ow to talk sensibly about rodeo's essential elements

Bareback bronc: a horse whose rider isn't using a saddle but is hanging on courtesy of a strap around the horse's rib cage.

Barrel man: the rodeo clown, an important factor in the bullriding event. He hides in a barrel until he is needed to distract a dangerous bull from injuring a thrown rider; also leads a dismounted bull away from the cowboy and out of the arena; a good clown can also coax a better performance out of a bucking bull before he is dismounted.

Circuit finals: Regional finals before the championship. Texas is the only state that has its own circuit.

Clover leaf: the route contestants in the barrel race follow

Dogie: a motherless, or wild, calf

Free hand: in rodeo riding events one hand must stay free at all times

Go round: a contestant's turn at a rodeo event

Good bucker: a bucking horse or bull admired by the contestants

Houlihan: the head-over-heels tumble a steer takes in the steer wrestling event

Low time: the winner in a timed rodeo event

Luck of the draw: the animal most likely to give a contestant a good (high) score

Marking out: the position of the rider's feet over the shoulders of a bucking horse as it makes its first jump out of the chute

PRCA: Professional Rodeo Cowboy's Association

NFR: National Finals Rodeo

Perfect score: One hundred points (fifty for the rider; fifty for the horse or bull). A rider can execute a perfect ride by not getting thrown, by having good style, and by riding a wild animal well. A horse or bull is perfect if they give the ride r a harrowing ride and then throw him at the last minute. There has never been a 100-point ride in the saddle-bronc event and only recently was a score of 100 awarded in bull riding, much to the consternation of rodeo performers everywhere. As saddle bron c rider Craig Latham notes, "If the bull or a horse does a perfect job, then you're on the ground." And that's not a perfect score for the rider.

Pickup man: a rider in the arena who helps a contestant off a bucking horse

Saddle bronc: a horse ridden by a rider using a roughout saddle and a cloth rein.

Short go: a turn at an event in the championship round

Spinner: a bull that spins or turns as if chasing its tail. Scores high, especially if it spins both left and right

Stampede: an out-of-control herd of cattle

Team roper: a member of a two-person roping team, one of whom ropes the steer by the horns and the other of whom ropes the steer by the rear feet