Challenge is on! Horse competition underway at Rodeo Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Although Rodeo Houston doesn't officially kick-off until Tuesday, the horse cutting competition is already underway.

The goal is for a rider on a horse to cut a calf out of a herd of cattle and keep it from returning to the other animals. The horses are judged on how they handle the challenge by the cow.

Each contest is nearly three minutes.

"It's about 80 percent horse and 20 percent rider. The big problem with the rider is not doing anything to mess the horse up. Most of these guys are very superior athletes, they're NFL quality athletes," Rob Tiemann said.

The horse cutting finals are set for Tuesday.