Steer roper Arnold Felts was world champion in 1981 (that means he won more money than anyone else) and four-time winner of the steer-roping championships at the national finals in Guthrie, Oklahoma. His best time is 8.7 seconds, but making a good time is n't the hardest part for Felts, who lives in Sonora, Texas. "It's the travel," he says. Some of Felts' steer-roping escapades sound like they could wear a person down, too. "There is a lot of torque at certain points," he says. Felts knows from experience : recently he broke a rope just as he was about to make the throw--it snapped back and hit him in the face, badly cutting him across his cheek. The really hard part of steer roping is not beating yourself: "I've won even with a bad animal," Felts says. "B ut you can't win if you try to exceed your limitations."

Steer roping is similar to calf roping except the quarry is about seven times larger and there is only one legal catch. A cowboy must rope the steer around its horns and bring the steer to its side on the ground; then he must tie any three of its legs. As in the calf roping event, if the animal breaks free in the allotted six seconds the run is disqualified.

Steer wrestling
This event is a good example of the laws of physics at work--steer wrestling doesn't require a huge display of strength but rather a good understanding of the principles of leverage. The cowboy begins his chase from behind a barr ier, after the six- or seven-hundred-pound steer has been given a head start. He is assisted by a hazer, another cowboy on horseback who must keep the steer running in a straight line. The bulldogger pulls even with the steer, eases down the right side of the horse and grasps the steer's horns. Then he digs his heels into th e dirt. As the steer slows down the cowboy turns the animal and lifts up on the right horn while pushing down with his left hand on the left horn. He must either bring the steer to a complete halt or change the direction of the animal's body before the th row. The throw is completed and timing stops when the steer is on his side with all four legs extending in the same direction.

Tee Woolman, from Llano, is a three-time wsition your horse, swing the rope, find your target, and deliver.

Team Roping, or Heading and Heeling
Don't blink or you'll miss this event--everything happens fast in team roping, which is the only team event in PRCA rodeo. The team consists of a header and a heeler--the header sets up the action for the hee ler to complete by chasing the steer out of the box on horseback and roping him around the horns or neck. A header is often compared to the quarterback on a football team. He must then turn the steer to the left so that his partner, the heeler, can rope t he steer's hind feet. The event is completed when the steer is secured, the slack is taken out of both ropes, and the ropers' horses are facing each other on either side of the steer.

Bareback Riding
Next to bull riding, bareback riding accounts for some of the most spectacular action in a rodeo. This ride begins in the same way the saddle bronc ride begins, with the rider's feet placed about the break of the horse’s shoulder. The cowboy's feet must be in this position when the horse's feet hit the ground on his first jump out of the chute or he is disqualified (it's called a failure to mark out the horse properly). A cowboy will also be disqualified if he touches the equipment, himself, or the animal with his free hand during the eight-second ride. He must grasp the rigging (a handhold made of leather and rawhide) with only one hand. The best spurring action begins with the riders heels at the horse's neck; the rider then pulls his feet, toes turned outward, to the horse's withers until hisfeet are nearly touching the bareback rigging. In this event, the horse's performance is also judged and accounts for half the total score.

Martha Josey is the only rodeo performer, along with steer wrestler Roy Duvall, to have gone to the PRCA national finals in all four decades. Josey's secret to success is easy: "You have to be organized and you have to practice." And there is one thing y ou should never do to your horse in this event where executing sharp turns is all-important. "Don't pull on the reins," she says. "When you want your horse to turn, use your body to show him which way to go."

Barrel Racing
This event has traditionally been a "women's" event, since only women participated in it. It wasn't considered competitve because it wasn't timed. Even so, this race around a course of four barrels set in a cloverleaf can be exciting.