Steer wrestling

The origins of steer wrestling or “bulldogging” date back to Ancient Greece in bull-fighting events known as taurokathápsia (ταυροκαθάψια), where bull fighters on horseback would chase a bull and jump on it, grasping its horns before wrestling it to the ground.

[3] In The Garland of Phillip, Philippus of Thessalonica recounts how the bullfighters of Thessaly performed this feat: The well-mounted troupe of bull-fighters from Thessaly, armed against the beasts with no weapons but their hands, spur their horses to run alongside the galloping bull, bent on throwing round its neck the noose of their arms.

At the same time pulling it towards the ground by thus hanging themselves at the end of its neck and weighing down its head, they roll over even such a powerful brute”[4]Historically, steer wrestling was not a part of ranch life.

The event originated in the 1890s, and is claimed to have been started by a Black cowboy named Bill Pickett,[5][6] a wild-west show performer said to have caught a runaway steer by wrestling it to the ground.

[7] The several versions of the story have some claiming that he developed the idea after he observed how cattle dogs worked with unruly animals.

[8] The event features a steer and two mounted cowboys,[9] along with a number of supporting characters.

The steers are moved through narrow pathways leading to a chute with spring-loaded doors.

Rules of steer wrestling include: Typical professional times are in the range of 3.0 to 10 seconds from the gates opening to the waving of the flag.

[13] They cite various specific incidents of injury to support their statements,[14] and also point to examples of long-term breakdown,[15] as well as reporting on injuries and deaths suffered by animals in nonrodeo events staged on the periphery of professional rodeo such as chuckwagon races and "suicide runs".