These cowboys spend year-long seasons preparing for an eight-second ride. Their event takes a huge physical toll on their bodies, but bareback riders say that rodeo success depends upon mental agility. It’s these kinds of contradictions that define bareback bronc riding.

“I try to focus on being ahead of the horse and not behind,” says reigning world bareback champion Bobby Mote. Bareback riding, he notes, isn’t something you can predict, but “more of a reaction to the horse.” Flexibility and quick thinking are everything.

“You don’t wanna have your mind set that the horse is doing one thing, because then it might trick you with something else,” Mote says. “You can’t read it, you just have to try to stay in front of it.”

“There’s a lot more to it than staying on,” adds Ryan Gray, Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association world standings leader. “There’s a mental balance you have to maintain.”

Mote, Gray and their competitors ride a bronco specially bred for strength and bucking ability without the help of a saddle – and a grip for just one hand. Their ability to survive constant thrashing and the crushing throw to the ground is built upon relentless off-season training – “I spend 365 days a year working toward improving my skill and sticking to an exercise regimen and diet,” Mote says – before they spend months surviving rides that thunder down on their spines as frequently as every few days. Despite the pounding, Mote has won three world championship titles and Gray has reached wrangler national finals five times and claimed a Dodge National Circuit crown in 2010.

To audiences, bareback riding can seem like the most dangerous rodeo event. Motes concedes “it’s more physical, more out of control” than saddle bronc riding, which enjoys the saddle buffer. For many, that intensity implies a rivalry between animal and man that Mote says feeds a common misconception.

“Spectators don’t get how much we like the horses,” he says. “We see them week to week and they’re as unique as we are – they keep doing it for years just like us.”

In the heat of the eight-second explosion, man and animal readiness is laid bare before thousands.

“There are no shortcuts here,” Mote says. “When you crawl down into the chute, you know if you’re prepared or not. You can bullshit others, but you can’t bullshit here.”

A key part of that preparation – donning a cowboy hat – seems counterintuitive, since riders know they will slap back and forth on the horse’s back like a fish on the dock. Not so, says Mote.

“A lot of times when you’re leaning back in bareback riding, the horse’s tail will come around and slap you in the face,” he says. “In that case, the hat’s a bit more functional and you’re glad you have it.”