1 p.m. Friday, $5-8; Cowboy Ball, 6 p.m. Friday, $100 individual/$900 table; Class of 2015 Induction Ceremony, Hall of Fame Garden, 10 a.m. Saturday, $10; ProRodeo Hall of Fame, 101 Pro Rodeo Drive; info: prorodeo halloffame.com or 528-4732

Six seconds can feel like an eternity – especially when you’re struggling to hang on, one-handed and sans saddle, atop a bucking bronco. Especially when you’re 8 years old.

“It seems like a lot longer than six seconds,” said Trace Barrett, who began competing as a pony bronc rider two years ago in his hometown of Ranger, Texas.

For young competitors like Barrett, up-and-coming stars in the up-and-coming mini bareback riding circuit, everything is scaled down – the gear, the hoopla (for now) and the rides. Everything, that is, except the time.

“This deal is they have to ride for six full seconds to have a qualifying ride. We have (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) judges that will be there judging horse and rider, just like at the professional level,” said Will Barrett, Trace’s dad and owner of Texas-based Cross B Rodeo Co., which produces the Buck ‘Em to Vegas Tour, the first competition of its kind for bareback pony riders ages 6 to 13.

Twenty of the best – and youngest – regional competitors will put their skills to the test at Friday’s Mini Bareback Riding World Championship Semifinals at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame arena in Colorado Springs, bucking for the chance to advance to the World Championships in Las Vegas in December. The event helps kick off a weekend of celebrations at the ProRodeo, including the annual Cowboy Ball and induction of the Class of 2015 to the organization’s Hall of Fame.

“Mini bareback riding is a brand new organized sport. With bull riding, kids that are interested start out riding calves and then steers and then junior bulls, senor bulls and open bulls,” Will Barrett said. “Horses grow pretty fast and it’s not healthy to put kids on a colt. Basically, all I’m doing is creating an opportunity to stairstep youth up. Prior to this, for many years, if a young kid wanted to be a bronc or bareback rider professionally, the only thing he could do is wait til he was near grown and then go enter a rodeo.”

Barrett’s 2-year-old program helps prepare young riders for opportunities beyond the competition arena, as well.

“Anyone involved in rodeo knows the number of college-age bareback and saddle bronc riders have fallen off, and consequently lots of colleges have struggled with (maintaining) their teams,” Barrett said. “It’s a great opportunity for kids to get educated by way of college scholarships that not a lot of people know about.”

Plus, he added, “it’s not every day kids get to ride at the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, so that’s pretty exciting.”

Stephanie Earls, The Gazette, 636-0364, stephanie.earls@gazettedev.gazette.com