Bull riding is the one most rodeo newcomers watch first. Eight seconds, two thousand pounds of live animal, one cowboy, one braided rope around the bull's chest pulled tight and held with one hand.
The rules are simple. Stay on for eight seconds. Never touch the bull with the free hand. Cover means a score. Buck off means zero. Hit the dirt before the buzzer and the bullfighters, the men in face paint, move in to pull the bull away.
Bull riding lives in two places. The PRCA runs bull riding as one of eight rodeo events, and bull riders compete for NFR spots alongside bareback, broncs, ropers, wrestlers, and barrel racers. The PBR, Professional Bull Riders, is a dedicated bull-riding tour with its own season, its own points, and its own World Finals every November. Many cowboys ride both.
The stock matters as much as the cowboy, maybe more. A bull like Bodacious (1990s, the one who injured so many riders they named an award after him) or Bushwacker (2010s, 42-for-42 at one point) becomes a celebrity. Today's top bucking bulls, at places like the ABBI Classic and the PBR World Finals, are bred, tracked, and tested like racehorses.