A stock contractor is an individual or business that provides animals for rodeo competition. Stock contractors supply rough stock - bucking horses for saddle bronc and bareback bronc riding (called buck jumpers in Australia) and bucking bulls for bull riding, plus steers for steer wrestling and team roping, plus calves for calf roping (also known as tie-down roping) and breakaway roping events. The use of stock contractors who specialize in providing these animals has produced a more uniform range of bucking stock which is also quieter to handle.[1]
Most bucking stock is specifically bred for use in rodeos, with horses and bulls having exceptional bucking ability often selling for high prices. Most are allowed to grow up in a natural, semi-wild condition on the open range, but also have to be tamed and gentled to be managed from the ground, safely loaded into trailers, vaccinated and wormed, placed into bucking chutes, and used in the arena. Due to the rigors of travel and the short bursts of high intensity work required, most horses in a bucking string are at least six or seven years old.[2] In Australia, stock contractors may also supply some of the brumbies used in the "brumby catch" event which is part of stockman challenges.