Some bull riders at the Broken Bow competition started in their teens. Jason Firnekas of Glenrock, Wyo., had an older friend compete in the National High School Rodeo Finals when Firnekas was a teen-ager. It really appealed to me. It's something you can do on your own and have friendships with everyone. Firnekas, who competed in the second round of the event, spent some time beforehand practicing his grip by tying the rope to a fence.
Riders often put rosin, a tree sap, on the rope for traction.
When bulls leave the chute, they take in a lot of air, and their muscles expand. The rosin stops the rope from sliding through your hand. Randy Duda, a bull rider known as Greeley's city manager by day, said that when he enters the chute, he blocks out noise around him so he can focus. Dubbing himself as one of the tallest bull riders, he stands at 6 feet 4. Injuries are a fact of life with the sport, as riders dodge being trounced by a bull once they're bucked off.