Hogg, a 24-year-old bull rider from Odessa, Texas, knows all too well about the potential for injuries in his sport. Hogg lost half of the ring finger on his left hand during a bull riding mishap this season, missing 12 days of competition.

"I think it's necessary for a guy to work out and keep his body in shape because I think it helps to prevent injury and helps you to snap back faster from `em," he said. "Of course when you're riding bulls, you never really know. I do think there's a lot of dangers in riding bulls, and it's necessary to have yourself in the best physical condition you can. If you wanna be a winner you have to train and that includes your body, not just mentally."

Hogg was one of the top bull riders in the world this year, earning more than $110,000. He entered the National Finals Rodeo ranked No. 2 in earnings.

Sears, a 29-year-old from Nanton, Alberta, says that despite growing up on a ranch, she never expected to have a career in rodeo.

"My dad I don't think thought that this should be a career that I should follow. It was never pushed. It was moreso me wanting to do it than my family wanting me to do it," she said. "I went to college and got a degree and just wasn't something that I saw myself doing as a career. Even 10 years ago I didn't see this as a path for me. So it came as a huge surprise."

Sears has qualified for the NFR five times, winning the world title in 2008.

"Your horse is 90 percent and you are 10 percent as the rider," she says. "If you show up and do your job, and have a great horse, then you'll be here at the NFR. To have a great horse you are very, very lucky. They don't come along every day."

"The Pride" is a group consisting of four of the top bareback riders in the world who travel together all year long. They are (from left) 27-year-old Ryan Gray of Cheney, Wash., 34-year-old Bobby Mote of Culver, Ore., 33-year-old Jason Havens of Prineville, Ore., and 24-year-old Steven Dent of Mullen, Neb.

What makes a good travel partner? "Somebody you can stand to be around more than your wife, pretty much," says Dent. "Someone who is there to help you out. Somebody that is good to be around."

All four members of "The Pride," including Steven Dent (pictured), qualified for the National Finals Rodeo.

"We all feel like we're the top guys in our event, and we all push each other to be better competitors," says Jason Havens. "It's just really fortunate we've all four kind of gotten together and been able to travel together."

Cooper, a 20-year-old from Decatur, Texas, comes from a rodeo family. He is the youngest of three brothers who are all competing in tie-down roping at the NFR. His father Roy is a hall of famer in the same event.

"I didn't really have a choice but to rodeo," Cooper says. "Everybody in my family is in rodeo, and that's what I was born to do, rope calves."

Cooper, a rising star in rodeo, is amazed by the breadth of talent in his event, which includes not only his brothers, but eight-time champion Fred Whitfield and all-around star Trevor Brazile.

"You have this whole field in here together, and that is not just a one-year deal. It's happened year after year," he says. "The whole field is just completely stacked with great talent in calf roping. You think about that whenever you are home practicing, that there is going to be this field that is the very best elite group in the world that is going to try to beat you. That drives you to practice a lot harder."

D.V. Fennell, from Neosho, Mo., qualified for the National Finals for the first time in 2009 at age 36, and is back again in 2010. He says there is something honorable about being a cowboy.

"These guys lay it on the line every day. They're not drawing a salary. They're not getting paid, but they're here for the fan, because it's what they love to do. You've got to tip your hat to that."

Fred Whitfield, a 43-year-old from Hockley, Texas, has won eight world titles, but he knows it gets harder as he ages.

"I've gotten a lot older, I'm a lot wiser. Eight, nine years ago I was a shoe-in (for the NFR) every year. But times change. Age, travel, wanting to stay home. I've got a family now and kids, so there's a lot of different things that come into play for me now."

Trevor Brazile, a 34-year-old from Decatur, Texas, has won a record eight all-around titles, but he says it was his failure to win the title in 2005 that drives him to succeed.

"That was a pretty good slap in the face. You can't rest on your laurels, you can't take it lightly because there is always somebody that will stand in line. That's been enough motivation for me."

Brazile is the most recognized athlete in the sport of rodeo, and one of the most decorated cowboys in his sport's history. He has won more than $3.5 million and qualified for the NFR 20 times.

Glause, a 22-year-old from Rock Springs, Wyo., competes in both bull riding and saddle bronc riding, but he says the excitement of trying to stay on a bull is what draws him to the sport.

"It's a very unique feeling of personal achievement when you can stay on a bull for eight seconds. It's just something that not everybody can say they've done."

"It's all reaction really. There's not a lot of mental stuff that goes into it. When you react to it right for eight seconds, it's a great feeling. It's quite the accomplishment."

Branquinho, a 30-year-old from Los Alamos, Calif., enjoys the camaraderie of his sport.

"It's more of a family than competing against each other," he says. "We all want to see each other do well. We're not guaranteed a paycheck, we have to go out and earn it. So we'd like to see everybody make as much money as we can."

Branquinho has qualified for the NFR nine times, winning the world championship twice and earning more than $1.4 million over the course of his 10-year career.

Gorsuch, 31, from Gering, Neb., has qualified for the NFR five times, winning the world title in 2006.

He is optimistic about his sport's future. "It's really growing now. There are always things, like with anybody's job, that you gripe about, but I really think they're doing a good job. There is an opportunity to win a lot of money."

Cody, left, and Heith DeMoss of Heflin, La., camp out together on the road and relish the rodeo life, but they know it's not perfect.

Is there anything about rodeo you would change? "There are a lot of things going on at amateur rodeos that I don't want to have anything to do with," says Heith DeMoss. "I'm a professional, and I handle myself in a professional manner, and I just don't agree with how they handle stuff and how they handle animals. ... That's probably the only thing I'd change about rodeos is to take out the whole amateur side of it."

Both brothers get a thrill out of trying to stay on a saddle bronc for eight seconds.

"It's a rush, you're hot, out of breath, want to puke," says Heith DeMoss (pictured). "If you think, you're too late. It all has to be off muscle memory. It's happening fricking fast. You sit back, rock and roll and have fun."