Every Thursday night, Boone Stockyard is filled with the blood, guts and glory of bona-fide bull riding. But before cowboys strap on their spurs and dirt is kicked into a shimmering dust, there is prayer.

Last Thursday when the announcer called for the audience to drop their heads, the energy of the stockyard came to an abrupt halt. Cowboys in motion stopped and dropped to one knee. The only sound in the stockyard was the rhythm of horns beating against the hollow bars of the ring like a warrior call.

The night's prayer and moment of silence called for support of troops abroad and special wishes for the safety of the cowboys, cowgirls and cattle. Then the silence was broken as the announcer yelled out, "Who's ready to see some bull riding?" The crowd responded with a wave of yelps.

As the announcer began to call riders, 14-year-old Watauga High School student William Mast glanced over towards the steers' cage and said, "That's one thing I always make sure I do before I ride - pray. I wouldn't ride if I didn't pray, but I love this. I've been doing it for three years. I love the adrenaline rush, that's the best thing about it. It's something you get used to."

Though he admitted to getting butterflies in his stomach every time he rode, his love for bull riding seemed to overshadow any concerns of injury. He said, "Bull riding is my life. All of my friends are bull riders. I got into this on a dare. They said I wouldn't do it, but I kept coming back."

Mast recently returned to the arena after a three month hiatus during which he nursed a broken arm and concussion, both injuries resulting from previous rides. "You know you're gonna get hurt. That's the thing about it. You're just waiting to get hurt, but you try to think positive," he said of the dangers.

It is quite possible that every cowboy there was praying for the same thing - a safe ride and eight seconds on the back of a bucking bull. Mike Essick, one of the two judges on call, said, "We're looking for a bull to spin...Then we decide if the rider barely stayed on or if he handled it well. After eight seconds it doesn't matter what you do - you've pretty much won if you're on that long."

On a behind-the-scenes tour through the stables of Boone Stockyard, Essick pointed to an animal lazily grazing on hay. "That's a lose bull over there, but don't worry, he won't hurt ya," he said laughing as he slipped into the safety zone between the cages of animals scheduled to buck.

The animals to be ridden at the "buck-out" range from a small sheep to a 3,000 pound bull. Essick explained that the range of cowboys and cowgirls ages varied greatly, "We once had a 18-month-old girl ride a sheep. The five-year-olds ride the calves, then they move on to the steer." As he pointed to the back pen, he said, "Those are the bad boys."

The bulls that carry the weight of adult riders are massive creatures. One of the bulls, described as the meanest, was mysteriously missing half of a horn. When called to attention, the bull snorted as if to say, "I can't wait to get you off my back." Undeterred, Essick climbed up a few bars to get a better look and said, "These are the meanest bulls I've ever seen in the business...and that's a good thing." The meaner they are the better they buck, and the Boone Stockyard is full of buckaroos.

Joshua Nations was one of the first to ride. When his steer tossed him into the lose dirt of the ring and threw its weight around, his grandmother and mother were there to see it. When the animal jumped on Nation's hand his mother walked around the ring calmly as his grandmother sat at attention with a surprisingly non-reactionary expression.

Nation's mother, Lisa, returned with a report of a broken finger. "I just figure it's something he loves to do. He'll do it whether I say no or yes. I don't get nervous 'til something actually happens." she said. As her son approached, holding his hand on a packet of ice, he jokingly called out to her in the stands, "I guess I won't have to take that test tomorrow." His father retorted, "Oh, cry me a river. I told you had to take that test no matter what." Nations shrugged - just another test of cowboy bravery to come.

Behind the stands, half a dozen cowboys stretched their legs and strapped on chaps. There were shiny and rugged chaps - chaps with stars and some with crosses embroidered on their heels. The fringed leather pieces are worn to provide a little extra grip and as one cowboy stretched to pat his inner thigh he said with a dead pan sincerity, "It also gives you a little protection - you need all you can get."

"We're down quite a few riders tonight, most of them are on the injured list" Essick said as a group of men in cowboy hats erupted into nervous snickers. A young rider, Bucky Smith, leaned on the wooden cane that has been his companion since a fated riding incident and said, "A lot of people ride for the money and a lot of people just like to come out. They know they can get hurt. If they see a cowboy hat and dirt all over ya on a Thursday night in the emergency room, they know where you're coming from."

Luckily, after last Thursday night's "buck-out" there were more cowboys gathered at the Lone Star steakhouse than at the Emergency Room. The chain restaurant, filled with cowboy motif suddenly became authentic as the Boone Stockyard crew filed in wearing cowboy hats. There were spurs still clinging to a few of the boots tapping the floor in time with the music. "They are a pain to take off," one cowboy lamented as he finally untangled the spur's strapping from his foot.

The night came to a close as spectators, riders and judges alike linked arms and sang Garth Brook's standard, 'I've Got Friends in Low Places.' When the crowd filtered into the night at the events end, someone shouted, "Same place, same time next week, see ya then!"