The Rodeo: Rides, Rules & Equipment

 The rodeo grounds are located in a picturesque setting on the outskirts of Deadwood. 

The grandstand and the reserved seating section were packed for the three sessions we attended.

The Saturday afternoon session started with a flyover from Ellsworth Air Force Base.

A nice breeze from the east helped keep the temperatures from being too warm, but the breeze also moved the dirt and dust from the arena action into the stands.

Bareback riding is the first event of the rodeo.

I was able to step into the staging area for the cowboys and take photos of the equipment used in this event and in the Saddle Bronc riding. You are looking at the top of the strap used by the riders. Just below the white area there is a metal handle. The rider shimmies up close to the narrow strap, wraps his hand around the metal piece, places his boots between the neck and front legs of the horse (withers) and keeps his legs there until the horse begins to buck once it is out of the chute.

This rider made his 8 second ride and the horse is looking to get out of the arena. You can see how narrow the strap is and how challenging it must be to hold onto the bar when the horse is in bucking mode.

I have circled this rider's hand on the strap. Not only does the rider need to have his feet in the correct position when leaving the chute, he must also spur the horse during the ride, keeping his free hand in the air (disqualification for touching the horse during the 8 seconds), attempt to get into rhythm with the horse, and hold on for dear life.

Steer Wrestling (bulldogging) is the second event. While the bucking horses are moved out of the east end of the arena and the next group of horses moved in to their holding pens, the action moves to the west end of the arena. A yearling steer is released from the chute. The contestant cowboy is astride his horse behind and to the left of the steer. Another rider, the hazer, is on the right of the steer. His job is to keep the animal between the two horses. Once the steer is released (it gets a bit of a head start), the horses and riders spring forth with the steer between them. The contestant leans from his horse, reaches down, grabbing for the steer's horns. Then the cowboy slides off his horse, twists the steer's head, forcing it down and turning it on its back. All four feet of the steer must lift off the ground for a score. A fantastic score is anywhere from 3.5 seconds to 4.0. A good score is anywhere between 4.0 and 4.9. Sometimes it does not go as planned and the steer gets away. Sometimes the cowboy does not have a good grip on the horns. Sometimes, the calf just refuses to flip and lay down. We saw a 4.2 score which was probably the top score during the three sessions we attended. (A line backer is more suited to this event than a quarterback.)

Saddle Bronc is the third event. This is the saddle. Each rider has his own saddle made and designed just for him. It has no saddle horn. So what does he hold onto for the 8 second ride?

The cowboy holds a rope that is attached to the bottom of the halter of the bronc. The saddle has stirrups and again, the feet of the cowboy must be in position along the withers and kept there until the horse has completed its first buck. (This rule also applies to bareback.) The cowboy's free hand must be in the air and not touch the horse and he must spur the horse throughout the 8 second ride. Scores are based on 50/50. Fifty for the horse and 50 for the rider. One would think if the horse twists and turns it would receive more points. That is NOT the case. Usually if the bronc gets into a smooth rhythm of bucking and moving in a straight line, AND the rider stays on, spurring the horse, the score is higher. Outstanding scores are in the 90s. Usually 80s will be a winning score. If the horse, does not buck coming out of the gate, or if the horse stumbles, the rider can have a re-ride on a different animal. The judges determine the re-ride option and the cowboy can decline if he wants. (This also applies to the Bareback and Bull Riding events.) I have seen low scores in the 60s.

Three other events happen before Bull Riding. Tie-Down or Calf Roping, Team Roping and Women's Barrel Racing. I do not have any good pictures of those events.

This is Mitchell. He is a stuffed distraction for the bull during the last event, Bull Riding.

The other distraction is the barrel. The rodeo clown uses the barrel as protection and a distraction after the 8 second ride. I have seen bulls toss the barrel with the clown inside. During this rodeo, the clown leaned Mitchell in front of the barrel. The clown only climbed in the barrel during the Friday performance.

This is the equipment of a bull rider. A helmet. He probably has his own riding strap (bull rope), although all the straps look alike in color and size. He also has a special vest, chaps, glove and probably a mouth guard in his bag. It was interesting to read about the vests and other equipment the bull riders wear (some are mandatory) and how equipment has evolved over the years.

The job of the bull fighters (the two guys reaching out to the bull) is to keep the rider safe once he has dismounted or been tossed AND to distract the bull once the ride is completed. Unfortunately, we only saw two or three riders reach the 8 seconds in the three rodeo sessions. Bulls and riders are scored at a max of 50 points each. Top scores usually range from mid-70s to mid-80s. The highest score ever received in bull riding was 98.75.

This bull refused to leave the arena. In fact, he charged the pick-up men's horses. He was roped and dragged.

It took two horses to pull him to the exit. No animal or person was injured during the exit. I will admit, it is action like this that makes the bull riding a great ending event of the rodeo.

The rider mounts the bull and grips a flat braided rope called a bull rope in one hand and wraps the rope around his gloved hand. The bull rope is tied behind bull's forelegs. His free hand cannot touch the bull. A bull will buck, jump, twist and turn during the ride. 

I have seen riders whose hands have been caught in the bull rope as they are bucked off the bull. Until their hand is released, they flop around like a rag doll as the bull continues to buck. 

Most of the contestants are between the ages of late teens and late twenties. The sport is hard on their bodies and probably their egos. The goal of the contestants is to make it to the world's finals, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo or PBR (professional bull riders) held at the end of the year usually in Las Vegas. The top 15 money winners in each event are awarded the honor. So, the more rodeos they enter, the better chance they have of winning money. The more money they win allows them to move up in the rankings. Most rodeo events award prize money for the top six finishers. The Wrangler NFR is the richest and most prestigious rodeo event. 

I looked at the pay out prizes for the Deadwood rodeo because I was curious as to how much money a winner might make not counting the expenses of an entry fee, travel, etc. 

The all around cowboy who entered and placed in two events (tie-down roping and team roping) won $3817. 

The saddle bronc winner with a score of 89 won $4907 and the two riders who tied for sixth place won $654 each.

Roping events have two rounds, A cowboy might place in the first round, but not the second, or place in both rounds, or in the second and not the first. So they could win money in round one, in round two and in the average. The top pay out steer wrestling was $4035. The tied eighth place winners got $117. The steer wresting winner tied for fourth in the first round and third in the second round. His total winnings for the rodeo were $6784.

Bull riders might make more money because fewer of them make the 8 second ride. The winner with a score of 88.5 won $4653.

The Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo is a ten day affair going on at the same time. The pay out at that rodeo is over $1 million and far exceeds the Deadwood total winnings of $186,000. At the Cheyenne rodeo a cowboy would perform three times at the max. Winnings for each event and each round may be similar to the winnings at Deadwood. But the total number of cowboys winning would be greater.

And finally, the top steer rider in the NFR has won $106,459.40 in 2022. He is from Louisiana. The top bull rider from Milford Utah has won $229,971.74.  What we do not know is how many rodeos they have entered  and money they have spent to reach the the top standing. All in the name of sports.

Personal comment & opinion: What I like and prefer about this professional sport is the player does not get paid if he or she does not show up and do well. Their pay (winnings) are totally dependent on their personal performance each and every time. And there is always the unknown of the animal and its performance. I prefer rodeo as a professional sport.