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Bull riding is more dangerous than football. Here’s why two teenagers love it

Cowboys at a rodeo in Pahrump, Nev., on Sept. 21.
Krystal Ramirez
/
NPR
Cowboys at a rodeo in Pahrump, Nev., on Sept. 21.

Updated November 01, 2024 at 15:19 PM ET

Some sports are a lot more dangerous than others.

Bull riding has ten times the injury rate of football, according to a report by the Journal of the San Francisco Medical Society. Rodeos can also be hard on animals’ bodies.

Attendees enjoy the rodeo at the Pahrump Fall Festival in Pahrump, Nev., on Sept. 21.
Krystal Ramirez / NPR
/
NPR
Attendees enjoy the rodeo at the Pahrump Fall Festival in Pahrump, Nev., on Sept. 21.

Morning Edition host A Martínez spoke with two teenagers in Pahrump, Nevada about being rodeo cowboys.

Riders can only use one hand, and are scored on how hard and high the animal kicks and jumps.

The harder the ride, the higher the score.

Teenage cowboy Pono Vincent says he's been riding for nearly two years.
Krystal Ramirez / NPR
/
NPR
Teenage cowboy Pono Vincent says he's been riding for nearly two years.

“When that first jump comes out and he bucks hard, sometimes I feel like jumping off,” said Pono Vincent, 15, from Pahrump, Nevada.

“But if you wanna win something, you’ve gotta stay on for the full eight seconds.”

Vincent says he’s been riding for nearly two years.

“I’ve been stomped on my hip, my back, torn hamstrings,” he said. “It takes a lot to be a bull rider.”

A study from the Kansas Journal of Medicine finds that bull and untamed horse riding are among the most dangerous rodeo events.

Vincent knows the risks.

“I get scared every single day,” he said. “My mom gets scared every time I get on the bull and I get scared every time because I don't want to end up in a bad wreck and end up in a wheelchair.

Teenage cowboy Derek Hoskins says he likes to talk down to the animals before riding them.
Krystal Ramirez / NPR
/
NPR
Teenage cowboy Derek Hoskins says he likes to talk down to the animals before riding them.

We also met Derek Hoskins, 17, from Boulder City, Nevada.

In the moments he’s sitting on top of a bull before the gate opens, his mantra is “aggressive body, calm mind.”

“So you want to have that aggressive body, be ready to go, Hoskins said. “But in your mind, be peaches and rainbows, like, cause that's all you can do, you know, whatever happens is going to happen.”

Before going out in the arena, he says he looks the bull right in the eye.

“Beforehand, you kind of have to degrade him a little bit,” Hoskins said.

A clown encourages the crowd to cheer at a rodeo in Pahrump, Nev.
Krystal Ramirez / NPR
/
NPR
A clown encourages the crowd to cheer at a rodeo in Pahrump, Nev.

“You got to like tell him, ‘You ain't nothing. You nothing,’ Because if you go into it with that attitude, you'll be more successful.”

He says bulls will give him that same energy “And they'll show that to you too, they’ll prove it.” he said.

Hoskins rides both untamed horses and bulls — adult male cows, but they play different games.

“Both are very hard on your body,” Hoskins said. “The horses don't chase after you, after you're down,” thought sometimes the bulls come after the rider after they’re bucked off.

Copyright 2024 NPR

Corrected: November 1, 2024 at 2:54 PM EDT
An earlier version of the radio story incorrectly attributed a study to the National Institutes of Health. It was actually published in the Kansas Journal of Medicine.
A Martínez is one of the hosts of Morning Edition and Up First. He came to NPR in 2021 and is based out of NPR West.
Claire Murashima
Claire Murashima is a production assistant on Morning Edition and Up First. Before that, she worked on How I Built This, NPR's Team Atlas and Michigan Radio. She graduated from Calvin University.
Alice Woelfle
Alice Woelfle is an editor on Morning Edition. She began her journalism career at Member station KZYX in Mendocino County, California. She has also worked at KQED and KALW in San Francisco. Prior to that she worked as a rancher, educator and musician. Woelfle is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Chad Campbell