Spectators love the action-packed excitement of a rodeo, but they don’t always understand how the competitions work or what is involved. Here are some basic guidelines of the rodeo events:
Tie down roping
Tie down roping is an authentic ranch skill that originated from working cowboys. Once the calf has been roped, the cowboy dismounts and runs down the length of the rope to the calf.
When the calf is on the ground, the cowboy ties three legs together with a six-foot pigging string. Calves must be given a head start, and if the cowboy’s horse leaves the box too soon and breaks the barrier, a 10-second penalty is added to the roper’s time.
In calf roping, a tenth of a second can often make the difference between winning and losing.
Barrel racing
The event is a horse race with turns. The cowgirl’s time begins as she rides her horse across the starting line of the arena.
She makes her run around three upright barrels, which are in a cloverleaf pattern. She must circle the first barrel the opposite direction of the second. She will circle the second and third barrel in the same direction and then race back to the starting line where the clock stops.
Bumping a barrel is permitted, but if it is knocked to the ground, a five second penalty is added to the time.
Team roping
Team roping is the only rodeo event that features two contestants. The team is made up of a header and a heeler.
The header ropes the horns, then dallies or wraps his rope around his saddle horn and turns the steer to the left for the other cowboy, who ropes the heels.
The heeler must throw a loop with precision timing to catch both of the steer’s hind legs.
Once both roper’s have made a catch and pulled their horses and steer to a stop, and are facing each other, the time clock stops.
Bare back bronc riding
In bare back bronc riding the rider holds onto bareback rigging, which looks like a suitcase handle attached to a leather body. The underside of the rigging is covered with a high-density foam pad covered with leather for the horse’s comfort. It fits the horse’s wither and fastens with a cinch around the horse’s girth.
The cowboy must “mark the animal out” by positioning his heels over the points of the horse’s shoulders on the first jump out of the chute.
Each time the horse bucks, the cowboy brings his knees toward his body, keeping his heels against the horse and his toes turned out, then stretches his legs out again before the horse’s front feet reach the ground again. Higher scores reflect a hard bucking horse, a controlled ride and a well-timed spur stroke. The rider must not touch the animal or his equipment with his free hand or he will be disqualified.
Steer wrestling
This event was originally called “bull dogging” and requires the cowboy to lean from a running horse onto the back of a 600 pound steer, catch it behind the horns, stop the steer’s forward momentum and wrestle it to the ground with all four of its legs and head pointing the same direction.
The hazer, who rides along the steer’s right side to keep the animals running straight, assists the bulldogger.
Saddle bronc riding
This event is known as rodeo’s classic event or original contest. A bronc rider holds onto a thickly braided bronc rein, which is attached to the halter on the horse’s head.
On the first jump out of the chute, the rider must “mark the animal out” by maintaining contact with his heels above the point of the horses shoulders, He must then move his feet from as far forward as he can reach and back to the cantle of the saddle each jump that the horse takes.
High scores reflect hard bucking bronc and a controlled, well-timed spur stroke. Touching the animal or equipment with the free hand results in disqualification.
Bull riding
Bull riders place a flat braided rope around a bull that weighs almost 2,000 pounds. The bull rope is placed around the animal, just behind its shoulders. It is then looped and threaded through itself and the cowboy wraps it around his riding hand with only his grip holding him in place.
While, there is no “mark out” rule in bull riding, the rider relies on balance and athleticism to complete the required eight-second time frame.
Look for bull riders to sit up close to their bull ropes and turn their toes out because rides are judged on the riding style of the competitor and the bucking ability of the bull.
The rider must not make contact with the animal or his equipment with his free hand or he will be disqualified.
