Bull Riding - The Difference Between Men And Women

The rules for bull riding for men and women are different. Below is a brief overview of some of the differences.

• Men must make a qualified ride on a bull for eight seconds before being eligible for a score from the judges.
  • Women must make a qualified ride on a bull for six seconds before being eligible for a score from the judges.
• Men are allowed to hold onto the bull rope with one hand only.
  • Women are allowed to hold onto the bull rope with one hand or two hands, but how she starts is how she must finish. In other words, if a woman starts a ride with one hand she must finish with the same one hand. If she starts the ride with two hands she must finish with two hands.

Scoring

• The scoring system for men and women bull riders is the same. If a bull rider - male or female - makes a qualified ride on a bull, both the rider and the bull receive a score from the judges.
• There are two judges. At the end of a qualified ride their scores are added together to arrive at the total score.
• Each judge can score the bull rider from 1–25 points (for a total of 50 points possible for the bull rider) and the bull from 1–25 points (for a total of 50 points possible for the bull).
• Therefore, the total number of points that can be awarded to a male or female bull rider is 100.