Performance Events:

Bull Riding
'07 Stampede Champion: Lucas Dick

Bull riding is the most dangerous event in the sport of rodeo. It didn't come into being because of a ranch chore or because the bulls needed to be broken to ride. It came about as the ultimate challenge between man and animal. It was an extreme sport before the phrase was coined and it has become the most exciting and most popular event in professional rodeo.   Looking back over the old Nampa newspaper files, the second rodeo event to be added to the Nampa Harvest Festival and buck show was bull riding in 1921. If it was a part of the festival before that year, it wasn't reported.

The equipment needed is simple: a flat-braided rope plus balance and a lot of nerve. The rope is pulled around the bull and then across the riding hand and wrapped. In effect, the bull riders are tied on. The powerful animals are quick and agile and often spin as they buck. The cowboy uses his free arm for balance and also holds on with his feet. Cowboys are not required to spur but are given extra points if they do. They are disqualified if they touch the bull with the free hand and the ride is timed for eight seconds.