In the Bareback event, the rider holds on to the leather handhold of a rigging—a pad wrapped around the bucking horse's girth—as he first extends his feet far forward. He then pulls his feet back up toward the rigging in a spurring motion. The higher the spurs, the higher the score.

The stress on the cowboy’s arm is intense as it absorbs most of the horse's power, but he needs to hold on for at least 8 seconds.