On this page I'll put all the information I can find about poddy riding.  If you want to learn how to do it, talk to your parents and see if they'll let you go to a couple of poddy riding schools to see if you like it.  The schools are great.  They're really good fun, and you learn all the safety stuff, like what protective gear to wear, how to STAY ON and if you do fall off, how to do it the safe way.

Now here's the 'BullOrator' to give his description of poddy riding.  Let's hope he's not too biased in favour of the poddies!

Poddy Riding is an event for competitors up to the age of 12 years.  The general rules are really the same as for bull riding except that the rider has to stay on the poddy for six seconds instead of eight.  The rider is 'strapped down' onto the poddy by one hand with a bull rope.  The free hand must be kept raised at all times and mustn't touch any part of the poddy or himself until the end of the ride.  The rider doesn't have to spur, but may pick up extra  points if he does so.  It can be pretty difficult to spur when you're concentrating really hard on just staying on board!

There are clowns (bullfighters) to help you if you need it when your ride is finished.  They are great guys and work very hard to keep the riders as safe as possible.  There would be a lot more accidents and injuries to poddy riders without the clowns, so here's three cheers for all of them.

Competitors are allowed to have two helpers to assist them when they first start out in the sport.  Quite a lot of really little kids ride poddies.  My little cousin, Erin, rode her first poddy when she was only two, and loved every minute of it!

There are strict controls over what protective gear you must wear for poddy riding.  You will need a protective vest and  helmet and will not be allowed to ride if you don't wear them!  You will also need a bull rope, pad and bell, bull riding spurs and a glove plus chaps as an optional item.  There's a few items of gear in this picture so you can get an idea of the type of things you need.

There's some really good sites which tell you all about the gear you need and lots of other useful information.  I have listed these on my 'Links' page and they are well worth a visit.

When I get some time during school holidays, I'll try and do some more updating and add a page about steer riding ... as that is what I do now!  I hope this page has been useful for any young guys wanting to start out on poddies.  I really had a great time with the poddies.  Nothing too serious.  Even though me and my mates all tried our best to do well, we still had a good fun time all round.  I hope you do, too.