Calgary Stampede’s bull and bronc riders say eight seconds is enough
CALGARY — Eight seconds is synonymous with rodeo, even if its origins are hazy.
That time interval is unique to rodeo in sport. But how was it determined that someone should ride a bucking bull or bronc for about the same amount of time it takes to start your car and back out of the driveway?
Rodeo announcer David Poulsen of Claresholm, Alta., who will call his 32nd Calgary Stampede starting Friday, says there wasn’t a time limit in rodeo’s earliest days.
“Most ranches and outfits had a horsebreaker on staff and maybe more than one,” Poulsen explained. “It got to be kind of a competition where one ranch would challenge another and just say ‘let’s see if your guy can ride better than our guy.’ There wasn’t a time limit initially. The guy would ride for as long as he could.