Eclectic mix to grace Rodeo stage

Livestock show, carnival offer many enjoyable experiences

By Matthew Fowler
Daily Cougar Staff

The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has been voted by the contestants as the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association Indoor Rodeo of the Year for eight of the last nine years, and you can be sure that the 2000 version will again be one of the best around.

For the next two-and-a-half weeks, the Astrodome will be the center of the rodeo world, with 19 individual performances plus the finals on March 5 -- all of which feature six PRCA events and one WPRA event.

The events are split into two categories: rough stock events and timed events.

The rough stock events include bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding.

In the rough stock events, animals are matched to riders through a drawing system before the competition begins.

During the event, two professional judges individually base half of their score, up to 25 points, on the contestant's performance. The other half of their score, also up to 25 points, is based on the animal's bucking action and performance.

The judges' scores are then added together to determine contestants' total scores. A perfect score is 100 points.

Saddle bronc riding

Stemming from the ranch-hand work of breaking and training horses, saddle bronc riding is known as rodeo's "classic" event.

Though the tough technical requirements needed to achieve a good ride make this one the most difficult events rodeo has to offer, they also serve to make it one of the most beautiful.

The cowboy holds on to a thick rein attached to the horse's halter and sits in a specially made saddle. His goal is to synchronize his spurring action with the horses' movement throughout the eight-second ride.

The gate opens, and the cowboy must mark-out the horse on the first jump out of the chute or receive a "no score" for the ride.

From there, the cowboy first attempts to place his feet over the horses' shoulders a split second before the animal's front feet hit the ground.

Next, he must bend his knees and finish the spurring stroke with his spurs near the back of the saddle.

Judging is the same as in the bareback riding event: Half the score is based on the maintained action and technique of the cowboy and the other half is based on the quality of ride the horse gives.

Bull riding

Around the country, and quite possibly throughout the world, the most popular part of today's sport of rodeo is the bull riding event.

The cocky son of a gun known as the bull rider straps his riding hand to the bull using a flat-braided loose rope pulled tight (but not tied) around the bull. The other hand is then designated as his free hand.

For the next eight seconds, it then becomes an all-out struggle of will and strength: The bull attempts to throw the unwanted rider off his back, while the cowboy frantically tries to conquer the chaotic storm raging beneath him.

The timed events include calf roping, team roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing.

In timed events, contestants mostly ride quarter horses and, if necessary, a start barrier is allowed for the steer or calf to gain a slight head start.

Ultimately, the toughest competition comes from the race against the clock, with the fastest time winning.

Calf roping

Unlike bull riding, calf roping has its roots deeply embedded in the practical traditions of the Old West.

Ranch hands of both yesterday and today can pride themselves on how fast they can rope and tie calves.

The real success in this event, however, depends greatly on the teamwork of the cowboy and his horse.

Once the calf is released, the teamwork begins. After the barrier is clear, the horses' job is to catch up with the calf, putting the cowboy in a position to then rope it. When the calf is roped, the horse must stop and maintain tension on the rope as the cowboy dismounts, scrambles to the calf, throws it to the ground and then ties any three of the calf's legs.

Once the tie is completed, the cowboy throws his hands in the air as a signal to the flag judge to stop the clock. The cowboy then re-mounts his horse and rides towards the calf, releasing the tension in the rope. The calf must remain tied for six seconds after the rope is slack or the cowboy receives a "no score."

Additionally, if the team of horse and cowboy break the barrier at the beginning of the run, a 10-second penalty is added to their final time.

Team roping

Similar to calf roping, the team roping event is expanded to include the split-second cooperation between not only the cowboy and his horse, but another cowboy and his horse as well.

The steer, like the calf, is given a brief head start, while the first roper, the header, waits behind the barrier. The same penalty, 10 seconds, is imposed on the team's final time if the barrier is broken.

As the chase begins, the header must make one of three legal catches on the steer around both horns, around one horn or around the neck.

After the header makes his catch, he turns the steer so that the hind legs can be roped by the header's partner, the heeler. In one of the most difficult skills in rodeo, the heeler must then rope both of the steer's hind legs. If only one foot is caught, the team is assessed a five-second penalty.

The clock is stopped when the steer is caught, there is no slack left in the ropes and the cowboys horses' are facing one another.

Steer wrestling

As the quickest event in rodeo, often taking between three to five seconds for an entire run, steer wrestling is just what is sounds like: wrestling a steer, running at top speed to the ground using only leverage and strength.

Again, the barrier -- and, if broken, the 10-second penalty -- is used to allow the steer a little head start while the steer wrestler, "bulldogger" and "hazer" are each on horseback. The hazer is a second cowboy whose only job is to keep the steer from veering away from the 'dogger.

When the steer is released, the bulldogger and hazer give chase, one on each side, until the bulldogger is in position to dismount onto the racing steer.

Now comes the really amazing part: The steer wrestler then slides off his horse, hooks his arm around the steer's horn and, digging his heels into the ground, attempts to stop the steer and wrestle it down.

The contestant's final time is declared when the steer is on its side with all four legs pointing in the same direction.

Barrel racing

Adding a welcome contrast to the male-dominated and rugged action found in most rodeo events, barrel racing has advanced from a friendly competition between friends into a multimillion-dollar sport.

As with the other timed events, the cooperation and teamwork between the rider and horse is vitally important to a successful run.

Three barrels, forming a triangle in the middle of the arena, are run in a cloverleaf pattern, therefore requiring quick times and high speeds.

Times are usually so close that hundredths of a second can often determine the difference between first and third place.

Knocking over a barrel adds a five-second penalty per barrel to the total run time.