THE LIFE OF BUCKING BULLS

BY DOUG HARE

A version of this story originally ran in the 2019 Summer edition of Mountain Outlaw magazine.

Some bulls are bred to buck, that is, to drop, kick and spin in an erratic manner that makes it hard as hell to ride them for eight seconds. The cowboys who attempt to ride them are still being bred the old-fashioned way. North Dakota-native Chad Berger would know. After a storied rodeo career, Berger says he “found his passion” raising bucking bulls and has since gone on to become the 12-time PBR Stock Contractor of the Year.

Berger, whose father was a rancher who raised bulls himself, has about 350 crossbred Brahman bulls split between his ranches in Mandan, North Dakota and Henrietta, Oklahoma, where the milder climate makes for easier calving and a better locale to winter his cattle. Between 150 and 200 of the bulls are mature enough to compete in top-tier events nationwide.

Bulls are only getting ranker. With the introduction of enhanced breeding techniques like artificial insemination, egg collection, in vitro fertilization and using sperm that only produces bull calves, the quality of bucking bulls has increased dramatically in the last 25 years. In 1995, the first year PBR kept records, cowboys finished their rides 46 percent of the time; in the past years, the qualifying ride rate has hovered around 30 percent.

Even without extensive practice from an early age, Berger can spot the ones with the most potential.

“You can tell the ones that are more alert than the others—always keeping their eye on ya’, always wondering what’s going on, them ones that really pay attention to ya’— those are the ones that usually end up being the best bucking bulls,” he said.

Cord McCoy, another storied bull rider who raises bulls on his ranch in Lane, Oklahoma, agrees.

“Some of the best bucking bulls have the calmest demeanor,” McCoy said. “It’s not about how agitated they get, it’s really about if they can perform under pressure, just like the cowboys.”

McCoy’s worn many hats over the years: he was a champion saddle-bronc rider at 16, making him the youngest competitor to win the all-around title at the International Finals Rodeo, and winning five professional rodeo titles along the way.

Since becoming a full-time stock contractor in 2016, McCoy has progressed in his own training techniques, but a notable change over the past years has been the advanced nutrition and care that have become the bedrock of bull training; training that allows the bulls themselves to find more success in the arena.

The best bucking bull contractors treat their cattle like their own children, not because they are major investments, but because they develop emotional attachments to their overgrown pets.

Despite the future of these bovine beasts, one thing will remain the same—they will continue to be afforded the reverence and affection that world-class athletes deserve.