Bareback riding has been compared to riding a jackhammer with one hand. Jason Jeter can probably attest to that definition. Most cowboys agree that bareback riding is the most physically demanding event in rodeo, taking an immense toll on the cowboy's body. Muscles are stretched to the limit, joints are pulled and pounded mercilessly, and ligaments are strained and frequently rearranged. The strength of bareback broncs is exceptional, and challenging them is often costly.

Bareback riders endure more abuse, suffer more injuries and carry away more long-term damage than all other rodeo cowboys.

To stay aboard the horse, a bareback rider uses a rigging made of leather and constructed to meet PRCA safety specifications. The rigging, which resembles a suitcase handle on a strap,is placed atop the horse's withers and secured with a cinch. As the bronc and rider burst from the chute, the rider must have both spurs touching the horse's shoulders until the horse's feet hit the ground after the initial move from the chute. This is called "marking out." If the cowboy fails to do this, he is disqualified.
As the bronc bucks, the rider pulls his knees up, rolling his spurs up the horse's shoulders. As the horse descends, the cowboy straightens his legs, returning his spurs over the point of the horse's shoulders in anticipation of the next jump.

Making a qualified ride and earning a money-winning score requires more than just strength. A bareback rider is judged on his spurring technique, the degree to which his toes remain turned out while he is spurring and his willingness to take whatever might come during his ride.

It's a tough way to make a living, all right. But, according to bareback riders, it's the cowboy way. At last year’s 2009 Industry Hills Pro Rodeo, George Gillespie rode the Flying U Rodeo bronc Bruce Almighty and was awarded a first place score of 75 points by the judges. He collected a total of $1,408 in prize money. Nick Baumann rode the bronc Peppy Bound and placed 2nd with 73 points. He collected $1,066.Tyrel Jones rode Seminole Sis to a 3rd place finish with 68 points and Moe Heaton placed 4th on Painted Sally.

The bareback riding highpoint record at Industry Hills Rodeo is 91 points, set by Royce Ford in 2003.Wyatt Hancock rode the bronc Peppy Bound and placed 2nd with 73 points. Trent Coates rode Cheers to a 3rd place finish with 66 points. The bareback riding highpoint record at Industry Hills Rodeo is 91 points, set by Royce Ford in 2003.

 
A perfect combination of strength, timing and technique are necessary for success in the lightning-quick event of steer wrestling. The objective of the steer wrestler, who is also known as a "bulldogger," is to use strength and technique to wrestle a steer to the ground as quickly as possible.

That sounds simple enough.

Here's the catch: the steer generally weighs more than twice as much as the cowboy and, at the time the two come together, they're both often traveling at 30 miles per hour. Speed and precision, the two most important ingredients in steer wrestling, make bulldogging one of rodeo's most challenging events.
As with tie-down and team ropers, the bulldogger starts on horseback in a box. A breakaway rope barrier is attached to the steer and stretched across the open end of the box. The steer gets a head start that is determined by the size of the arena. When the steer reaches the advantage point, the barrier is released and the bulldogger takes off in pursuit. If the bulldogger breaks the barrier before the steer reaches his head start, a 10-second penalty is assessed.In addition to strength, two other skills critical to success in steer wrestling are timing and balance.
When the cowboy reaches the steer, he slides down and off the right side of his galloping horse, hooks his right arm around the steer's right horn, grasps the left horn with his left hand and, using strength and leverage, slows the animal and wrestles it to the ground. His work isn't complete until the steer is on its side with all four feet pointing the same direction. That's still not all there is to it.
To catch the sprinting steer, the cowboy uses a "hazer," who is another mounted cowboy who gallops his horse along the right side of the steer and keeps it from veering away from the bulldogger.The efforts of the hazer can be nearly as important as those of the steer wrestler. For that reason, and the fact that he sometimes supplies the bulldogger with a horse, the hazer often receives a fourth of the payoff.

Ethan Thouvenell won the steer wrestling event at Industry Hills last year with an excellent official time of 4.0 seconds. Ethan won $1,708 in prize money. Charles Harris placed 2nd at Industry Hills with a close 4.3 seconds and won $1,414. Charles placed 4th at last year’s rodeo. Stan Branco placed 3rd with 4.4 seconds. Ron Schenk placed 4th with 4.7, Brock Andrus placed 5th with 4.9 and Jack Vanderlans and B.J. Campbell tied for 6th with 5.0 seconds each. One second of time separated these seven contestants!

The fastest recorded time in Steer Wrestling at Industry Hills is 3.8 seconds, set by Cash Myers in 2006.

 
The Team roping partners must perfect their timing, both as a team and with their respective horses.  Team ropers such as Joe Beaver and Travis Tryan spend long hours perfecting their timing with each other and their horses. Similar to tie-down ropers and steer wrestlers, team ropers start from the boxes on each side of the chute from which the steer enters the arena. The steer gets a head start determined by the length of the arena. One end of a breakaway barrier is attached to the steer and stretched across the open end of the header's box. When the steer reaches his advantage point, the barrier is released, and the header takes off in pursuit, with the heeler trailing slightly further behind.The ropers are assessed a 10-second penalty if the header breaks the barrier before the steer completes his head start. Some rodeos use heeler barriers too. The header ropes first and must make one of three legal catches on the steer — around both horns, around one horn and the head or around the neck. Any other catch by the header is considered illegal and the team is disqualified. After the header makes his catch, he turns the steer to the left and exposes the steer's hind legs to the heeler. The heeler then attempts to rope both hind legs. If he catches only one foot, the team is assessed a five-second penalty. After the cowboys catch the steer, the clock is stopped when there is no slack in their ropes and their horses face one another.At last year’s team roping at Industry Hills five teams finished within 1 second of each other. B.J. Campbell and Terry Doka won 1st place with a time of 5.8 seconds. They each took home $1,515 in prize money. B.J. was this year’s Industry Hills Rodeo All Around Cowboy. Cody Mora and Josh Wineman placed 2nd with a time of 6.2 seconds. Cody and Josh placed 4th last year. Jake Barnes and Brock Hanson placed 3rd with 6.5 seconds and Clay White and Dugan Kelly tied with Paul Mullins and Rhett Kennedy for 4th place with 6.8 seconds.

All Around
World all-around champion is considered by many the most talented and versatile cowboy in the sport. The PRCA cowboy who wins the most prize money in a year while competing in at least two events, earning a minimum of $3,000 in each event, wins the world all-around. In 2007 Jake Rodriguez and Gary Ford, finished their head and heel catches in a sizzling 5.0 seconds setting the fastest team roping time record at Industry Hills Rodeo.

Barrel racing has no judges, which means the event has no subjective points of view. Time is the determining factor.
 In barrel racing, the rider must take her horse around the pattern in the fastest time possible. But watch out as a tipped barrel results in a five-second penalty. Barrel racing is graceful and simplistic — one woman, three barrels, a horse and the ever-present stopwatch. The horse is ridden as quickly as possible around a cloverleaf course of three barrels. At the end of the performance, after all of the racers have finished their runs, the clock is the one and only judge.
Ride quickly and win. Hesitate and lose.
Not only have the best of the sport spent countless hours practicing and honing their skill, but they also have invested many dollars in the purchase and maintenance of the talented horses they ride. A proven barrel racing horse can cost $50,000. For the professional barrel racer, this is indeed a small price to pay. Not only must the horse be swift, but it also must be intelligent enough to avioid tipping the barrels, an infraction that adds five penalty seconds to the time and kills any chance for victory.

The horse also must be able to withstand the long roads a cowgirl must travel to reach the next rodeo. If a horse is fast, competitive and reacts calmly to the demands of travel, chances are good that horse can stop the clock as quickly or quicker than the animal in the next trailer.

Because so many barrel racers have finely tuned their skill, the sport is timed to the hundredth of a second. When the racer enters the arena, an electronic eye starts the clock. The clock is stopped the instant the horse completes the pattern.

Barrel racing at its core has changed little from the days when cowgirls raced for minimal, if any, prize money and support. And though the prizes and exposure are greater now than ever, the ultimate goal remains essentially the same as in the past: stop the clock as quickly as possible.

Last year’s Barrel Racing at Industry was terrific. Ten contestants finished within a second of each other. Erin Parsons and her horse won 1st place with a time of 15.71 seconds. This is a new Industry Hills Rodeo record time for barrel racing, surpassing Heidi Phillips time of 15.90 seconds set in 2007. Erin won $1,696 in prize money with her record run. Leandra Spence placed a very close 2nd with 15.95 seconds and won $1,454. Ann Scott placed 3rd with 16.03 seconds. Jennifer Dyer placed 4th with 16.05 seconds, Doreen Drummond placed 5th with 16.10 seconds and Christina Richman placed 6th with 16.13 seconds.

Tie-Down Doping: (pls delete the 2nd and 3rd to last graphs and add these)

The Tie-Down competition was excellent last year at the Industry Hills Rodeo. Joe Parsons and Blake Hirdes tied for 1st place, each with a time of 9.9 seconds. Joe and Blake took home $1,737 in prize money apiece. Blake was last year’s Industry Hills Rodeo All Around Cowboy. Wes Lockard placed 3rd in the Tie-Down with 10.5 seconds, earning $1,245. Brian Arave and Monte Munns tied for 4th with 10.9 seconds. Stran Smith set the Industry Hills Rodeo Tie-Down Roping record of 7.6 seconds in 2006, besting Joe Beaver’s long standing record of 8.7 seconds set here in 1997. Stran was the Tie-Down Roping Champion at the NFR in 2008.

 
Size, agility and power creat a danger that makes bull riding a crowd favorite everywhere. Rodeo competition, in the beginning, was a natural extension of the daily challenges cowboys confronted on the ranch — roping calves and breaking broncs into saddle horses.
Bull riding, which is intentionally climbing on the back of a 2,000-pound bull, emerged from the fearless and possibly fool-hardy nature of the cowboy. The risks are obvious. Serious injury is always a possibility for those fearless enough to sit astride an animal that literally weighs a ton and is usually equipped with dangerous horns.
Regardless, cowboys do it, fans love it and bull riding ranks as one of rodeo's most popular events.
Bull riding is dangerous and predictably exciting, demanding intense physical prowess, supreme mental toughness and courage. Like bareback and saddle bronc riders, the bull rider may use only one hand to stay aboard during the eight-second ride. If he touches the bull or himself with his free hand, he receives no score. But unlike the other roughstock contestants, bull riders are not required to mark out their animals. While spurring a bull can add to the cowboy's score, riders are commonly judged solely on their ability to stay aboard the twisting, bucking mass of muscle.
Balance, flexibility, coordination, quick reflexes and, perhaps above all, a strong mental attitude are the stuff of which good bull riders are made.
To stay aboard the bull, a rider grasps a flat braided rope, which is wrapped around the bull's chest just behind the front legs and over its withers. One end of the bull rope, called the tail, is threaded through a loop on the other end and tightened around the bull. The rider then wraps the tail around his hand, sometimes weaving it through his fingers to further secure his grip.
Then he nods his head, the chute gate swings open, and he and the bull explode into the arena.
Every bull is unique in its bucking habits. A bull may dart to the left, then to the right, then rear back. Some spin or continuously circle in one spot in the arena. Others add jumps or kicks to their spins, while others might jump and kick in a straight line or move side to side while bucking.
Last year at the Industry Hills Rodeo Sean Case won the bull riding event, receiving a 2 go-round aggregate score of 151.0/2 from the judges. Sean placed 2nd in the bull riding at Industry in 2007.
Thomas Bert placed 2nd last year, Jacob Tyner placed 3rd and Bobby Waller placed 4th.
In 1998 Judd Leffew established the Industry Hills Rodeo current highpoint bull ride with an outstanding 90 point score. Judd's father Gary was inducted into the PRCA Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2002.

 
Dan Erickson shows the form and technique that have made him a Wranger NFR qualifying saddle bronc rider. Saddle bronc riding is rodeo's classic event, both a complement and contrast to the wilder spectacles of bareback riding and bull riding. This event requires strength to be sure, but the event also demands style, grace and precise timing. Saddle bronc riding evolved from the task of breaking and training horses to work the cattle ranches of the Old West. Many cowboys claim riding saddle broncs is the toughest rodeo event to master because of the technical skills necessary for success. Every move the bronc rider makes must be synchronized with the movement of the horse. The cowboy's objective is a fluid ride, somewhat in contrast to the wilder and less-controlled rides of bareback riders. In 2009 at the Industry Hills Rodeo Cody Wright rode the bucking horse Cheer Up to a first place finish. The judges awarded him 82 points and he received $1,693 in prize money. Cody had a great season and went on to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December. He finished 6th overall. Cody finished 1st overall at the finals in 2008. Jessie Wright finished 2nd on the bronc Short Fusin with a score of 78 points. He took home $1,283 in prize money. Ad Bugenig and Scott Miller tied for 3rd place at IHR last year with 77 points each. Jake Huserik placed 5th with 75 points. In 2008 at the Industry Hills Rodeo Rusty Allen rode the bucking horse Gold Coast Cal to a first place finish. The judges awarded him 84 points and he received $1,693 in prize money. Rusty went on to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December and placed 14th overall.

 
A cowboy's success in tie-down roping depends in large part on the precise teamwork between him and his horse. As with saddle bronc riding and team roping, the roots of tie-down roping can be traced back to the working ranches of the Old West. When calves were sick or injured, cowboys had to rope and immobilize them quickly for veterinary treatment. Ranch hands prided themselves on the speed with which they could rope and tie calves, and they soon turned their work into informal contests. As the event matured, being a good horseman and a fast sprinter became as important to the competitive tie-down roper as being quick and accurate with a rope. Today, the mounted cowboy starts from a box, a three-sided fenced area adjacent to the chute holding the calf. The fourth side of the box opens into the arena. The calf receives a head start that is determined by the length of the arena. One end of a breakaway rope barrier is looped around the calf's neck and stretched across the open end of the box. When the calf reaches its advantage point, the barrier is released. If the roper breaks the barrier before the calf reaches its head start, the cowboy is assessed a 10-second penalty. The horse is trained to come to a stop as soon as the cowboy throws his loop and catches the calf. The cowboy then dismounts, sprints to the calf and throws it by hand, a maneuver called flanking. If the calf is not standing when the cowboy reaches it, he must allow the calf to get back on its feet before flanking it. After the calf is flanked, the roper ties any three legs together with a pigging string — a short, looped rope he clenches in his teeth during the run. While the contestant is accomplishing all of that, his horse must pull back hard enough to eliminate any slack in the rope, but not so hard as to drag the calf. The Tie-Down competition was excellent last year at the Industry Hills Rodeo. Joe Parsons and Blake Hirdes tied for 1st place, each with a time of 9.9 seconds. Joe and Blake took home $1,737 in prize money apiece. Blake was last year’s Industry Hills Rodeo All Around Cowboy. Wes Lockard placed 3rd in the Tie-Down with 10.5 seconds, earning $1,245. Brian Arave and Monte Munns tied for 4th with 10.9 seconds. Stran Smith set the Industry Hills Rodeo Tie-Down Roping record of 7.6 seconds in 2006, besting Joe Beaver’s long standing record of 8.7 seconds set here in 1997. Stran was the Tie-Down Roping Champion at the NFR in 2008. Stran Smith set the Industry Hills Rodeo Tie-Down Roping record of 7.6 seconds in 2006, besting Joe Beaver's long standing record of 8.7 seconds set here in 1997. Stran was the Tie-Down Roping Champion at the NFR in 2008.