Rodeo Words You Should Know
Rodeo is a sport that grew out of real ranch work, like riding horses, roping cattle, and caring for livestock. Today, rodeos include timed events and rough-stock rides where cowboys and cowgirls show their skills in a dirt arena.
People and Animals
- Cowboy / cowgirl
- A rider who competes in rodeo events such as roping, riding bucking horses or bulls, or racing around barrels.
- All-around cowboy
- A contestant who wins prize money in more than one event during a rodeo and often competes for a special all-around title.
- Pickup men
- Mounted cowboys who ride into the arena to help bronc and bareback riders safely get off their bucking horses and lead the animals back to the gate.
- Stock contractor
- The person or company that brings the rodeo animals, such as bucking horses, bulls, steers, and calves.
- Rough stock
- The bucking animals—horses and bulls—used in riding events like bareback, saddle bronc, and bull riding.
Places and Gear
- Arena
- The big fenced dirt area where rodeo events happen.
- Chute
- A narrow pen that holds a horse, bull, or sheep safely before the gate opens and the animal runs or bucks into the arena.
- Roping box
- The small area beside the chute where the roper and horse wait for the calf or steer to start running before they follow.
- Barrier
- A rope or cord in front of the roper's horse that gives the calf or steer a head start; if the horse leaves too early, the roper "breaks the barrier" and gets a time penalty.
- Bull rope / bronc rein
- A strong rope or rein the rider holds with one hand when riding a bull or bucking horse.
Riding Events
- Bareback riding
- A riding event where a cowboy sits on a bucking horse using only a special rigging (no saddle) and must stay on for 8 seconds to earn a score.
- Saddle bronc riding
- A classic rodeo event where a rider uses a special saddle and bronc rein and tries to stay on a bucking horse for 8 seconds.
- Bull riding
- An event where a rider uses a bull rope and tries to stay on a spinning, bucking bull for 8 seconds with one hand free.
- Mark out
- A rule in bronc and bareback riding: at the first jump out of the chute, the rider's boots must be in front of the horse's shoulders; missing this rule usually means no score.
- Covering a ride
- Staying on a bucking horse or bull for at least 8 seconds; fans might say, "She covered that bull!" when the full time is reached.
Roping and Timed Events
- Tie-down roping (calf roping)
- A timed event where a rider ropes a calf, then dismounts, lays it on its side, and ties three legs together with a short rope.
- Piggin' string
- The small rope used by tie-down ropers to quickly tie the calf's legs together.
- Team roping
- Rodeo's only true team event, where two riders work together to rope a steer—one is the header and the other is the heeler.
- Header
- The first roper in team roping who ropes the steer around the horns, head, or neck.
- Heeler
- The second roper in team roping who ropes the steer's hind legs.
- Steer wrestling
- A timed event where a cowboy jumps from his horse onto a running steer and wrestles it to the ground as fast as possible.
Barrel Racing and Kids' Events
- Barrel racing
- A timed event—often with cowgirls—where horse and rider race in a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels and try to finish with the fastest time without knocking barrels over.
- Cloverleaf
- The shape of the pattern in barrel racing, where riders turn around three barrels in a path that looks like a three-leaf clover.
- Mutton busting
- A kids' event where young riders, usually in the 4–8 age range and under a set weight limit, ride a running sheep and try to hang on for a few seconds, like a mini bull ride.
Scoring and Prizes
- Judge
- An official who watches each ride or run to make sure rules are followed and gives scores in rough-stock events.
- Score
- In rough-stock events, the points given for the animal's bucking and the rider's skill, with a possible combined top score of up to 100 points; in timed events, the word "score" can also describe the length of the animal's head start.
- Penalty
- Extra seconds added to a roper or racer's time for breaking a rule, such as breaking the barrier early or knocking over a barrel.
- Purse
- The total prize money paid to winners in each event, made up of entry fees and added money from sponsors.