Rodeo Bareback Riding Terminology and Facts

Bareback riding is a rodeo event that is competed in by high school, college, amateur and professional men as well as professional women rodeo competitors. Like all rodeo events, the bareback riding has its own lingo and its own rules. It is easiest to understand the event of bareback riding and its unique terminology by looking at the event in a step-by-step manner.

Prior to competing in the bareback riding, the competitor put rosin and benzene on their riggins. The riggin is the saddle like piece of equipment in which the rider places their hand. The benzene is a leather hardener, with a horrible scent, and rosin is a compound that makes the riggin very sticky. They also apply rosin to their riding glove. The rider then gets in the chute and aboard their horse. They shove their hand into their riggin, which fits very tightly. When they feel that they are ready they nod their head and the gateman opens the gate letting the bareback horse out.

The eight seconds required for a qualified ride starts when the horse breaks the plain of the gate. The competitor must keep their heals above the points of the horse's shoulders until after the first jump. The act of placing their feet is known as marking the horse out. If the rider does not make it through the first jump of the ride with their feet above the horse's shoulders they will receive a no score. They attempt to get in time with the horse and spur at the same pace that the horse is bucking. If the rider touches the horse with their free hand they also receive a no score. The judges administer the rides score by each giving the horse a score from one to twenty-five and the rider from one to twenty-five. The two judges scores are added and to give the rider a possible perfect score of one hundred points.

The horses are not harmed during this event and the flank strap that is placed around them to make them buck better does not touch or constrain their genitals. Male and female horses are used in the bareback riding. The majority of bareback horses are treated exceptionally well and in most cases far better then a lot of horses that are kept as pets. The breeding programs for these horses are very large and elaborate programs, to help insure the greatness of the horses produced and to increasingly improve the sport.