Bull Riding - History

History

The taming of bulls has ancient roots in contests dating as far back as Minoan culture. Bull riding itself has its direct roots in Mexican contests of equestrian and ranching skills now collectively known as charreada. During the 16th century, a hacienda contest called jaripeo developed. Originally considered a variant of bull fighting, in which riders literally rode a bull to death, the competition evolved into a form where the bull was simply ridden until it stopped bucking. By the mid-19th century, charreada competition was popular on Texas and California cattle ranches where Anglo and Hispanic ranch hands often worked together.

Many early Texas rangers, who had to be expert horsemen and later went on to become ranchers, learned and adapted Hispanic techniques and traditions to ranches in the United States. Many also enjoyed traditional Mexican celebrations, and H. L. Kinney, a rancher, promoter and former Texas Ranger staged what is thought to be the first Anglo-American organized bullfight in the southwest in 1852. This event also included a jaripeo competition and was the subject of newspaper reports from as far away as the New Orleans Daily Delta. However, popular sentiment shifted away from various blood sports and both bull fighting and prize fighting were banned by the Texas legislature in 1891. In the same time period, however, Wild West Shows began to add steer riding to their exhibitions, choosing to use castrated animals because steers were easier to handle and transport than bulls. Additionally, informal rodeos began as competitions between neighboring ranches in the American Old West. The location of the first formal Rodeo is debated. Deer Trail, Colorado claims the first rodeo in 1869 but so does Cheyenne, WY in 1872.

Although steer riding contests existed into the 1920s, the sport did not gain popularity until bulls were returned to the arena and replaced steers as the mount of choice. A pivotal moment for modern bull riding, and rodeo in general, came with the founding of the Rodeo Cowboy Association (RCA) in 1936, which later became the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Through this organization many hundreds of rodeos are held each year. Since that time, the popularity of all aspects of the rodeo has risen. Currently there are two separate organizations that promote and produce shows for bull riding alone: Championship Bull Riding CBR that tours all over the United States and is broadcast on Fox Sports FSN with the CBR world championships taking place at Cheyenne Frontier Days CFD and The Professional Bull Riders (PBR), which stages a large number of events including the annual PBR World Finals held at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. From these roots, bull riding as a competitive sport has spread to a number of other nations worldwide.