This past Saturday, I attended my first rodeo show ever (even though I have lived in Texas for nearly 4 years. I know, I know… Blasphemy, right?!) It was put on over at the Fort Worth Stockyards, and featured various different tournaments, mostly consisting of rider’s trying to stay on some type of animal (bull/bareback horse/saddled horse) for longer than 8 seconds. This was coupled with events of riders roping calves and racing around barrels as fast as they could.
Having never been to a rodeo before, I was attempting to make as much sense of the rules as I could, though I was surrounded by people who knew the same amount as I when it comes to proper Rodeo etiquette. Perhaps someone can help me out, because I was at a loss when a majority of the riders were penalized 10 seconds for “breaking the barrier” to rope calves. Is this akin to crossing the line of scrimmage in football? I paid fairly close attention, and I generally saw no rider cross the line before the calf bolted from its gate. If you know the rules and can fill me in, shout out below in the comments!
Despite my complete lack of knowledge, I still had a blast seeing the craziness that ensued. Be sure to check out the video above of a bull bucking its rider and then taking its vengeance out on a nearby mannequin!