Risk and reward: Inside the life of a professional bull rider

In the grand scheme of things, 8 seconds is nothing, but in the world of rodeo, it can be the most dangerous and rewarding seconds of a cowboy’s life.

Most people work their daily 9-5 to support themselves financially. Hayes Weight’s livelihood depends on him staying seating for 8 seconds on the back of a bull and doing it with style. On Tuesday, Weight punched his ticket for the gold medal round after winning his set with a score of 91 in the Days of ‘47 Rodeo at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City.

He’ll tell you he doesn’t have any pre-riding rituals.

“I usually just stretch out, and then I pray and just kind of sit there and get my mind right, and think about my bull riding, what moves I need to make, and then go out there and do it,” he told the Deseret News. “I’m just letting it all hang out there and putting my faith in God.”

His impressive score Tuesday night earned him the bronze medal Thursday in the final rounds. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association ranks him No. 5 in the world for bull riding.

Since 1847, the Days of ‘47 Rodeo has been one of Utah’s oldest traditions, celebrating and honoring the state’s pioneer heritage. In 2017, it became the only rodeo of its kind to hand out gold medals to its winners as a nod to the Olympic ties from Utah’s 2002 Olympic Games.

“The only other time that contestants have had an opportunity to do that was in 1988 in Calgary, as part of the cultural arts festival. They had a U.S. versus Canada rodeo, and they got to compete for gold, silver and bronze,” Ann Bleiker, head of media for Days of ‘47 Rodeo, told the Deseret News.

“Then, in 2002, we actually had one here in Farmington, and it was part of the cultural arts festival there, and it was us versus Canada. So prior to 2017, those were the only two opportunities that contestants had for gold, silver and bronze,” she added.

On Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the International Olympic Committee voted to welcome the 2034 Winter Olympics back to Utah , cowboys and cowgirls were honored with gold, silver and bronze at the Utah State Fairpark.

The Days of ‘47 is just one of many rodeos in the state in July where competitors can win big money.

“The Fourth of July is what’s considered cowboy Christmas,” Bleiker said. “There are about 40 PRCA sanctioned rodeos during that one week when the Fourth of July lands. It still is the big money, but now kind of the whole month of July is.”

“This week in Utah, there are Ogden, Spanish Fork and Salt Lake rodeos going on, and there’s approximately $2 million in prize money between the three of those rodeos. So cowboys really have started to focus on being out here in Utah and hitting those three rodeos.”

Bull rider mentality: Brave or insane?

In 1991, Washington native Wade Leslie, known as the 100-point cowboy, became the only bull rider in history to ever score a perfect 100 while riding a bull named Wolfman. Two judges are involved in scoring bull riding. This is because both man and beast are judged for their performance, and each can earn between 0 and 25 points from both judges, resulting in four scores that are combined for a maximum possible total of 100 points.

Ironically, the rules of bull riding are somewhat simple. Riders must grip the rope with one hand and keep their other hand in the air while sitting on the bull. If the free hand touches the bull or any part of the rider’s body at any point, the rider will be disqualified and not earn points.

Like the cowboys on them, bulls used in professional rodeo bull riding events are born for the rodeo. These cattle are bred to exhibit the behaviors crowds see in the arena: Bucking, leaping, plunging and spinning.

This breed, known as the American bucking bull, is an officially recognized cattle breed produced through a selective breeding program that focuses on enhancing the bull’s genetic predisposition for superior bucking performance.

Weight rode his first bull at 15 years old.

When asked if there was a bull he never wanted to ride again, he said the only one he had bad blood with was the bull he broke his jaw riding on in Washington last fall.

“But they sold him, so I don’t really have to worry about that,” he joked. Seven years after his professional career started at 18, Weight has also had three shoulder surgeries as a result of his profession.

Millions come to rodeos year-round to watch athletes like Weight perform in events infamous for injury and danger. One would think a person who has the guts to ride bulls for a living would either have to be out of their mind or brave beyond comparison.

He told the Deseret News he’s had to train not only physically but mentally to do what he does nearly every day.

“I went to a bull riding school where they teach you the handles and the basics of it, and I guess, the mechanics of it, but they also teach you the mental side, that it’s conscious versus unconscious,” he said. “You have to ride bulls unconsciously. So it’s just getting that muscle memory for your body and then working on it until you perfect it so that it becomes your second nature.”

A Beehive state native from Goshen, Utah County, Weight said that when he’s home or has a couple of days off, “I’m in the gym doing drills, which is what you learn from that bull riding school, and we practice either on lower level bucking bulls, or what they call a buck right. It’s like a mechanical bull, but it just goes up and down just to practice the basics.”

As a full-time professional bull rider, Weight does his job year-round, traveling on the road to rodeos across the country with a few other bull riders that he said have become like family.

“We go out there, and we’re these big rodeo stars to all these people; they don’t realize how rough life on the road could be. Like, it’s fun, but some days you go a day without a shower because you can’t get it,” Weight added. “I mean, luckily for us, we’ve got a motorhome that we travel in now, but when I was 18, I was in a minivan going everywhere by myself. You’re pretty much driving full time for a living and rodeo on the side.”

Now 25 and in his prime, if he takes care of himself, Weight will still have a few more good years on him to perform in “the most dangerous 8 seconds in sports.”

After that, “I want to raise bucking bulls and put on bull riding schools myself and help the younger generation understand how the road works and what to expect with this lifestyle.”