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As any bull rider will tell you to score points in bull riding, you must stay on that bull for eight seconds, and the rest is luck and up to the bull. There is a lot of talk about which bull a person draws. Bulls are assigned to riders by lottery, or drawing numbers. Veteran bull riders know that some bulls are more difficult than others, and the difficult ones will give a better score - if the rider can ride out the storm. Bull riders also have their favorites, the bulls that give a challenge yet are not too difficult to stay on.

The professional bull rider hopes for a bull that he knows and perhaps has ridden before. This way he knows the moves and has a better chance of staying on. The right combination of the bull he can handle, with a strong will, and a little luck is what most bull riders hope for on any given night.

Bulls are surprisingly athletic. They may look large, lumbering and lazy, but they are atheletes in the sense that they can really move in ways that mystify the audience and the rider. The rider can not always anticipate the moves the bull will make to get rid of the rider. Some of them can move surprisingly fast, and the sudden stops, spins, and turns often spill off the rider, disappointed. There is always a variety of bulls the rider can "draw" and some are simply not good at bucking flamboyantly. Bull riders don't want to get these animals.

From what I gather from hearing bull riders talk and from watching them, there is little strategy other than to stay healthy, flexible and lucky. The rider must keep himself healthy and positive, so that when the eight second whistle goes off, he is still on the animal and not in the dirt. Some nights are better than others, and many bull riders know that it is a matter of luck, of perseverance, and simply tenacity. The more they ride, the more their odds are to stay on and get points. They know it is better sometimes to lay low and simply hang on instead of worrying about what will happen.

I would never, never get on a bull. To me, bull riders are nuts. They must be addicted to the danger of it, but I must say it is better then them using drugs for a thrill. There are some women who ride bulls but not very many. Our bones simply are not made to take the thrashing around, no matter what feminists may say. Bull riders often understand what many people never accept: there is much to our lives and the "scores" we get that is not under our control. We just hang on and hope for the best.

Learn more about this author, Brenda G. Koscelny.
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