"AWAY FROM HIS HAND": Describes the scenario in which a bull spins in the opposite direction of the rider’s riding hand.

BACK PENS: A maze of steel panels located behind the arena bucking chutes that serve as holding and loading areas for bulls awaiting competition.

BULL ROPE: Wrapped around the chest of the bull directly behind the animal’s front legs, the bull rope is what the bull rider grips throughout the ride. 

BODACIOUS: Among the most famed bulls in PBR history, Bodacious is a  1,900-pound Chabray bull notorious for injuring some of the sport’s most talented champions, including 1995 PBR World Champion Tuff Hedeman.  Bodacious was retired from competition in December 1995 and died of natural causes at the age of 12 in 2000.

BUCKED OFF: Being thrown from a bull before the required eight seconds expire; bull riders who are bucked off do not earn any score.

BULL: Though the bulls that compete in PBR competitions come in many shapes, sizes, colors, and personalities, a bucking bull is often considered in his athletic prime around the age of five or six.  Many bulls buck past the age of 10, however, and, once retired from competition, are used as sires in bucking bull breeding programs.

BULLFIGHTER: The bullfighter distracts the bull when a rider either dismounts or bucks off his bull.  The distraction the bullfighter provides allows the bull rider a chance to get back on his feet and out of harm’s way.

BULL RIDER: The human part of the man-versus-beast sport of bull riding, a bull rider must be 18 years or older to obtain the membership required of PBR competitors.

CHANGE DIRECTIONS: A bucking pattern in which a bull spins in one direction then reverses the spin one or more times during the ride.

CHUTE(S): The gated steel boxes from which each bull ride begins. 

COVER: When a rider 'covers' his bull, he has successfully stayed on his bull for eight seconds.

DISMOUNT: When a bull rider is still in control of the ride when the eight-second buzzer sounds, he must get off the bull, or dismount, as safely as possible.  To dismount, a rider commonly reaches down with his free hand, jerks loose his riding hand from his rope, and flings himself off as the bull is kicking so the momentum from the kick propels the rider as far away from the bull as possible.

DISQUALIFIED: A bull rider is disqualified—even if he has stayed aboard his designated bull for the full eight seconds—if he touches the bull or himself with his free hand during the ride or if his riding hand comes free from the bull rope at any point during the eight-second ride.

“DOWN IN THE WELL”: An expression used by bull riders to describe a situation in which a bull is spinning in one direction and the force pulls the rider down the side of the bull.

DRAW: A competition’s list of riders and the pulls with which they are randomly paired.  When a rider says he has a “good draw,” he is happy with the bull he has been selected to ride.

EIGHT SECONDS: The amount of time a bull rider must stay aboard his bull in order to receive a score.  During the eight-second ride, the bull rider cannot touch his free hand to the bull or himself or her will be disqualified.

FADES: Used to describe a bull that moves backward while simultaneously spinning or bucking on one or more directions.

FLANK STRAP: The strap that goes around the flank of a bull, its purpose is to enhance the natural bucking motion and encourage the animal to extend its hind legs when trying to get the rider on the ground. 

FREE HAND: The hand the bull rider does not use to grip the bull rope during a ride, the free hand must remain in the air throughout the ride; if it touches the bull or the rider before eight seconds elapse, the rider is disqualified and does not receive a score.

HOOK: When a rider is bucked off or dismounts from a bull, sometimes the animal goes after the rider or bullfighter and attempts to “hook” the target with his horns.

HUNG UP: The inability to free one’s riding hand from the bull rope—a very dangerous scenario.

“INTO HIS [MY] HAND”: A term used to describe the scenario in which the bull is spinning in the same direction as the rider’s riding hand.

MULEY: A hornless bull.

RANK: A bull that is difficult to ride is described as “rank.”

RESISTOL RELIEF FUND: Established in 1999 by Resistol, PBR’s official Western hat maker, this non-profit organization provides financial aid to bull riders who sustain injuries during competition.

RIDING HAND: The hand a bull rider uses to grip his bull rope and remain aboard the bull.

SPRINNER: A term used to describe a bull that displays a bucking pattern in which he bucks in a tight circle.

TURN BACK: A term used to describe a bull that displays a bucking pattern in which he moves in one direction, then makes a sharp move in the opposite direction.

VEST, PROTECTIVE VEST: Invented by former PBR rider Cody Lambert, the Kevlar vest is designed to prevent injury when a rider gets stomped on or gored by a bull.