The Baddest Bulls In The West

All of the executives, experts, and industry insiders you can find will agree on at least one thing: today’s bucking bulls are leagues ahead of yesterday’s stock. Even so, the history of bull riding is riddled with rank specimens.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Leah Hennel

Bushwacker

Michael Jordan. Seabiscuit. Secretariat. If it’s a GOAT, chances are good it’s been compared to Bushwacker. This 1,800-pound titan and three-time world champion bucked off nearly 97% of the riders it ever faced, and even the revered “dragonslayer” J.B. Mauney took ten tries to ride him for the required eight seconds. “I hung on to him long enough for them to say I made the whistle,” Mauney later said, “but in my eyes, he is the greatest bucking bull there will ever be.”

Bodacious

Known as “the yellow whale” due to his color and gargantuan size, Bodacious was also considered the most dangerous bull in the world for the better part of a decade. He injured some of the sport’s most talented riders, and while his hulking frame was certainly a factor, Bodacious’ talent for jumping was the ingredient that put this bull (and most its riders) over the edge.

Little Yellow Jacket

This three-time champion owned the bull riding world in the early 2000s, when it was known as the full package: a bull with power who could also jump, kick, rotate and otherwise vex pretty much any cowboy who dared get on its back. Only 12 riders ever got the best of Little Yellow Jacket, and the average rider made it just over two seconds before being thrown to the dirt.

Asteroid

True to his name, Asteroid’s calling card was its fiery power. That’s why, in the final 67 outs of his pro career, only two riders managed to stay on his back for eight seconds. At one point, he bucked off 16 riders in a row before meeting (you guessed) J.B. Mauney. To this day, Mauney keeps a photo of himself and Asteroid: two of the greatest to ever plie their respective trades, suspended in mid-air.

Dillinger

Even though this early 2000s bucking bull (named for the famed gangster) was bigger and stronger than the vast majority of his contemporaries, it was his speed that made him a champion in both 2000 and 2001. Dillinger weighed nearly 2,000 pounds, but those unlucky enough to face him marveled at how he was just as agile as bulls 700 or 800 pounds lighter.

PHOTOGRAPHY: (Cover image) Getty Images

This story originally appeared in our American Outlaws issue featuring legendary bull rider J.B. Mauney on the cover.