By Robert King -- Daily Staff Writer

FRONT ROYAL — Blaine Whipp had lasted eight seconds on a spinning and high-kicking bull, and was trying to get off when he noticed the bull was heading towards a metal pen.

"This is no good," Whipp thought as he flew off the bull and slammed into the gate.

Uninjured if a little beaten up, Whipp was just one of the many riders who braved the bulls Wednesday night at the Twisted K Ranch Bull Riding and Rodeo at the Warren County Fair. A mix of camaraderie, tradition and adrenaline inspires these bull riders to do what they do.

"Nobody tells me that I have to be here," Whipp, a two-time world champion from Myersville, Md., said. "There are so many people that work the nine-to-five jobs and do it because they have to survive."

For Trinity Dunkelberger, of Gerrardstown, W.Va., tradition is part of what drives him.

"I'm a third-generation bull rider," Dunkelberger said. His father and grandfather both rode bulls.

Justin Shue, who has been bull riding for 12 years, said some people think bull riders are probably crazy.

"We are pretty lucky to get to do this," the Gettysburg, Pa., resident said. Shue said bull riders make money, and make a lot of good friends.

The rules of bull riding are simple. A rider has to stay on the bull for at least eight seconds.

The rider is then judged based on how well they handle the bull.

"The more control they show, the more points they get," said Eddie Winfield, of Middletown, Md., one of the judges of the competition.

The actions of the bull also affect the rider's score, such as how high the bull kicks and spin, and how aggressive it is, Winfield said.

Each rider gets to ride two bulls. The highest score at the end of the competition wins.

To stay on a bull for eight seconds takes a lot of control, and reacting to the bull's movements, riders said.

"Its action and counter-action," Whipp said. "Every action the bull makes you counter it."

Whipp likened it to riding a horse. "If [the horse] is jumping you want to go to the front," he said.

A rider must control their weight, balance and stay on the rope, Dunkelberger said.

Once a rider is thrown off, that's when the bull fighters leap into action. The bull fighters distract the bull to let the rider get away and get the bull back in the pen.

"After you do it for a while you see what is getting ready to happen," said Bobby Sims, a bull fighter from Standardsville. "You have to visualize where the cowboy is going to land. You've got to find a spot [and] get to that spot."

Sims said a lot of training goes in to bull fighting.

"It's a lot of timing, decision and angles," he said. "One slipup, and yeah, it can get bad."

* Contact Robert King at king@nvdaily.com