RodeoGuy
London, ON
Male, 23
I live my life 8-seconds at a time as an adrenaline junkie that goes event to event, matching up against some of the rankest bulls in the world in an 8-second battle for supremacy.
It's bound to happen, but it's usually not that bad. Just remember to keep your hand open no matter what, your feet on the ground, and try to pull your own tail. If you haul on your tail, your hand should come out. You're actually in a safer position when you're on your feet beside your hand.
Best way is to find a weekend clinic, attend and start. Search by your state or province, there's bound to be one on the outskirts, or within a fair distance.
Muscle and reaction time are key... you're a little taller than the average Bull Rider, but your weight is in the right range of those experiencing considerable success.
Find a school/weekend clinic, hop on and see if it's for you!
Bulls don't discriminate. They don't care if you're tall or short, skinny or fat, or if you are wearing a World Championship Buckle... they're still going to try and end your career or at least your championship dreams every chance they can get.
As long as you're in shape, you should be alright. There've been some tall riders... Terry Don West (5' 9"), Tuff Hedemen (5' 11")... But they're few and far between as it's about the centre of gravity...
But as Sankey says, "Opinions vary but the reality is that champions come in all heights. Besides, you can’t change your height so learn to ride with the techniques and skills that allow you to maximize the things you can do well and to stay away from the things that are your weakness."
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Where do you live? The best thing to do is find a rodeo school in your area. These are usually 2-day events and you learn a lot of ground work, and then get on some easier animals, and work your way up.
Often times there will be:
Perfect is based on performance, it is a requirement to ride for 8-seconds from the time the bull's shoulder leaves the chute or front feet hit the ground outside of the chute, depending on the rulebook, to 8-seconds. The rider may not may contact with their freehand with themselves or the bull, and at 8-seconds their hand must remain in the rope without their feet hitting the ground. The perfection is based on the scoring system. Half of the score is attributed to the bull's performance: how high they kick, how hard they spin, drop to the buck, power on the rider's arm, moves like belly-rolls (twisting in the air), direction changes; ultimately the overall degree of difficulty to the ride. The other half is based on the rider's performance: how controlled their body position is, how well they position their feet, reaction to the moves of the bulls, positioning and re-positioning of their feet; ultimately the overall style of the ride. A perfect score is 100. There is only one perfect score on record in Professional Rodeo or Bull Riding.
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