It’s more of an art than science.

Laying down dirt for a rodeo isn’t just about figuring out how much dirt to pack into the arena. And it isn’t just about the equipment, the tractors, the water, the packing.

“There’s a lot of feel to it,” said Kyle Park, general manager of the Norris-Penrose Event Center, which is hosting the 78th Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo. The four-day event — which features some of the country’s best cowboys and cowgirls competing with bulls, cows and horses — starts Wednesday.

For the past week, a crew of about five has been working on maintaining the dirt at the event center. The material is not just dirt but also a mix of clay and sand, and it’s supposed to help with the footing of the animals.

Whether the surface is too hard or soft can be problematic to the competitors, so that’s why a crew has been spending several hours a day making sure the event center’s floor — stretching 380 feet long and 183 feet wide, or about 52,000-square feet — is just right. The dirt is about a foot deep.

Park said the best dirt specialists have to not only take a close look at the ground but also feel the dirt, as if it’s a piece of art.

”It’s not a small feat to get the footing right,” he said. “If you don’t spread it evenly, some areas will get patchy, some areas will run hard and some areas will run soft.”

Park did not divulge the cost of the dirt, but hinted that it’s not a cheap expense. He pointed out that the cost of a tractor driver, whose main job is to churn the dirt, is $75 an hour.

On Thursday, dump trucks started unloading hundreds of tons of dirt to mix in with the existing material. It is then blended, compacted and leveled out by a maintenance crew, headed by facilities manager Rick Heitmann. Park said the event center will used the dirt for, at least, another year, probably until next year’s Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo.

And the event center takes this aspect of putting together a rodeo very seriously, evident by the fact that it has won several accolades for footing — including the 2010 Justin Boots Best Footing Award in the mountain states circuit.

”It makes a huge difference to perform at the best level from an athletic standout,” said Cory Wall, general manager of the rodeo. “The footing probably evens out the playing field among all the cowboys. The animals have a tendency to perform at a high level no matter what, but obviously the better ground the more the animal will be able to perform.”