Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Workout
• Part 2 of 3: Staying on the bull
• Part 3 of 3: How to Earn Points
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

The most dangerous 8 seconds in sports. If you want to test your courage and bravery against a snorting, kicking angry bull, you need to practice well. This means gaining experience in riding a bull, knowing its habits and, most importantly, knowing how to keep up and not fall. With its ancient roots in Greek culture, it can be said that men were forced to ride bulls while farms and horseback riding existed. It is an experience and an exciting sensation incomparable with anything else. So, step one.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Workout

1. 1 Find yourself an experienced bull rider to learn the secrets of the craft. Although a single ride only takes 8 seconds, it takes years of practice under the guidance of an experienced rider who will teach you all the techniques. In addition to finding a way to approach bulls and their owners, riding requires developing riding skills and ways to get close to the animal, which will take days. Find yourself a mentor who would love to teach you, just like in any other sport or skill.
   • Riding magazines are widely available in rural outlets and grocery stores and provide information on various open competitions, training options and clinics with experienced professional riders to help you learn the basics of horse riding.
   • Bull riding has historical roots in equestrian competitions between Mexican farmers called "bullfights" and evaluated a variety of general skills. These days the sport has become more professional and many of the highest government officials in the United States are Professional Bull Riders (PBRs) and CBR (Championship Bull Riding) champions.
   • Born to Buck programs are widespread and available to young people interested in learning to ride a bull. Livestock breeders hold open events to familiarize interested persons with these dangerous and temperamental animals. At the very least, if you take it very seriously, you may well learn to ride a bull.
2. 2 You should feel comfortable riding bareback. Learning how to sit on an animal with a relatively flat back will help you a lot in achieving your goal of saddling a bull. Learn how to shift your weight and squeeze your legs while sitting on an animal that is not currently angry or trying to throw you off. Acquiring basic riding skills is a basic first step in bull riding.
3. 3 Use special equipment. Although it requires very little special clothing, you will be different (and will not be eligible to participate in most competitions) if you do not wear special cowboy outfits.It includes jeans, a button-down shirt, heeled cowboy boots, invariably topped by the iconic cowboy hat.
   • Riders always use protective leather gloves and a braided rope that is wrapped around the bull to support it. Choose gloves that are thin enough to grip tightly, provide flexible control, but thick enough to provide protection. The rope is usually treated with resin, which protects the hands along with the handle when heated.
4. 4 Buy more protective equipment. By themselves, protective helmets and other equipment are not required in most arenas, but they are gaining popularity in training and practice. Some riders wear helmets similar to bicycle and motorcycle helmets, as well as protective vests to protect the internal organs.
5. 5 Strengthen your lower and upper body. Riding well requires balance and coordination, along with brute strength, to keep up with a kicking bull that weighs about half a ton over you. The workout will include a large number of core exercises for the upper and center of the body, as well as for the legs, such as squats.
   • Doing the biceps curl exercise will help develop the proper range of motion in your working arm.
   • Repetition of squats will help to strengthen the legs, which is necessary when grabbing the bull to keep it on it in order to save life.

Part 2 of 3: Staying on the bull

1. 1 Get comfortable with the bull. Usually everyone forgets about this step, get to know and find an approach to the bull on which you are going to sit. Spend a few minutes with the bull just watching his behavior in the paddock, feel the significance of his aggression and intentions. Watch the bull with other riders on it. Most bulls kick in two ways: they twist their head down and straight forward.
   • If your bull tilts its head and turns as it exits the gate, shift your weight slightly and get ready to ride, as on the famous Tilt-a-whirl ride.
   • If your bull is aiming with its head in a straight line, accordingly, you can prepare for the exploding action of the "north-south" type.
   • It is a common misconception that bull testicles cause them to buckle. Their groin is carefully tied to force the kick of his hind leg higher, but the testicles are not affected or injured. Basically, they kick in this way from birth.
2. 2 Hold the handle correctly. When you mount the bull, have an experienced rider show you how to grab the handle and wrap the rope around your arm. Riders generally grip the handle from below with their working hand, although other gripping techniques are gaining popularity. Have a helper pull the rope tight and wrap it once around your arm as close to you as possible.
   • In order not to "bother", just place your working hand under the rope with the back side down. Your little finger should be close to the bull's spine.
3. 3 Sit up straight. Easier, make it look like you are sitting right on your arm. Make sure you sit this way throughout the ride and lift yourself up on a soft seat. All your weight will be on your hips. Lean forward so your chest is on the bull's shoulders.
   • As you climb the animal, linger on each side of the stirrup, slow your leg down on your back, and slide down your side. Do not hit the bull with your spurs until you are ready to ride.
4. 4 Be calm and focus on your hands. Some riders believe that the hardest part of riding is when you are already in the stirrup and waiting. At some point, when you are sitting on a gigantic large bull, which is snorting and angry, and an uncomfortable belt is tied to its side, it may seem to you that this is all a bad idea. Sit back and think about what kind of movement you need to take to balance, not about the animal. It will be over soon!
5. 5 Hold on.When the bull's front leg lifts off the ground, bend forward and squeeze your legs while holding the handle of your rope firmly with your working hand, which acts as the center of gravity on the animal. Keep your hips centered and square. When the bull begins to descend after the jump, push your hips to the rope and lift it with your working hand.
   • Try to stay as close to the center of the bull's back as possible. Wrong balance and move only a few centimeters - and in a matter of seconds you will find yourself face in the mud. Focus on the basic balance created by the handle and your hips.
6. 6 Control your free hand. Many beginners move their free hand too much, as if they are doing some kind of cowboy dance. While it is true that you can use your hand for extra balance, this is probably the least important aspect of riding.
   • Observe the professionals well. You will notice, for the most part, their free hand is relatively motionless. This is because their control and balancing lie in the hips and grip. So focus on these things and keep your free hand aside.
   • If at some point you inadvertently hit the bull with your free hand, you will not be credited with points. It is still important to control your hand, allowing it to act as a counterweight and "steer" itself on the animal.
7. 7 Get out of the way. You don't have to stay on the bull for more than a few seconds, so learning to get off the bull safely and land without damaging your body is a critical moment in the riding process.
   • To get off, wait for the bull to kick and look at the working hand (which you are holding), then swing the opposite leg over the bull's head.
   • Try to land on your feet and hands, then run to the nearest gate. Stop to see where the bull is, and go get the rope behind you.

Part 3 of 3: How to Earn Points

1. 1 You need to know how to earn points. Points are awarded if you stay on the bull for at least 8 seconds. Time ends when either your free hand touches the bull, or your feet touch the ground, and begins when the bull's shoulders have passed the gate. Both the bull and the rider receive points for their performance, which add up to give an overall score.
   • The bull is rated primarily for its difficulty. The judges watch how low it sinks, how high it kicks, changes in direction of movement and the speed of its rotation and award points to the bull.
   • The rider is judged by his ability to control the bull, predict its changes in direction of movement, and how gracefully he maneuvers and restrains the bull.
   • The rider and the bull are awarded points from 1 to 25, which are either added together to obtain a total of 100 points, or divided by two and receive points out of a possible 50.
2. 2 Remember that the bull is primarily an obstinate kicking animal. Therefore, in some way, an experienced and skillful rider should appear on the bull as a calm surfer, rather than a fighter who can hardly cope with the controls. That is, riding a bull is not a struggle and an argument, but more the ability to feel its movements and the way of kicking.
   • In general, think less and feel more to learn how to handle the bull effectively. The only way is to train and practice wildly. Moreover, it benefits your health.
3. 3 "Let go of your legs, you will fall out of the saddle." This is called the mantra of the riders. It helps you remember that most of the control and balance is achieved with your lower body by wrapping your hips and legs around most of the bull, spurring if necessary to control aggression. By not doing this, you run the risk of gorging yourself on dirt. Record it in memory, both in the brain and in the muscles.
4. 4 Hold on top for as long as possible. Very simply, the longer you hold out, the higher the score.8 seconds is much longer than it sounds, so knowing how to put all your focus and strength into this extremely short period is the biggest and most difficult challenge for a rider.
   • Exercise a lot to gradually increase the time you can stay on the bull and feel free to negotiate with different bulls. Experienced riders recommend first training on bulls that kick in a north-south pattern, and then move on to those that prefer to shake and roll their heads, because they are considered more difficult and unpredictable in riding. Once, having tamed the first type bull, give the second type a chance.

Tips

• Your free hand should not only serve for beauty, use it to balance. Do not let it hang on one side or the other, otherwise you will have to bend your hips and the bull will throw you off each time.
• Once you enter the arena, your task is to keep your ass on his back and keep your shoulders at the level of the bull's. Your spurs are a tool, use them to stay seated on your back.
• If you find yourself on the ground, immediately get up and run behind the fence, as the bull will most likely follow you!
• Make sure the end of the rope is tarred so it will be sticky and better grip.

Warnings

• There is a risk of injury when jumping off the bull or when it throws you off of itself. He will run after you and, at the same time, it is very important - you must get up and quickly run away from there!

What do you need

• Rope
• Well-fitting riding vest
• Leather gaiters (optional, but they provide good protection against scratches and bruises)
• Good riding gloves
• Special spurs with wheels
• Helmet for riding with a mask (for safety)
• Lump and powder rosin
• Leather belts