Eight seconds. It doesn't sound like much, but when you're on the back of a furious bull crammed into a metal-barred chute, it must feel like an eternity. That's how long a cowboy has to stay on the back of a bucking bovine to earn glory, a share of a million-dollar prize pool and dignity before a roaring crowd at the largest outdoor rodeo in the US.
It's the details that mark the intensity of the moment: the wild rolling of the animal's eyes, its liquid snort of fear, the tension in the cowboy's gloved fist as he grips a rope, his only means of support. Chute assistants shout as the bull lashes out, desperate for its ordeal to be over; while the nervous cowboy tentatively gives a nod to indicate he's ready.
As the gate swings open, the brute leaps out in fury, twisting like a tornado over a trailer park. The young cowboy leans back, bracing against the impact, chaps-clad legs flapping against muscular hide. But in this case, it's an unfair battle - one tonne versus 65 kilograms - and within just four seconds, the young cowboy hits the dust to the collective groans of 19,000 spectators.
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The championship bull-riding event at Cheyenne Frontier Days is one of the highlights of the 10-day event held every July in Wyoming's capital. During this period, the usually sleepy city of 60,000 residents swells as up to 200,000 rodeo fans, competing cowboys and tourists converge to experience what is essentially a celebration of western heritage and culture.
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