Whenever the weather is warm enough, you can bet there are rodeos taking place across the United States, from small rural communities to larger cities. These rodeos combine a wide range of events from bull riding to barrel racing. Another common sight at a rodeo is steer wrestling, also commonly called "bulldogging." Steer wrestling begins with teens as young as high school and progresses well into professional adult competition. However, regardless of the ages competing, excitement is high from the time the rodeo arena chute is open until the steer is brought to the ground.
Participants
People who participate in steer wrestling are typically larger men because of the brute force and weight required to bring a steer to the ground. As such, the event is commonly referred to as the "big man's event." In general, only men participate in steer wrestling, with most professional guidelines limiting women to other events, such as breakaway roping and barrel racing.
The Process
Steer wrestling begins with the competitor on his horse in the box. The steer is kept in a separate chute. As soon as the doors open, the timer starts and the steer is released, allowing a competitor to chase after the animal on his horse. The goal is to get as close to the steer as possible, which allows the competitor to jump off his horse and onto the steer. Once on the steer, the competitor grabs the steer by its head, plants his feet and tosses the steer down to the ground on its side.
Winning
The goal of steer wrestling is to get the steer to the ground as fast as possible once the timer starts. In many cases, the event lasts only seconds. To make the event smoother, rodeos use a "hazer," or another cowboy, who rides to the right of the steer and forces it to run in a straight line. This allows the competitor to focus on staying to the left of the steer and safely jumping off the horse. Winning times typically are between three and four seconds in professional events.
Controversy
Controversy exists about steer wrestling and other animal events in rodeo competition. Animal welfare groups, such as SHARK -- Showing Animals Respect and Kindness -- speak out against the possible injuries -- particularly to the neck -- that a steer can suffer when a competitor grabs the animal and forcibly throws it to the ground.
Member Comments