Editing Bull riding (section)

==History==
[[File:Statuette of a Mexican Charro Riding a Bull.jpeg|thumb| 200x200px |Statuette of a Mexican [[charro]] bull riding, ca. 1830]]

The taming of bulls has ancient roots in contests dating as far back as [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] culture.<ref name=LeCompte/><!--p. 37--> Bull riding itself has its direct roots in Mexican contests of equestrian, ranching and bullfighting skills now collectively known as [[charreada]].<ref name=LeCompte>LeCompte, Mary Lou. (1985) {{cite web|url= https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll10/id/521/rec/1 |title=The Hispanic influence on Rodeo }}&nbsp;{{small|(109&nbsp;KB)}} . Journal of Sport History. volume 12. Issue 1.</ref><!--page 1 -->  During the 18th century, and probably before, Mexican bullfights consisted of traditional native games and exercises, different from those in Spain, which included roping, saddling and riding a bull like a horse, until it stopped bucking.<ref name=LeCompte/><!--p. 22-24--> In —''Rusticatio Mexicana'' (1782)— Jesuit priest, Rafael Landivar, vividly described in epic verse, the riding of the bull during a traditional bullfight, including how another bull is let loose to confront the bull being ridden:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Landivar |first1=Rafael |last2=Chamorro G. |first2=Faustino |title=RUSTICATIO MEXICANA |date=2001 |publisher=Ediciones Papiro |location=Guatemala |isbn=99922-67-11-9 |pages=296, 297 |edition=Second |url=http://biblio3.url.edu.gt/Publi/Libros/2013/RusticatioMX/29.pdf |access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref> <blockquote>Sometimes a bull of great corpulence, remarkable in its strength, and a fury that threatens death, these people take out of the herd in order to saddle and ride it. A young man cinches his harness on his bristly back just like a horse, and surrounds his neck with a round rope, like neat reins with which he then, armed with just a rigid spur and his strength, impassively rides on the grim back of the reluctant bull. The bull, bellowing with rage, reacts to all sides, and tries madly to throw the rider off his back; he then attacks the auras from above with its curved horns, standing, upright, tall; or furious, kicking the air, he launches himself in a race, yearning towards the one who torments him; and while he tries to jump over the barrier of the concave Circus, he disturbs the whole stage, making the mob tremble. Like the Lion of Libya, badly wounded by a rigid blow, roaring, threatens ferociously with a look and bloody jaw, and showing his claws, attacks the cunning enemy, either by launching himself in a rapacious leap through the air, or by chasing the mob with a swift chase; not dissimilar, indignant, for such a strange load on his back, the bull rouses the whole arena, attacking some and others. But the young man, affirming his body, constantly dominates the bullish back, spurring endlessly his flanks.

The young man with his effective right hand, mounted on the bull, rinskingly wielding a blunt spear, also orders, from the depths of the palisade fences, another bull to come out, which he joyfully torments with pricks throughout the rodeo. Suddenly, this bull is stunned before this strange figure, and dodges, in a winged run, his saddled partner. But at the moment, his flanks being pierced by a cruel spear, he flares up with rage and gores his opponent head-on, exchanging injuries between the two in fierce combat. On his part, the robust rider settles the fight with the spear, and continues energetically throughout the rodeo taunting the bulls, until they, sweating exhaustedly, let go of their anger and calm down.</blockquote>
Scottish noblewoman [[Frances Erskine Inglis, 1st Marquise of Calderón de la Barca]] witnessed Bull Riding while living in Mexico in 1839, and wrote about it in her book ''[[Life in Mexico]]'' (1843):<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erskine Inglis |first1=Frances |title=Life in Mexico, During a Residence of Two Years in that Country |date=1843 |publisher=Chapman & Hall |location=London |page=129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP6M8x64RxYC&q=Mounted%20on%20the%20back%20of%20a%20fierce%20bull}}</ref>

<blockquote>The skill of the men is surprising; but the most curious part of the exhibition was when a coachman, a strong, handsome Mexican, mounted on the back of a fierce bull, which plunged and flung himself about as if possessed by a legion of demons, and forced the animal to gallop round and round the arena. The bull is first caught by the lasso, and thrown on his side, struggling furiously. The man mounts while he is still on the ground. At the same moment the lasso is withdrawn, and the bull starts up, maddened by feeling the weight of his unusual burden. The rider must dismount in the same way, the bull being first thrown down, otherwise he would be gored in a moment. It is terribly dangerous, for if the man were to lose his seat, his death is nearly certain; but these Mexicans are superb riders. A monk, who is attached to the establishment, seems an ardent admirer of these sports, and his presence is useful, in case of a dangerous accident occurring, which is not infrequent.</blockquote>

[[File:Buffalo Bill’s Mexican Vaqueros Riding Wild Cattle.jpeg|thumb|298x298px|Mexican Vaqueros Riding Wild Cattle in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (1885)]]

By the mid-19th century, charreada competition was popular on Texas and California cattle [[ranch]]es where Anglo and Hispanic ranch hands often worked together.<ref name=LeCompte/><!--p. 26-->

Many early [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas ranger]]s, who had to be expert horse riders and later went on to become [[rancher]]s, learned and adapted [[Hispanic]] techniques and traditions to ranches in the United States. Many also enjoyed traditional Mexican celebrations, and H. L. Kinney, a rancher, promoter and former Texas Ranger staged what is thought to be the first Anglo-American organized bullfight in the southwest in 1852.  This event also included a jaripeo competition and was the subject of newspaper reports from as far away as the [[New Orleans]] Daily Delta.<ref name=LeCompte/><!--p. 27-28--> However, popular sentiment shifted away from various [[blood sport]]s and both bullfighting and prize fighting were banned by the Texas legislature in 1891.<ref name=LeCompte /> In the same time period, however, [[Wild West Show]]s began to add [[steer riding#As a rodeo event|steer riding]] to their exhibitions, choosing to use castrated animals because steers were easier to handle and transport than bulls.<ref name=LeCompte/><!--p. 32--> Additionally, informal [[rodeo]]s began as competitions between neighboring ranches in the [[American Old West]].  The location of the first formal rodeo is debated. [[Deer Trail, Colorado|Deer Trail]], [[Colorado]] claims the first rodeo was in 1869, but so does [[Cheyenne, Wyoming]] in 1872.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Groves |first=Melody |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztGsU7ISp50C&dq=Cowboy+Up:+The+History+of+Bull+Riding&pg=PA4 |title=Ropes, Reins, and Rawhide: All About Rodeo |date= August 2006|publisher=UNM Press |isbn=978-0-8263-3822-8 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Sin título Ernesto Icaza).jpg|thumb|left|Charro bull-riding (1910)]]
Although steer riding contests existed into the 1920s, the sport did not gain popularity until bulls were returned to the arena and replaced steers as the mount of choice.<ref name=LeCompte/><!--p. 37-38--> The first-known rodeo to use [[brahman (cattle)|brahma]] bulls was in Columbia, Mississippi, produced in 1935 by Canadian brothers [[Earl W. Bascom|Earl and Weldon Bascom]]<ref>{{cite web |title=2016 Bascom's |url=http://www.prorodeohalloffame.com/inductees/pioneer-award/2016-bascoms/ |website=ProRodeo Hall of Fame |access-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-date=August 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810053252/http://www.prorodeohalloffame.com/inductees/pioneer-award/2016-bascoms/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> with Jake Lybbert and Waldo Ross. This rodeo was the first to feature a bull riding event at a night rodeo held outdoors under electric lights.<ref>{{cite web |title=Father of modern rodeo inducted into Hall of Fame |url=https://www.producer.com/2015/09/father-of-modern-rodeo-inducted-into-hall-of-fame/ |website=The Western Producer |access-date=November 14, 2019 |language=en |date=17 September 2015}}</ref> From these roots, bull riding as a competitive sport has spread to a number of other nations worldwide. 

A pivotal moment for modern bull riding, and rodeo in general, came with the founding of the Cowboys' Turtle Association (CTA) in 1936, which later became the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) in 1945, and eventually the [[Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association]] (PRCA) in 1975. Through this organization, many hundreds of rodeos are held each year. Since that time, the popularity of all aspects of the rodeo has risen. In addition to the PRCA, which has PRCA ProRodeo with bull riding and the Xtreme Bulls events for bull riding only, there is the [[Professional Bull Riders]] (PBR), which has staged events since 1993. The organization's championship event, the PBR World Finals, took place in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], for nearly 30 years. Since 2022, it has taken place in the [[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex]]. The PBR's major league tour, titled the [[Unleash the Beast Series]] since 2018, was previously known as the [[Bud Light Cup Series]] from 1994 through 2002, then the [[Built Ford Tough Series]] from 2003 through 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Professional Bull Riders Usher in 10th Season with Ford Trucks as the New Title Sponsor|url=http://www.pbrnow.com:80/current/H1.htm?ID=ford|website=Professional Bull Riders|publisher=www.pbrnow.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021208165616/http://www.pbrnow.com/current/H1.htm?ID=ford|archive-date=December 8, 2002|access-date=January 30, 2018|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="beast">{{cite web|title=Monster Energy Expands Relationship with Professional Bull Riders|url=https://pbr.com/news/2018/01/monster-energy-expands-relationship-with-professional-bull-riders/|website=Professional Bull Riders|date=January 6, 2018 |publisher=www.pbr.com|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref>