A no-bull look inside Mass.’s only rodeo — and its cowboy community

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Eight seconds.

That’s how long a rider needs to last on the back of a bucking bull to be properly scored at the lively New England Rodeo in Rochester, Massachusetts.

If this is your first time hearing about a rodeo around here, you’re not alone. “It’s just something that’s not very well known in New England,” said Shane Rhuda, a bullfighter at the rodeo. “People are surprised to hear that there’s one here.”

Despite its relative obscurity, the New England Rodeo attracts, on average, a thousand spectators per show, all eager to watch as bull riders and barrel racers show off their skills biweekly on Saturdays. After a successful summer, the rodeo will wrap up its 2025 season with a competition on Sept. 20, followed by its big “Bulls and Barrels Final” on Oct. 4. Before these riders hang up their spurs for the year, here’s a look at what goes into putting on the regional rodeo and what you’ll be able to see if you go to the end-of-season finales.

Rodeo roots

Castleton, Vermont is home to the Pond Hill Rodeo, which was the go-to rodeo for New Englanders for decades. It was Elias DaSilva, a retired professional bull rider who hails from Brazil, who wanted to produce one closer to home in Massachusetts. Edward Pina, one of the rodeo’s announcers, remembers the moment 11 years ago when DaSilva first told him he was planning to put together a local rodeo.

“[DaSilva] said, ‘We're going to start a rodeo in Norton, and you’re going to be my announcer,’” said Pina. “And I was like, ‘Nope you're crazy.’” Pina jokes that when they first started producing the New England Rodeo, they “had 30-some odd contestants and 25 people watching.”

Things have changed in the last decade-plus. DaSilva’s connections have reeled in locals from all across the rodeo circuit, including Shane and his father, Rich Rhuda, who is a bull riding judge. This year, the New England Rodeo also moved from Norton to Rochester.

The current show includes barrel racing, bull riding and the occasional mounted shooting demonstration. Visitors can lay a blanket on the grass for a picnic or grab a bite to eat at food trucks. There’s also a mechanical bull, “Bucky,” stationed to serve up humble pie to overconfident onlookers. But you’ll need to make your way to the bleachers to catch the main attractions.

Meet your local cowboys and cowgirls 

It takes a patchwork of people — including competitors, handlers, chute operators, bullfighters, announcers and more — to make New England’s rodeo come together.

Bull riding and barrel racing are the two main events at the Rochester Fairgrounds. Barrel racing is a women’s sport that involves weaving around three barrels in a cloverleaf shape on horseback. They’re then scored on speed. Bull riding — primarily a men’s sport at the New England Rodeo — is scored on a 100-point scale by two judges. They assess the rider’s form and the bull’s vigor, all while keeping an eye out for disqualifiable offenses, like using two hands to hold on to the bull or digging your spurs into the side of the bull.

“So, you gotta draw a bull that’s gonna buck good, and you gotta have a bull rider that can stay on and make it look like it’s easy,” Rich said.

There’s prize money for the winners, but like with any extreme sport, there are also risks and tragic fatalities, particularly in bull riding.

“It can be brutal. It’s not like football,” said Rich. “If the bull don’t scuff you up, the fall will. If you can come back the following week or the next day and do it again, that’s impressive.”

Bullfighters, or “cowboy saviors” like his son Shane, are meant to help prevent run-ins between the bull and the rider. These bullfighters don’t wave a red cape. Instead, they swoop in once a cowboy is bucked off to reroute the bull and make sure the rider gets to safety. “You have to be willing to put yourself in the way of a bull and take a hit,” Shane said. “I've been flipped over, turned over, kicked and run over as well.”

Then there’s the chute team, which makes sure the bulls are settled in after the performance. “They bring the [bulls] back through the chute, and make sure none of the ropes are wrapped around the bull,” said Pina. “They’re as close to the bulls as you can get. They’re kind of like the unsung heroes of bull riding events at rodeos.”

Many of the staff you’ll see are passionate volunteers, Pina added. He said the gig comes with free admission and a chance to learn the ropes from some of the best in the region — which he says is the only way to truly get a handle on bull riding or barrel racing. “Most cowboys learn from hard knocks,” said Pina. “Nobody says, ‘I’m going to college to become a cowboy.’”

The rodeo’s got “Mass.” appeal

The zeal of the rodeo staff is shared by those who pack the stands each night for a chance to see local riders in action. Nostalgia may be a driving factor, according to Pina. “What's made the New England Rodeo thrive is that people are looking for that old-school, family-friendly entertainment, not kids glued to a tablet in their bedroom,” he said.

Pina hopes the New England Rodeo will be able to return “even bigger and better” next year to their new home at the Rochester Fairgrounds. “When you find a community that opens up their arms like Rochester has,” said Pina, “you know you're sharing something you love with a community that loves it as much as you do.”

The event’s popularity is a testament to the idea that you don't need to be a cowboy, daredevil or equestrian to revel in the rodeo’s excitement. “Anybody that’s into fresh air and noise will enjoy it,” Rich said.

P.S. — Has this story lassoed you into visiting the rodeo for one of this year’s final shows? Pina suggests getting there within two hours of the gates’ opening. (That’s 5 p.m. for the Sept. 20 show and 3 p.m. for the big finale on Oct. 4.) “You won’t get a seat if you get here late,” he added.