NARRATOR
Johnny Williams and his two children, Lisa and Sonny of Frederick County, Maryland are a typical rural family. Except for what they've built in their backyard. They have their own rodeo.

NATURAL SOUND
"Ride, ride, ride."

NARRATOR
On Saturday evenings for the past three summers, the Williams' backyard fills with several thousand people.

JOHNNY WILLIAMS
"Right here we've got the most loyal, dedicated, bull-riding fans in the United States."

NARRATOR
Rodeo is an American tradition that came from the frontier west where riders challenge the jumps and bucks of horses and bulls. For Johnny Williams it started with having some fun with his neighbors.

JOHNNY WILLIAMS
"We used to have neighbors come over and watch us buck bulls out, Sunday and Thursday nights and so forth. It got to the point where one day, one Sunday we didn't buck no bulls out and I could tell a bunch of the neighbors were real disappointed because they came to watch bull riding and we wasn't going to have bull riding that night."

NARRATOR
And so he bought grandstands from a school and put up lights and fences. The Williams family built it and the people came. Daughter Lisa Williams took on the business responsibilities. Her promotion, of the rodeo at home, and when they take on the road, has made it a commercial success.

ANNOUNCER
"Sonny Williams is going to be the cowboy getting set."

NARRATOR
Lisa's brother Sonny is the real cowboy in the family. He has been an accomplished bull rider for a decade and knows the tricks of the trade. The ride starts in the chute.

SONNY WILLIAMS
"It's a dangerous place, I sure don't like being in there any longer than I have to be."

NARRATOR
It's all about instinctive quick reactions. They try to stay on for eight seconds, and that can seem a long time.

SONNY WILLIAMS
"Once in a while you will get that one and it seems like it's impossible, that whistle boy, it comes none too soon."

NARRATOR
Or, as another cowboy describes it…

NATURAL SOUND - ANOTHER COWBOY
"Guess it's like getting in a Corvette (car) and driving real fast without no brakes."

NARRATOR
Which is, of course, dangerous. But considering the danger to the cowboys, a few broken bones are an acceptable risk. This cowboy goes down on the back of his head. A fall like this could potentially paralyze anyone for life. But he gets up.

JOHNNY WILLIAMS
"Sonny will be riding tonight."

NARRATOR
Johnny Williams, like any father, worries about his boy Sonny.

JOHNNY WILLIAMS
"Yeah, it scares me. It doesn't scare me as much now as it did the first time I saw him get on a bull, but it scares me. I can't say that it don't."

NARRATOR
Most injuries come from getting stepped on by the bulls. The cowboy adjusts a rope to hang on. One of the biggest hazards is to get tangled in the rope when he releases his grip. The object of the ride is to stay on for eight seconds, but not much longer. Johnny Williams knows his bulls, and for his boy Sonny's last ride of the night, he hopes the bull doesn't get the best of him.

Rodeo is one of sports that draw excitement from the element of danger. It's fast, explosive and unpredictable. It's also a great tradition, and a way for a cowboy, to show everyone in town, that courage still counts for something.

Tim Wardner, VOA-TV.