At a rodeo, you can enjoy watching, or participating, in a variety of events. Some of the most commonly seen are included here, as well as how they got to be popular enough for even professional rodeo events.

Steer Wrestling

Steer wrestling is an event that features a cowboy riding in behind a calf, diving off his horse to tackle a calf. The goal is to put the calf on the ground and tie them securely as quickly as possible. The average calf at these events is about 600 pounds. This does mean that accidents may happen. This event stems from a performer at the Wild West Show, Bill Pickett in the 1980s. The show involved a performer having to catch a runaway steer.

Bull Riding

In a bull riding event, players must ride a bull that is bucking for 8-seconds. This can be a real challenge for every cowboy, but not as hard on the rider or the bull as it was in the good ole days. When bull riding first started, it was to ride the bull until he died. Then it became riding until the bull got tired of bucking.

Team Roping

In the wild west people had to work in teams. They worked to herd cattle in groups of 6-8. Sometimes working in pairs to catch unruly cattle. This is where the idea of team roping came to be.

Calf Roping

Along the same lines as team roping, the goal is to rope the calf without leaving the horse while you bring him to a halt. It takes speed and focus to know when to toss the rope and how to get him to stop moving forward.

Barrel Racing

Most of the time it is women who run barrels. This means it did not begin with the wild west days, but it does require the rider to be very good at handling her horse. Some say this event was invented in 1948 for women who wanted to be in the rodeo.

Bronc Riding

The idea of an untrained horse is what spurred the bronc riding event. Back in the western days, cowhands would test their skills to see who could stay on the angry horse the longest while maintaining the best posture.