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Steer
Wrestling
Fast horses, stout cowboys, 600 lb. Mexican Corriente steers,
and a lot of experience make steer wrestling rodeo's fastest timed
event. The quickest way to make a buck at the Longhorn World
Championship Rodeo is to get down and dirty in a hurry -- it's called
steer wrestling. The action is fast and furious. Don't blink because
a top notch run lasts less than three seconds. A speedy Mexican
Corriente steer weighing up to 600 pounds bounds from the chute. It
gets a predetermined head start on the steer wrestler and his
assistant, known as a hazer. The wrestler and the hazer pursue the
steer at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. Then the cowboy slips from
his saddle onto the steer's head, swings his legs forward and digs
his heels into the arena dirt. Combining finesse and strength, he
brings the steer to a halt while flipping it to the ground with all
four feet and nose pointing in the same direction. The rodeo fan has
to pay close attention to pick up on the fine points of the event,
but not as close attention as the cowboy who sometimes finds himself
plowing a furrow in dirt with his nose because he was distracted or
miscalculated his dismount. The judges also pay close attention. A
steer wrestler is penalized for starting his pursuit too quickly,
called "breaking the barrier." The wrestler is disqualified
if his hazer assists in any way other than keeping the steer heading
in a straight line along side the wrestler's mount. It takes longer
to read about this event than it does to do the job, but it is
exciting. Something else to watch is the cowboy's horse. The
contestant's mount can cost as much as $35,000 and top notch horses
are rare. Watch for the horse to stay with the wrestler until he has
a firm grip on the steer, then clear out of the area leaving room for
the cowboy to do his job. Steer wrestling is often referred to as
bulldogging or simply doggin'. That name comes from one of the most
famous black cowboys, Bill Pickett, who was the world's first
bulldogger. As the story goes, he was struggling to separate a testy
steer from the herd, became frustrated and pounced on the animal's
back. Pickett grabbed ahold of a steer's head and bit its lip as he
threw it to the ground. Observers said Pickett had a bulldog grip on
that steer and the name stuck as the popularity of the contest
between man and steer grew.
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