What It Takes... The 5 categories that make a bucking bull

In this system the term “buck” refers to the height achieved with the  front feet and shoulders as a bull begins each jump of a trip. Bulls that “get in the air” and get their front feet higher off the ground as they peak and break over get the most credit in the buck category. The number of jumps they complete during the course of the trip and how much ground they cover is also a factor.  

“Kick” in the scale system refers to the extension and snap of the hind legs at the peak of each jump. Determining factors as to the number of points earned in this category are how high and how hard a bull kicks, how much vertical body angle he achieves as he kicks, and whether or not he kicks each and every jump. Additionally, bulls who kick at the peak of each jump instead of waiting until their front feet reach the ground deserve more credit. 

Spin is the most difficult to assess if a bull is only ridden for a jump or two. It is important, in order to achieve high marks in the spin department, to “turn back” or begin to spin as early as possible. Determining factors in the spin category are: how fast and how far around a bull goes with each jump.  While bulls that spin without bucking or kicking are docked points in those categories, they still can earn high marks for spin even though they are flat.   

This category is nothing more than the amount of effort, or level of intensity that a bull is using as he bucks. In other words, how much try is he putting into the trip. As in the degree of difficulty category, if a bull has high marks in the core  elements, it would be hard not to assume that he is using a high degree of intensity as he bucks. This category allows for separation between bulls with similar trips when one was putting more effort, and deserves to be marked over the other one. 

There are a number of factors that can occur in a bull's trip that elevate the degree of difficulty, and it is important to note that the bull that does everything else right automatically has a high degree of difficulty for that simple reason. The most generally defined elements of this category are: drift or fade, accomplished by a bull covering ground as he spins; moving forward in the spin; belly roll; drop, direction change; lack of timing etc. 

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