02/04/10

Rodeo Events

Rodeo Events

bareback riding - The rider must stay on for eight seconds, and start the ride with both feet over the break of the horse's shoulders to give the horse the advantage. The cowboy must grasp the rigging (a leather and rawhide handhold) with one hand throughout the ride. A rider is disqualified if the free hand touches himself, the horse, or his equipment.

barrel racing - A timed event on horseback requiring the rider to perform a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels. Barrel racing is usually done by women on quarter horses.

bull riding - The rider must stay on for eight seconds. A rider is disqualified if the free hand touches himself, the bull, or his equipment. One of the great dangers of bull riding is that when the rider is thrown, the bull will often spin towards him and attempt to gore or trample him. The rodeo clowns jump in to distract the bull and save the cowboy.

calf roping - The calf is given a head start, and then the contestant must catch up on horseback, rope the calf, get off the horse, lay the calf on its side, and tie three legs together with the "pigging string" he carries in his teeth. The cowboy must then get back on his horse and let the rope go slack. If the calf gets free within six seconds, the rider gets a "no-time."

saddle bronc riding - The rider must stay on for eight seconds, and start the ride with both feet over the horse's shoulders to give the horse the advantage. A rider is disqualified if the free hand touches himself, the horse, or his equipment, if he drops the bronc rein, or if either foot slips out of the stirrup.

steer wrestling - The steer is given a head start, and the steer wrestler (or "bulldogger") rides to catch up. Another cowboy, called a hazer, rides on the other side of the steer to keep it going in a straight line. The contestant jumps off the horse, grabs the running steer by the horns, brings it to a stop, and then lays it on the ground with all four feet pointing in the same direction.

team roping - The steer is given a head start, and two cowboys ride to catch up. The first cowboy, called the "header," ropes the steer's horns or neck and turns it 90 degrees, making an L pattern. The second roper, called the "heeler," then ropes both back legs. The run is completed when the both cowboys have turned their horses to face the steer and taken the slack out of their ropes.

Last revised: February 04, 2010.