Rough Stock Gear Checklist: What Every Rider Needs

Heading to your first rodeo or restocking your gear bag for the season? Rough stock riding, meaning bulls, broncs, and steers, takes a specific kit. Here is the full checklist we walk riders through so nothing gets left in the truck.

Your rope

Start with a rope built for your event and your riding hand. Bull riders need a bull rope in the right or left hand, sized nine foot for most adults. Junior and steer riders need a rope scaled to their size. Add a bull pad to protect your hand inside the wrap.

Glove and rosin

A good bull riding glove gives you grip and feel on the rope, and it comes in right or left hand to match your rope. Keep rosin in the bag to work up your grip before you nod.

Protective vest and helmet

A protective vest is not optional for rough stock. Size it by your chest and make sure it closes flat. A lot of riders add a helmet with a cage for head protection, especially younger competitors and anyone getting on bulls.

Spurs and straps

Rough stock spurs help you stay hooked. Pair them with a sturdy spur strap that keeps them locked on through the whistle. Junior riders need their own smaller straps, so do not hand them down a loose adult set.

Chaps and a way to haul it all

Rodeo chaps protect your legs and finish the look. A dedicated rope bag or gear bag keeps your rope clean and coiled and your kit together between rodeos.

The full bag

• Rope for your event and riding hand, plus a pad
• Glove in the matching hand, plus rosin
• Protective vest sized to your chest
• Helmet if you ride bulls or you are a younger rider
• Spurs and a spur strap
• Chaps
• Rope or gear bag to haul it

You can build the whole rig from our Western and Rodeo collection, in adult and youth sizes. New to a piece of gear? See our guides to choosing a bull rope and sizing a protective vest. Everything ships fast from a US warehouse to riders across Texas and Oklahoma.