It all comes down to eight seconds in the arena. Hundreds will watch as the bucking bulls and broncos attempt to remove the cowboys brave enough to take them on.

Bee Jay Scott, pro bareback bronco rider from Otley, says riding is a way of life.

“It’s kinda just a family deal,” he says. “My father did rodeo for 15 to 20 years. It’s all I’ve ever known, all I’ve ever done, all I’ve ever seen.”

It’s a similar situation for Scott’s roommate Travis Sellers, pro bull rider from Wentzville, Mo., and the leader going into his event, who says bull riding is in his blood.

The guys say the rodeo season is about to kick into high gear, but in the meantime, these two cowboys break down common stereotypes and prove there is more to the rodeo than meets the eye.

Although many have seen someone ride a mechanical bull, the real deal is much different. Unlike a mechanical bull, Sellers says, the point is not to stay on as long as possible.

In fact, competitors are judged on the first eight seconds of their ride, assuming they stay on that long.

Sellers says the judges base their evaluation on a number or factors.

“They are looking for change of direction in the animal, if it kicks high and the degree of difficulty,” he says. “As far as the rider is concerned, it’s mainly about form and control.”

Although eight seconds may not seem like a long time, Seller says “it’s a lot longer than you think.”

Also, unlike a mechanical bull, after eight seconds the bull doesn’t just turn off.

Sellers says he tries to ride as long as he can while people distract the bull.

“Whenever you can find a relatively safe spot to jump off, you do, and then you run as fast as you can,” he says.

Sellers says there are many misconceptions associated with bull riding, but the most common question is when people ask if they tie a rope around the animals testicles in order to make it buck.

Scott says this is not the case. What they use is called a flank strap, which wraps around the animal’s hind legs and gives it a similar sensation as if your belt was too tight.

“It’s a foreign object,” Scott says. “A horses’ natural defense in the wild is kicking. When they kick, the flank gets loose there and it gives them the impression they can kick it off, and that’s what makes a horse buck.”

Scott says it is also assumed that bucking horses have a bad life, but this is also not the case.

“They work for eight seconds a week, if that,” he says. “They have a very good life — it’s better than most saddle horses.”

Sellers says there are retirement programs for rodeo stock where they live out the rest of their lives in a field. Although misconceptions exist, one thing is true about the life of a cowboy — it is a dangerous sport. Sellers says it comes with the territory, though.

He says he has been injured to the point of needing three months to recover after fracturing his skull and breaking his leg and nose.

Scott has not escaped injury either.

“I’ve had a plate and eight screws put in my arm, three pins in my foot, and I broke my hand and leg a couple times,” he says.

Sellers says injuries are part of the life of a cowboy, and he wouldn’t trade his job for the world.

“As long as I can walk, I plan on doing it,” Sellers says. “It’s one of those things that’s just kinda in you — kinda like surfers, they will get bit by a shark and go out the next day. It’s just something you have to love to do.”

What: World’s Toughest Bulls and Broncs

Where: Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Des Moines

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Cost: Prices from $10 to $25