Want To Ride A Bull Like A Real Wyoming Cowboy? There's A School For That

Country boys and girls know not to mess with a mean old bull.

But there are times when they're going to test their mettle and ride that bull anyway. While some might just hop on a bull that first time hoping for the best, that’s a surefire dive into the dirt.

And that might come with an extra kick or two from a riled up, angry bull.

That’s why it’s smart to find an actual, honest-to-goodness bull-riding school to learn from someone who has ridden the toughest, meanest bulls around.

Let a true Wyoming cowboy show you the rural route rules that you need to know before hopping on the back of a real bucker.

There was just such a school recently in Worland, with Professional Bull Riders Champion Mike Lee of Texas.

It was kind of an impromptu, one-off thing, put together by Jessica Butterfield, who told Cowboy State Daily she has lots of young cowboys and girls calling up her ranch looking for practice rides on the bulls at Brahma Mama’s Bucking Bulls Ranch.

Butterfield supplies bulls to a number of smaller rodeos across Wyoming every summer, and she’s even tried hopping on a bull a time or two herself.

“It didn’t go so hot,” she admitted. “But I’m still a huge fan of the PBR, and I love to watch it.”

One thing Butterfield learned during her recent bull-riding school is that she wasn’t doing anything right when it comes to riding a bull.

And that was the point of having the school, which she hopes to do again sometime if it can be worked out.

While she’s got no ambition these days to ride a bucker, she would have loved something like this when she was 17 or so, trying to ride one of the Brahmas she brought to the Cowboy State.

“I loved Brahmas and was sad there weren’t any here,” she said.

The Most Dangerous 8 Seconds

Bull Riding has been called the most dangerous 8 seconds in any sport.

A rider climbs on top of an unhappy bull that weighs almost as much as a car, then hangs on for dear life with just one hand gripping a rope that’s tied behind the bull’s forelegs.

That other hand?

It’s clutching at a fistful of sky. Despite all instincts to the contrary, it cannot be used to hold onto the rope. Heck, it can’t so much as touch the bull or the rider is disqualified.

This while a 1,500 pound-plus animal slings its body weight around like an erratic acrobat — twisting, turning, leaping, plunging — every ounce determined to dump its rider in the dirt.

Bucking bulls are typically Brahmas, selected for the worst temperament, and the worst tenacity possible.

Bucking bulls typically get colorful, outlaw names too, and that’s true of Butterfield’s bulls.

There’s Beer Money, for example, who is hard enough to ride that cowboys know they’ll at least get “beer money” if they can just stay on.

Then there are bulls like Too Sober, whose name is related to pedigree. His DNA traces back to a famous bucker, Stone Sober, known for being pretty mean even in the chutes, much less out in the arena.

“They all get names eventually,” Butterfield told Cowboy State Daily. “Like my bull Wine and Dine. He’s always crying of food or eating, so I figured that’s the perfect name for him.”

Rural Route Rules For Bulls

Bull riding schools use an organized, safe process to teach would-be bull riders what to do and how to behave on a bull before actually getting on one.

“They started on like a mechanical barrel,” photographer David Huber told Cowboy State Daily. “They had to practice on that first, and Lee gave them tips and tricks on how to hang on, how to lock your legs, and everything else.”

After that, they try the techniques on broncs, which is closer to what a bull does.

Only after demonstrating good skills were they allowed to try bulls, and then only bulls that matched their level of expertise.

In fact, Lee wouldn’t let any of the 16 or so students progress beyond the mechanical barrel until he was satisfied they’d mastered all of the techniques, said Domanic Hartley, one of the students.

“He was tough on us,” Hartley said. “If a kid made a mistake and wasn’t doing it right, he would keep them on that barrel. He kept making me try until I got it figured out.”

But that was just what Hartley was looking for, because he knows when he gets into the ring to ride a bull, that bull won't give him any quarter.

It’s going to dump him off if he makes any mistakes, and the cost of that can be quite high.

That creates a mentality the cowboy has to fight to ride a bull well, and that mentality is also covered at the school.

“You’re going to be a little scared, a little nervous,” Hartley said. “You just have to kind of put that in the back of your head and say OK, no matter who I think I am, I am not tougher than this bull. But I’m gonna sit here and think I’m tougher than this bull. And I’m gonna get down there and show him who is boss.”

Those 8 seconds may go by quick for spectators in the stands, but Hartley said they can feel like an eternity to the cowboy riding the bull. The mental game has to remain strong the entire time.

Fixing Mistakes

Hartley also learned what he had been doing wrong during some of his rodeo rides that didn’t go well.

He was holding his free hand too far in front.

“Your arm will determine your chest and the way your shoulders go,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “And wherever your shoulders go, that’s where you’re going to end up going. So, if you can keep those shoulders square on that bull, you have a better chance of riding him, instead of throwing your arm across your face and turning your shoulders.”

Once Lee was satisfied with Hartley’s form, the 23-year-old got to try out a bull named Christmas Nuts for a solid ride. Then he got to try a much harder bull named Hondo.

“He gave me a pretty good jerking down and smashed me in the head,” Hartley said. “He put me on the ground pretty quick, so my form still needs some improvement. But you know, every bull you get on, you’re getting better and better. You just continue to try and work at it.”

Hartley plans to keep practicing everything he learned during the school, as he gears up for another summer season of bull busting.

“I feel like he taught me everything he could possibly teach me,” Hartley said. “And now it’s up to me to put it into practice. He really helped me out and showed me some things that are just going to help my riding and help me make it to that next level.”

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.