The bulls raise dust. A small pillow of dust rises from the ground when a rider falls. Before the bull riding began, the barrel horse created a cloud. There is a layer of sand at the opening of the soda can. This is rodeo and it’s dirty. This sport is not played on artificial turf. It occurs in very tight indoor arenas containing pitches and pitches of dirt or outdoors at rodeo sites and fairgrounds.
But there’s one part of the rodeo world that doesn’t get too dusty or dirty. Indeed, this item is impeccably maintained. It’s the bull riding rope.
Each rider has a rope. It is fastened around the bull and brought to the top where it acts as a handle for the rider’s eight seconds on the mean, hunched creature. The bull riding rope also features a bell. At one time, the bell was considered a way to excite the bull enough to buck. Today the bell remains as a weight to facilitate the removal of the string and as a form of ornamentation. Many wind-up bells are engraved with pictures or initials.
Riders take those ropes seriously. They experiment with a variety of grips before finding the one that works. They make sure the rope is braided to their specifications. They set loops to match your preferences.
Riders apply resin to their string in hopes of improving grip. Some even cook their own rosins and “glues” to improve their odds after the chute opens.
Despite all those tweaks and though bull riding rope is subject to a variety of products, it’s still one of the cleanest items in the rodeo. If you go behind the scenes at an event, you will see riders worrying about their ropes. They will have wire brushes in one hand and with the other they will carefully examine each fiber of the rope. They will sweep up any specks of dust they can find. They will slowly but surely remove any remaining traces of rosin or goop.
You can bet your bottom dollar that every bull riding rope put into service is in perfect condition. Riders pay close attention to the rope and keep it in the best possible condition. After all, they are going to hang on to that rope for dear life. It will be the only thing that prevents them from being catapulted into the sky by a large deer.
White shirts don’t stay white. The freshly washed faces of the children in the crowd quickly get dirty. Rodeo and bull riding can be messy business. Yet amidst the dust and debris, the bull-riding rope remains flawless.
