A rider mounts a bull and grips a flat braided rope.  After he secures a good grip on the

rope, the rider nods to signal he is ready.  The bucking chute is opened and the rider

must attempt to stay on the bull for at least eight seconds, while only touching the bull

with his riding hand.  His other hand must remain free for the duration of the ride.

The bull bucks, rears, kicks, spins, and twists in an effort to throw the rider off.  This

continues for a number of seconds until the rider bucks off or dismounts after completing

his ride.  A loud buzzer announces the completion of an eight second ride.

Throughout the ride, bullfighters, also popularly known as rodeo clowns stay near the

bull in order to aid the rider if necessary.    When the ride ends, either intentionally or

not, the bullfighters distract the bull to protect the rider from harm.

Many competitions have a format that involves multiple rounds, sometimes called “Go-

rounds”.  Generally, events span two to three nights.  The rider is given a chance to ride

one bull per night.  The total points scored by the end of the event are recorded, and

after the first or first two go rounds, the top 20 riders are give a chance to ride one

more bull.  This final round is called the “Short go”.  After the end of the short go, the

rider with the most total points wins the event.

The ride is scored from 0-100 points.  Both the rider and the bull are awarded points. 

There are usually two judges, each judge scoring the bull from 0-50 points, and the rider

from 0-50 points.  The combined point totals from both judges make up the final score

for the ride.  Scores of zero are quite common as a lot of riders lose control of the

animal almost immediately after the bull rages out of the bucking chute.  Many

experienced professionals are able to gain scores of 75 or more.  a score above 80 is

considered excellent, and a score in the 90s exceptional.