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Bull
Riding
Rodeo's most popular and dangerous event has the sport's simplest rules. Ride with a single handhold, have the bull rope still in your hand and don't hit the ground before the 8 second horn.
There are two things to keep in mind about riding bulls in a rodeo arena, according to one sage observer. The first thing is that there really are no tricks or secrets to making a successful ride and the other is that it's often harder to safely get off one of the monsters than it is to stay onboard.
Bull riding is often said to be the most dangerous eight seconds in professional sports. Trying to figure out why a 150-pound-or-so man wants to climb onto the back of a crossbred Brahma bull more than ten times his own weight with the extra added attraction of huge, high horns taxes the imagination.
Fans consistently vote bull riding the most popular of the six traditional events at each Longhorn World Championship Rodeo. The bulls used at Longhorn Rodeos are bred and selected for their bucking ability and aggressiveness. The contestant starts by wrapping a braided rope around the bull's midsection. Next, you climb on behind the bull's hump. Then, loop the rope around your hand. Clamp your legs around the bull's middle. Signal the gateman when ready. Hang on for just eight seconds while the bull twists, spins, bucks and swerves around the arena. Finally, dismount. It's all relatively simple in the best case scenario. Then there's the bull rider's nightmare -- when the cowboy is thrown off the bull but his hand remains entangled in the bull rope. At that point, the cowboy is lashed to the side of a ton of angry, athletic bull.
Enter rodeo's unsung heroes, the bull fighters. Disregarding their own safety, one of the clowns rushes to the bull's side opposite the cowboy while the other dashes in front of the bull to distract him. In a few seconds, which many cowboys contend are the longest in their lives, the trapped rider is freed. In addition to getting on, staying on and getting off, both the bull and the rider are graded on their performances by a pair of judges. The rider and the bull can earn up to 25 points each from both judges making a perfect score a 100 -- which has happened only once in the history of the sport. Most contestants will score in the 50 to 80 point range. But even more frequently, there'll be no score because the contestant has been unceremoniously dumped in the dirt or disqualified for touching himself or the animal with his free hand during the ride. What's the ratio of successful rides to unsuccessful? Only about one in ten riders are still on the bull's back at the end of the eight second ride.
Women's Bull Riding is just as dangerous and as exciting as the men's event. Cowgirls must ride for six seconds and have the option of holding on with one hand or two. While holding on with two hands gives the rider added strength, she loses the counterbalancing ability of a "free" arm.
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