Is Bull Riding a Rodeo? Yes, it’s a standard rodeo event, but the PBR made it a standalone sport in 1992.
In PRCA rodeos, this is one of the standard “roughstock” events and typically the finale alongside competitions such as bronc riding, roping, and barrel racing. However, in 1992, a group of bull riders broke away to found the “Professional Bull Riders” (PBR), a league dedicated exclusively to bull riding.
The quick test: if the program includes roping, barrels, or broncs, it is a rodeo; if it features only bull riding, it is a bull riding competition.
- Both answers are correct. Bull riding is both a rodeo event and a standalone sport; it depends on the program, not the bull.
- PBR was built to leave rodeo. It was founded in 1992 by 20 riders who each invested $1,000, and the organization defines itself as being exclusively dedicated to bull riding.
- The rules are largely the same: eight seconds, one hand, and a 100-point score split between rider and bull.
- The line is blurry on purpose. The PRCA also organizes competitions featuring only bulls (Xtreme Bulls), and in 2025, ‘Cheyenne Frontier Days’ adopted the PRCA version instead of the PBR’s to “return to the rodeo’s true roots.”
- The athletes overlap. The 2026 PBR world champion, John Crimber, also rode at Cheyenne as a PRCA rookie, chasing his first NFR berth.
- 2025 PRCA bull riding champion: Stetson Wright, his third bull riding world title. T.J. Gray won the NFR bull riding average.
Table of Contents
Bull Riding: Rodeo Event and Standalone Sport
The numbers behind the split.
Sources: PBR media guide; Cheyenne Frontier Days.
If you have ever heard someone refer to a televised bull-riding show as a “rodeo,” you have experienced the very confusion this article clears up. Bull riding exists in two worlds simultaneously, and the rules differ only slightly between them; the real differences lie in the environment surrounding the ride.
Bull Riding as a Rodeo Event
A rodeo is a multi-event competition. A standard professional program combines “roughstock” events (bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding) where a rider stays on a bucking animal to earn a score with timed events (tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, and barrel racing), where the clock determines the outcome. Bull riding is a roughstock event that typically concludes the evening’s program.
How a ride is scored (identical in both worlds)
A ‘qualified ride’ means the rider must maintain a grip on the bull rope with one hand and refrain from touching the bull or any part of their own body with the other (free) hand for the full eight seconds. Two judges score the rider and the bull separately, resulting in a total of 100 points: 50 points for the cowboy (rider) and 50 for the animal. PBR judges state that they evaluate the bulls based on five criteria: bucking, kicking, spinning, intensity, and difficulty level, and the rider’s score is linked to the bull’s performance. Source: PBR.com. For the time limit itself, see why bull riding is only eight seconds.
How Bull Riding Became Its Own Sport?
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Into the 1920s | Steer riding appears in Wild West shows and early rodeos. Bulls replace steers later. | Wikipedia |
| 1935 | First known rodeo to use Brahma bulls, in Columbia, Mississippi. | Wikipedia |
| 1936–1975 | The Cowboys’ Turtle Association (1936) becomes the Rodeo Cowboys Association (1945), then the PRCA (1975). | Wikipedia |
| April 1992 | Bull riders meet in a Scottsdale, Arizona motel room. Twenty invest $1,000 each to start the PBR. | Western Horseman; PBR |
| 2008 | Some ranked riders can choose their bulls from a draft in selected PBR rounds. | Wikipedia |
| 2022 | PBR Teams launches. | PBR media guide |
| 2025 | Cheyenne Frontier Days drops PBR for PRCA Xtreme Bulls. | Cowboy State Daily |
Why leave? Western Horseman’s account of the founding says the riders wanted a tour only for bull riders and believed the event deserved to stand alone. Earlier stand-alone events, such as Bull Riders Only, had already shown there was an audience. By Wikipedia’s account, that pulled many top PRCA bull riders away and diminished bull riding inside the PRCA, with riders entering fewer rodeos beyond what they needed to reach the NFR. Source: Wikipedia: Bull Riders Only.
PRCA Rodeo vs. PBR: The Real Differences
| Question | PRCA rodeo | PBR event |
|---|---|---|
| What is on the program? | Several events: roughstock and timed | Bull riding only |
| Season-ending finals | NFR, Las Vegas, December | PBR World Finals, May |
| Scoring | 100 points, two judges, half rider / half bull | Same 100-point system |
| Who gets which bull? | Random draw | Random draw, plus a bull draft for ranked riders in selected rounds (since 2008) |
| Safety crew | Bullfighters | Branded the “protection team” by PBR |
| Production focus | The live crowd, per Cheyenne’s CEO | Television, per Cheyenne’s CEO |
| Also runs bull-only events? | Yes, the Xtreme Bulls tour | Always |
For a deeper side-by-side, see our key differences guide
Case Study: Cheyenne Frontier Days, 2025–2026
Cheyenne Frontier Days, Wyoming’s massive rodeo, serves as a definitive test of authenticity. For years, the PBR ran its own bull-riding program there; however, in 2025, organizers discontinued it and brought in the PRCA’s Xtreme Bulls instead.
CEO Tom Hirsig
stated that the move was about “returning to our rodeo roots” and creating a show for live fans rather than for television. A PRCA spokesperson framed the decision as a commitment to an organization dedicated to the full spectrum of rodeo events, whereas the PBR focuses exclusively on bull riding. In response, the PBR held a competing event in Fort Collins during the same dates. Source: Cowboy State Daily.
2025 Format: 40 riders, two rides each, a purse exceeding $100,000, and results decided by a margin of half a point. Earnings count toward PRCA world standings and qualification for the NFR.
2025 Cheyenne Xtreme Bulls: Two-Ride Totals
Top three of 40 riders. Bars start at zero, so they look close because they were.
Source: Cheyenne Frontier Days, July 22, 2025. Totals are the sum of two rides.
The “Xtreme Bulls” event returned for a second year in 2026. Reigning PBR World Champion John Crimber competed as a PRCA rookie, scoring 91.5 on the first night, as he pursues his first NFR qualification this December. Hayden Welsh, a Wyoming native also contending for PRCA Rookie of the Year, posted a score of 93.5 on the opening night. Source: Cheyenne Frontier Days and its July 21st recap. A reigning PBR champion chasing an NFR berth serves as strong evidence of the two distinct paths within the sport.
2025 & 2026 Updates
PRCA lane. At the 2025 NFR, Stetson Wright won the bull riding world title and the all-around, making him a three-time bull riding world champion with 10 gold buckles overall. He won three bull riding rounds. T.J. Gray won the bull riding average with 610.5 points on seven rides. Sources: NFR Experience; Sports Illustrated.
PBR lane. José Vitor Leme won the 2025 PBR world title with a comeback from 18th to first, and John Crimber took the $1 million championship in May 2026. Sources: PBR; NBC 5 DFW. PBR’s CEO also said its tours hosted more than 575,000 fans across 32 sold-out event days in the first ten weeks of 2025. That is the league’s own figure, so treat it as a claim, not an independent count.
Frequently Asked Questions: Is Bull Riding a Rodeo?
Is the PBR a rodeo?
No. PBR describes itself as strictly bull riding. It was founded in 1992 by 20 riders who broke away from the rodeo format.
What is the difference between a rodeo and a bull riding event?
A rodeo has several events: bronc riding, roping, barrel racing, and bull riding. A bull riding event has only bulls. The scoring and the eight-second rule are largely the same.
What is Xtreme Bulls?
It is a PRCA tour that runs bull riding only. At Cheyenne Frontier Days in 2025 and 2026, 40 riders each rode twice, and the money counted toward PRCA world standings.
Do bull riders compete in both PBR and rodeo?
Yes. 2026 PBR world champion John Crimber rode in the PRCA Xtreme Bulls at Cheyenne as a rookie, and Stetson Wright competes in PRCA events.
How is bull riding scored?
Out of 100 points: up to 50 for the rider and up to 50 for the bull, from two judges. A qualified ride requires eight seconds with one hand and no touching the bull with the free hand.
Sources & Reference
- PBR — Bull Riding Basics media guide (2024): 1992 founding, 20 riders, $1,000 each, “strictly bull riding,” PBR Teams 2022
- Western Horseman — Bulls and Big Bucks: April 1992 Scottsdale meeting, reasons for the breakaway
- Wikipedia — Bull riding: steer-riding history, 1935 Brahma-bull rodeo, RCA/PRCA lineage, 2008 bull draft, scoring
- Wikipedia — Bull Riders Only: stand-alone precursor and its effect on PRCA bull riding
- PBR.com — Inside PBR Judging (April 2020): five bull-scoring criteria
- Cowboy State Daily — Bull Riding Border War (March 18, 2025): Cheyenne switch, PRCA and PBR positions, 575,000 fans / 32 sellouts, protection team
- Cheyenne Frontier Days — Schalla Earns CFD Xtreme Bulls Championship (July 22, 2025): 2025 totals, purse, standings credit
- Cheyenne Frontier Days — Rank 45 Xtreme Bulls Returns (July 20, 2026) and rodeo recap (July 21, 2026): Crimber, Welsh, Lee
- NFR Experience — 2025 World Champion Stetson Wright (Dec 15, 2025): Wright’s titles, Gray’s 610.5 on seven rides
- Sports Illustrated Rodeo — Gold Buckles Won and Legends Made at the 2025 NFR Finale: 2025 bull riding champion
- PBR.com — Leme 2025 World Champion (May 18, 2025) and NBC 5 DFW — Crimber, 2026 champion (May 18, 2026)
- Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle — Tight battles and rowdy stock at Omak Stampede (Aug 2023): 2023 Omak bull riding result