Steer Wrestling is a rodeo event, where upon the cowboy is required to wrestle a steer to the ground.
What happens/
how it works:
A steer is placed in a
chute beside the cowboy who is aboard a horse in another chute, generally they use a horse of their own, unlike in some rodeo events where livestock involved is
chosen by draw. There is a line, a barrier of tape type stuff that goes across the front of both chutes and must be broken by the steer
first, not the cowboy's horse.
The steer is prodded out of the chute and it goes running like mad, the cowboy
in pursuit. He runs his horse up along side it (another horsemen makes sure the steer runs fairly
straight by blocking the other side), and then he jumps off and grabs the steers
horns. He has to wrap his arm around and grab the steer's nose, then wrestle it down to the ground as fast as possible. It's more of a quick
flip then a wrestle, but either way, the desired outcome is to get the steer laying fairly flat against the ground in a very
short period of time (4.5 seconds is average time).
It isn't the most
dangerous rodeo event, but it isn't very safe either. There is always the potential for fairly serious injury (
dislocated shoulders, jabbed with horns). I always feel sorry for the steer because of the way they wrench on the neck like that.. I just don't think that an animal would be enjoyed being
yanked around by the head.