American Bull Riding

Even though I spent a good amount of my childhood in Texas, I've never been interested in the sports that are practiced in the American Rodeo.

I've known these insane people who liked that sort of thing were. And I've known people who actually did it. But I have had enough trouble staying on a horse, let alone try to stay on an animal that wants nothing more than to throw me off - then chase me down. But lately, Ive been watching bull riding.

Bull riding is a very specialized sport, both for the cowboy and for the bull. The only equipment worn by the bull is called a flank rope. Now, this rope is just what it sounds. A rope is tied around the bull just in front of his back legs, not interfering with his privates, and not tied so tightly that it would cause him pain. The rope is just to tell the bull that its time to do his job. These bulls have been breed specifically to throw cowboys into orbit, and they know that when the flank rope is on, its time to go to work.

And these bulls are not the nice fat breeders that are used to service a dairy herd. These animals are hundreds of pounds of muscle and attitude. Some have horns, but not all. Some turn to the right, some to the left, and some like to change it up. What you are going to know is that this bull is going to have his hind quarters in the air and is going to do everything he can to get that man off his back.

Now, heres the cowboys job. The cowboy has a rope, called a bull rope. It goes around the girth of the bull, and wearing a special glove, he slips his hand under the rope, and then turns the rope back to give him a firm grasp on what is a pretty stable rope. He makes sure he has the most secure hold on this rope as possible, because his grip is the only thing that is going to keep him on the bull. If he loses his grip, the rope loosens, and he falls off. Sound crazy? Read on.

He also is wearing a flack jacket. Most of these guys have gone from wearing a shirt and maybe a vest, to wearing a flack jacket. They all wear some kind of head gear. Some wear a cowboy hat, some wear a helmet, and some wear both. A lot of them use a mouth piece to protect their mouth and teeth from harm.

Okay, so we have a bull who wears a rope, and a cowboy who wears a flack jacket, possibly a helmet, and a variety of other protective gear.

So what does the cowboy have to do? He has to stay on the bull for eight seconds. Yeah, you heard right. Eight seconds. About ten percent of the cowboys are actually able to stay on their bull that long. Then, the real fun starts. Its called - how can a cowboy who has just been thrown by a one ton bull get out of the way of said bull without getting stepped on or otherwise abused. Well now, thats the trick, isnt it. There are two men in the arena to distract the bull so the cowboy can get away, but they arent always successful.

These two guys used to be called "rodeo clowns" but I guess there just wasn't much funny about getting gored by an irritated bull. A good number of men end up getting kicked or stepped on. And once in awhile theres a bull who thinks the rest of his job is to watch the silly humans run while he chases them. Injuries are very common. Broken bones, head injuries, dislocations - you name it, they get it.

In eight seconds, these mens earnings are decided. Get thrown too many times during a competition, you dont take home any prize money. Then they get scored on how well the bull performed, and how well the cowboy stayed on. So even if the cowboy manages to stay on the required number of rides, he still may not take home any prize money. Its a struggle between man and beast, having a bull that gives enough for a good score that the cowboy can still manage to stay on.

A good bull with a good reputation can sell for over $50,000. And when the bulls are too old for the arena, they go to live on their respective farm, working on breeding the next generation of bulls. While the cowboy dusts off his jeans and limps away.

Now, I know you are all thinking - I'm very liberal and a vegetarian. Why would I ever watch bull riding? Thats easy. Im cheering for the bulls.

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