It’s shorter than a Usain Bolt dash, a Mike Tyson knockout or a Tim Cahill goal but, boy, oh boy, it’s a long time. The cowboys on the Professional Bull Riders circuit need every one of them – 7.99 seconds and they get a goose egg, nada, zip ... and they don’t even get paid.

For the uninitiated, professional bull riding involves a cowboy and a bull, if possible the biggest problem child on the farm, dancing a violent eight-second waltz; man and beast fighting over who leads. The two are actually partners 50-50 in the ride scored out of 100 – 50 for the rider 50 for the bull – but it’s as if the bulls don’t even know.  

The riders wear a foam vest – yes, a vest made of foam – that costs a little bit less than a string of rope they cling to as close to a tonne of raw furious muscle tries to buck them off.

It’s a big deal. Some like Aussie legend Brendon Clark and Missouri boy Luke Snyder, who took to WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday night with 20 other cowboys, have made over $1 million in the sport.

Twenty-two riders came and went, some ‘‘went’’ much harder than others, until eight riders won a crack at the H Division of bulls; eight beasts specially chosen for their ability to threaten life and limb.

In the end, Bulahdelah’s Dave Mason reigned supreme with an exceptional 89.5-point ride on Fright Night in the final with the packed arena edging forward in their seats with each tick of the stopwatch.

The remarkable thing is Mason, like the bloke who picks the biggest guy in the pub for fun, chose Fright Night in the hope of the toughest ride.

“I saw him here last year and he was really outstanding,” Mason said.

“The boys had told me he was tough and I was sitting second and thought ‘I need some points to win it, what the hell let’s go with it, let’s get it on’.

‘‘ I knew he was going to buck but I knew it was going to be pretty good riding with it.”

So does fear even play a part or are they all just icemen?

“To be honest with you, we love doing what we do that much that, when the whistle blows, half the time you want to keep riding.

“It’s just in you. The thrill, the challenge, the adrenalin rush, everything.

‘‘I love it. I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else. I’ve played football and all that and I just get bored. This is the deal, it’s what I love to do, it’s who I am. 

‘‘I just stick my hand in the rope nod my head and let it all be.”

Mason might have won the coveted gold belt buckle for his performance but spare a thought for Gresford cowboy Cliff Richardson who rode the aptly named Akubra Suicide in the final, a ride that earned Akubra the ‘‘top bull’’ gong.

You might question their sanity, but it’s not hard to see why 90per cent of people who attend a PBR event come back for more. It’s pure adrenalin in eight-second increments.