Cowboys might be the human stars of rodeos but they play an equal part to the bulls that help them buck their way to championships. The best of the best can net their owners millions and breeders over the past two decades have adopted increasingly sophisticated methods and technologies to produce champion blood lines.
Contrary to popular belief, bucking is not an inherent behavior in cattle. In fact, the “American Bucking Bull” is recognized as a distinct breed based on its predisposition to bucking. This is thought to be an evolutionary response to a predator jumping on the bull’s back. And just like great racehorses are more likely to produce winning offspring, so are bucking bulls.
“You have to study the genetics and look at the percentages of how many of a bull’s offspring became a bucking bull and how many times a cow produced a bucking bull,” Kaycee Simpson, the former executive of the American Bucking Bull, Inc. (ABBI), told American Cattleman magazine.
ABBI, which maintains a DNA registry of more than 200,000 bulls, says a young animal with DNA-verified parentage can be worth as much as $100,000 if he has superstar bloodlines. A proven bucking bull can be worth as much as $500,000.
Just four seconds of bucking can lead to millions for a champion bulls’ owner, not to mention what their semen can sell for. ABBI says you can get started in the industry by buying a quality DNA-verified cow and bull for “several thousand” apiece. However, as Jay Daugherty, a rodeo veteran and current president of the ABBI points out, lineage alone isn’t enough to produce a champion.
There is no way to train a bull to buck a certain way – each animal establishes its own bucking habits. The best bulls naturally buck the hardest, jump the highest, and change directions with body rolls. It is a common practice to buck a bull for the first time shortly after weaning to assess whether the animal is a keeper. Some trainers use “bucking dummies” to condition and improve athleticism of young bulls, while others just pamper them like crazy until the real training begins.
When a bull is big enough, usually late two to early three year olds, they will get tested with human bull riders. The ones that do well will then get taken around to local competition and bull ridings, helping them get acclimated to all the commotion of a real rodeo. If a bull is good enough, breeders will often try to sell them to a pro rodeo stock contractor. Many stock contractors are also breeders.
Bulls can earn up to $500,000 between the ages of 2 and 4, competing at ABBI events —before they even hit their prime and start competing in Professional Bull Riders (PBR) sanctioned events. Most of the bulls are at least three years old before they get a chance with the pro riders.
One of the most celebrated bulls in modern history was “Bushwacker,” a three-time PBR World Champion that’s been called the “Michael Jordan of Bulls.”Bushwacker’s notoriety was cemented during a PBR-record streak of four straight years of buck-offs – 42 in total – and a record of 64 buck-offs in 66 outs during his career at the PBR. Only three cowboys ever rode Bushwacker for the full 8-seconds. Bushwacker was retired in 2014 after earning $600,000. In retirement, his semen reportedly fetched $5,000 per straw. Bushwacker sadly passed away earlier this summer on July 2. A cool video remembering his career is HERE.
Professional bull riding and the rodeo industry in general is enjoying a huge swell of popularity right now. PBR’s fan base has soared by nearly +24% since 2019, according to the market research firm YouGov. Pro Bullriding drew 1.25 million fans to its live events in 2023, and aggregate TV viewership surpassed 40 million viewers. Beyond television, PBR continues to be popular as a live spectator sport. The circuit set at least 39 attendance records last season and enjoyed numerous sellouts. (Sources: Fortworth Magazine, The Fence Post, PBR, Ad Age)
