Rodeo Events
To some, rodeo is a sport. To others, it's a curiosity. To still others, it's big business. But to the competitors and people who make a living on the ProRodeo circuit, rodeo is a way of life. Professional rodeo is the only major competitive sport that developed from a working profession and lifestyle. The main events that characterize a rodeo either come directly from the cowboy's workday, or from the games he played when the workday was done.
Bareback Riding
Bareback riding is one of the wildest and most physically demanding events in rodeo. It probably began as a dare between bored cowboys. The cowboy must ride a bucking horse for 8 seconds, without the benefit of saddle or bridle, holding nothing but a single-handhold rigging (like a suitcase handle) cinched above the horse's withers. As the bronc and rider burst from the chute, the rider must have both spurs touching the horse's shoulders until the horse's feet hit the ground after the initial move from the chute. This is called "marking out." If the cowboy fails to do this, he is disqualified.
Half of the cowboy's score comes from his spurring technique and "exposure" to the strength of the horse; the other half is determined by the bucking strength of the horse.
Tie-Down Calf Roping
The roots of tie-down roping go back to the need on working ranches to quickly immobilize a sick or injured calf for examination and treatment.
The 250 lb. calf gets a head start that is determined by the length of the arena. One end of a breakaway rope barrier is looped around its neck and stretched across the open end of the chute box holding the mounted cowboy. When the calf reaches its advantage point, the barrier is released. If the roper breaks the barrier before the calf reaches its head start, he is assessed a 10-second penalty.
The horse is trained to come to a stop as soon as the cowboy throws his loop and catches the calf. The cowboy then dismounts, sprints to the calf and throws it by hand, a move called "flanking". If the calf is not standing when the cowboy reaches it, he must allow the calf to get back on its feet before flanking it. After the calf is flanked, the roper ties any three of its legs together with a "pigging string" – a short, looped rope he holds in his teeth during the run.
While the cowboy is busy with all of that, his horse must pull back hard enough to eliminate any slack in the rope, but not so hard as to drag the calf. This is not classed as a "team" event, but the teamwork between man and horse is key to success.
When the roper finishes tying the calf, he throws his hands up in the air to signal he's done. Then he remounts his horse and rides forward slightly to create slack in the rope and waits six seconds to see if the calf remains tied. If the calf kicks free, the cowboy receives no time.
Saddle Bronc Riding
This is rodeo's "classic" event, which was truly born in the old west, where the range mustangs were so wild that a cowboy had to break every horse before he could ride it. The cowboy made his work his fun too, and had a good time of it, but it was one of the most difficult and dangerous kinds of work around.
Things haven't changed much.
Although not as wild a spectacle as bareback riding or bull-riding, this event requires strength, style, grace and precise timing. To properly mark out his horse, the bronc rider must start the ride with his feet placed over the bronc's shoulders. If he misses his mark he receives no score.
A bareback rider has a rigging to hold onto, but the saddle bronc rider has only a thick rein attached to his horse's halter. Using one hand, the cowboy tries to stay securely seated in his saddle. If he touches any part of the horse or his own body with his free hand, he is disqualified.
Judges score the horse's bucking action, the cowboy's control of the horse and the cowboy's spurring action. While striving to keep his toes turned outward, the rider spurs from the points of the horse's shoulders to the back of the saddle. To score well, the rider must maintain that action throughout the eight-second ride. While the bucking ability of the horse is considered during the scoring, a smooth, rhythmic, "pretty" ride will score better than a wild, uncontrolled flailing.
Steer Wrestling
The objective of the steer wrestler, who is also known as a "bulldogger," is to use strength and technique to wrestle a steer to the ground as quickly as possible.
Easier said than done.
The steer generally weighs more than twice as much as the cowboy and, at the time the two come together, they're both often traveling at 30 miles per hour. The steer gets a running start, and the hazer, another cowboy on horseback, guides the steer in a straight path for the steer wrestler.
When the cowboy reaches the steer, while still at a full gallop, he slides down and off the right side of his horse, hooks his right arm around the steer's right horn, grabs the left horn with his left hand and uses strength and leverage to slow the animal and turn it it to the ground. His work is complete when the steer is lying on its side with all four feet pointing the same direction.
Team Roping
Team roping, the only true team event in ProRodeo, requires close cooperation and timing between two highly skilled ropers – a header and a heeler – and their horses. The event originated on working ranches when cowboys needed to treat or brand large steers and the job was too difficult for one man.
The header's job is to rope the steer around the horns, neck or a horn-neck combination, then turn the steer to the left so that the heeler can ride in and rope both of the steer's hind legs. The clock is started when the ropers leave their boxes, and stops when their ropes are taught and their horses are facing each other.
If the header fails to give the steer its allotted head start, a 10-second penalty is assessed. If the heeler catches only one leg, the team receives a 5-second penalty.
Barrel Racing
This event is pure, elegant, speed. One woman, one smart fast horse, three barrels, and a stopwatch. There are no judges.
The goal is to race around the barrels in a cloverleaf pattern as quickly as possible without knocking one of them over. Each fallen barrel receives a 5-second penalty. When the racer enters the arena, an electronic eye starts the clock. The clock is stopped the instant the horse completes the pattern. In this race where winning is often decided by hundredths of a second, there is no margin for error.
Bull Riding
"A bale of lightnin' bound with barbwire an' blowed up with dynamite!" The Book of Cowboys, Holling C. Holling, 1936.
Bull riding is the most basic event in rodeo to understand. Sort of.
The cowboy tries to ride a bull for eight seconds while holding onto a simple rope looped around the bull's midsection. The rules are simple: don't use your free hand, don't fall off. If you do fall off, keep moving. Balance, flexibility, coordination, quick reflexes and, perhaps above all, a strong mental attitude are the stuff of which good bull riders are made.
Although some of the 100 possible points in the scoring come from the cowboy's spurring and the subjective style of the ride, cowboys are judged almost solely on their ability to stay on board the angry, bucking bull.
This is one of the world's most dangerous sports. From the preparation in the chute, until he's off the bull and safely back up on the corral or arena fence, the cowboy is in imminent danger of being crushed, stomped, or gored. Bullfighters, rodeo's version of the Marines, are the men in the ring with the bull rider who are ready to risk their lives to help him if he gets in trouble during the ride, and to escape after the ride is over. The enraged bull will generally try to kill the rider once he's off his back and on the ground, but the bull can be distracted with fluttering movement, such as a bullfighter in a clown costume, giving the downed cowboy (winner or loser) a fighting chance to survive.
"Motor Racing, Mountain Climbing and Bull Fighting are the
only true sports. All the rest are children's games played by
adults."
– Ernest Hemingway