ABOVE: Canadian bull fighter, Jesse, wore a camera for 16×9 during the competition to give us an up close and personal view of the action.
The Professional Bull Riders’ World Finals is to bull riders what the Stanley Cup is to professional hockey players. Every rider in the competition has spent years training and has ridden hundreds of bulls.
Canadian star Ty Pozzobon started riding cows instead of bulls on his family farm in Merritt, British Columbia.
“I grew up on about 160 acres and my dad, he raised cattle,” he says, “I always had lot to be getting on as a young kid.”
Remarkably at the age of 22, Ty has been on the professional circuit for four years and already won the Professional Bull Riders’ Canadian championship.
READ MORE: Jerome Davis: The legend behind bull riding
Now he has set his sights on the 20th World Finals in Las Vegas.
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Just before the competition was set to begin, Ty explained to us the process of how to ride a bull.
“You’ll put your foot on their back just to let them know you’re coming because they get a little bit jumpy,” he explains, “and I’ll have a friend spotting me.”
The “spotter” is responsible for holding the rider in place – on the back of the bull. At times, the animal will buck or kick really hard, forcing the rider into the air or slamming them into the gate around them.
“Like the bull I have tonight, he’s a younger bull so he’s a little bit hotter. He hasn’t seen as many people, so he bucks, so you want somebody to have their arm right here to catch you,” Ty says, “then you’ll have another guy on the outside pulling your rope, tie your hand in and nod your head and they’ll open the gate.”
Ty is talking about the riding rope he holds to stay on top of the bull. Before the competition, Ty and other riders rub their ropes with a sticky concoction of soap and rosin. This helps them hold on when the bulls bucks hard.
“In the chute, I’ll be warming my rope up and I’ll warm up my handle. And that’s that. Locked in,” Ty says.
Now it all comes down to the knowledge of the bull and strategy. Ty explains that each bull has their own rhythm and a particular pattern for how they kick. So, as a rider, he has to be able to read the bull’s moves and try to counteract them.
“When the bull rears you’re gonna go to the front, and then when he kicks you set your hips,” He explains, “there’s a timing to it.”
“My bull is called On-stage, he’s a younger bull, I think he’s three years old…I’m gonna have to make sure I’ve got a good spot because he kicks a bit.”
Once the rider is mounted and the bull settled, the gate is opened and off they go. In order to score, the riders must stay on the bull for eight seconds. It doesn’t seem that long, but in the bull riding world, eight seconds can feel like an eternity.
See how Ty Pozzobon did at the bull riding World Championships this Saturday on 16×9.
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