Strapped in a Barrel and Thrown Over a Waterfall

What’s it like to ride a PBR bucking bull?

One rider once described it as driving a convertible at 110 mph on a twisting mountain road…and then losing the steering wheel.

Each bull, bred to buck, is 10-12 times larger than the average cowboy, making PBR a sport in which a lightweight takes on a heavyweight in the same arena. Things can get dicey when one of them does not share human logic and restraint.

PBR announcer Matt West said, “It’s like going skydiving and not knowing if your chute will open.”

Some rides can be like a fun trip on a thrilling rollercoaster. Others catastrophic.

Two-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney, who recently announced his retirement, explained it this way: “A good bull ride goes nice and smooth. It’s like sitting in a rocking chair on a Sunday afternoon. A bad ride? It’s like being strapped to a barrel and thrown over a waterfall.”

Last weekend in Greensboro at Cowboy Days, at the PBR Camping World Team Series’ eighth event of the 10-event regular season, won by the league’s No. 1 team the Austin Gamblers, riders went a respectable 46 for 120 (38.33%) across the 12 games. All lived to tell the tale.

America was into it. The CBS “Game of the Week” broadcast averaged nearly 2 million viewers, making PBR the second most-watched sport on Sunday outside the NFL.

Unlike the NFL, no roughing-the-anything flags were thrown.

From Cowboy Days, here are a few of the rocking chair rides…and the over-the-waterfall wrecks, courtesy of Bull Stock Media.