Pain in the Neck: The Lives of Bareback Riders

By Ted Harbin

Photo Courtesy of Click Thompson

For decades, rodeo fans have been drawn by the danger of the sport.

Optics point to bull riding as the most perilous. The beasts are typically massive, with nearly a ton of bucking flesh. The rides can be dynamic, but the biggest trouble happens after dismount.

Bareback riders endure a bronc’s power during the ride. It begins with the rigging, which is made to fit each man’s riding hand. Outfitted with gloves that have a bind on the outside of the pinky knuckle, cowboys wedge their riding hands into the leather-and-rawhide riggings, which are strapped tightly to the animal.

In essence, the cowboy is locked onto the horse as much as anyone can. Every jump puts stress on elbows, shoulders, head and neck. That’s why elbows are braced and taped, and neck rolls are prevalent. Despite the safety protocols in place, injuries from repetitive stress will happen.

Neck issues are common, and reigning world champion Rocker Steiner is the latest to be sidelined. According to published reports, he is expected to miss three months.

Steiner missed a portion of the 2025 season with the injury. Three-time world champion Tim O’Connell helped explain Steiner’s injury on a social media post from Cowboy+.

“He’s got two vertebrae that are touching his spinal cord right now,” O’Connell said. “He’s got some numbness in his fingers, but if he continued on the path of rodeo and ignored this injury, it would get severely worse if not (permanent).

“You go through so much whiplash through our careers. Every time you get on, you will see, no matter how well you tuck your chin or not, they will take your chin from you.”

Life as a bareback rider isn’t for the faint of heart. The fact that Steiner has continued to battle through the injury is a testament to that. He leads the world standings with more than $120,000 in earnings, but he’s one of three men who have collected at least $100,000 already this season.

Can Steiner return to the National Finals Rodeo and defend his gold buckle? Absolutely, but the timeline puts him back on bucking horses the first of September, when there’s less than a month remaining on the regular season.

Steiner is young, and that will go a long way toward faster healing. While being sidelined can be frustrating, patience is important if he wants to continue to ride at an elite level.