the Champagne enhanced only by a collaborative performance from soul singer John Legend and concert pianist Lang Lang. Mr. Lang told The Observer that the duo had been preparing for the brand’s “The Power of Creation” event for three days, and their hard work undeniably paid off. The pair were the toast of the evening, and happily milled around the reception, Mr. Legend looking particularly loved up with his model fiancée Chrissy Teigen.

The tasty morsels whipped up by chef Josh Capon went down a treat, with caviar topped deviled eggs, shot glasses of Manhattan clam chowder and mini lobster sandwiches sating the guests. The church’s intimate vestibule was soon cleared in preparation for the performance, which took place in the building’s stunning hallowed hall. Mr. Legend kicked off the proceedings before being joined by Mr. Lang, with the pair creating their own take on Nina Simone’s cover of Here Comes the Sun. As the singer’s velvety tones rose to the very top of the Hispano-Moresque dome, complimented perfectly by Mr. Lang’s lightning speed tinkling, guests swayed dreamily to the music (most likely due in part to the free flowing champers). Church pews had been removed in favor of black leather seats, which added to the evening’s comfortable elegance.

Guests were also treated to a rendition of All of Me, a song from Mr. Legend’s forthcoming album. He told The Observer, “I’m really excited about the new record, and I feel like it’s coming together beautifully.” Scheduled for completion at the end of the year, the Grammy Award winner has been working with friend and collaborator Kanye West, who also assisted with the creation of his first two records, to produce the new album, which “thinks about what it’s like to be a soul singer in this modern context. We’re in an era where soul music is pushed aside in the landscape of popular music,” he continued. So how does he keep the genre alive? “You keep making the music, but are always thinking about how you can keep it fresh and new and exciting.”

Mr. Legend cut a debonair figure in a suit and bow tie at the sultry event, which was worlds away from his time spent handing out food supplies in Far Rockaway on Saturday. “I didn’t do much,” he said – such modesty! – “but it was crazy to see how things are there when I live in New York and all we had was a power outage.”

As the guests were seated for dinner at a beautifully laid table in the church’s hall, the chatter and laughter continued late into the evening, with glasses of Dom being filled up quicker than attendees could drain them. As the event drew to a close, we tottered out onto the streets of Park Ave filled with delight after a fabulous evening, mixed with just a hint of dread at the thought of the next morning’s fizz induced fuzziness.