text: It is one of the most dangerous sports in the world and one in every 15 bull rides ends in an injury of some sort. But that isn't enough to stop hundreds of child riders, some as young as seven, from taking the hot seat each year. Among them is Lance Lara, 10, from Fort Worth in Texas, who has proved so successful that he was crowned world champion in his age group last year. Bouncing around: A young bull rider takes on a bullock (steer) at a rodeo in Fort Worth, Texas . But each time he gets on a bullock, a castrated male, he risks life and limb, and has already been trampled on several times. That, however, is not enough to stop his father TJ, himself a former bull rider, from entering Lance, his older brother Joe, 15, and his sister Jayden, seven, into competitions all over the US. 'It’s about taking chances and these kids, that’s what they’re doing,' he explains in an interview with Channel 4's Unreported World. 'They’re taking chances and as parents we’re taking a chance. This is a very dangerous sport and you can’t take it kiddish and [be] playing around because that’s when you can get hurt.' Bull riding is a multi-billion dollar industry in the US and events staged by the PBR, the professional bull riders' association, are watched by up to half a billion people around the world each year. Ouch! Most bull riders are speedily thrown off - a good result is eight seconds . Hitting the deck: An estimated one in 15 bull rides across all age groups ends in injury of some sort . Starting small: The youngest children hone their skills on sheep before graduating to calves . But as the stakes get higher, pressure to breed bulls that are more athletic, more vicious and bigger than ever before has increased - including in the junior division. For Cody Custer, a former bull riding world champion, it is becoming too dangerous. 'You take a young teenage boy and put him on a bull that’s got a massive pedigree,' he explains. 'It would be kind of like putting a young 13, 14 year old footballer against an NFL player. It’s just not even.' Another young bull-rider, 16-year-old Trey, who has been knocked out several times by oversized bulls, agrees. 'The breeding system nowadays is getting so intense and so hard-core, it’s not even realistic. 'The more stuff they breed and the more stuff they do, it’s making bucking harder and harder. It’s crazy.' That, however, isn't enough to quell the Lara family's enthusiasm. All three children started when they were barely more than toddlers, honing their skills on sheep in a sport known colloquially as 'mutton throwing'. Not happy: Even the calves, such as the one pictured, can pack a hefty punch if enraged . Moving on: The next step is to ride bullocks (castrated young males) before culminating in big bulls . Tough task: Bullocks, who are often approaching the size of a full-grown female, are no easy ride . Now seven, Jayden, the youngest, has graduated onto calves while Lance takes on bullocks and Joe wrangles bulls. But of all the Lara children, it is Lance who takes the sport most seriously, training for two hours a day, every day, in a bid to achieve his ambition of becoming a PBR rider. He has also suffered several injuries. 'I was hanging upside down and next thing you know I was on the ground,' he recalls. 'Stepped on.' Determined not to show his family up, the 10-year-old says he managed to hold back his tears until he left the arena. 'Most of all the things that daddy says is: don’t cry in the arena,' he explains. 'I cried in the back pen.' Despite the hard work and the injuries, Lance's fledgling career has proved lucrative, with the boy earning an impressive $5,000 last year. Big guns: Teenagers begin with small bulls but, should they make professional, graduate onto big ones . Aggressive: Bulls bred for rodeo are becoming increasingly large and athletic . This money is being put towards paying for college and TJ couldn't be more proud. 'I think he feels the pressure he puts on himself,' he says. 'You know the pressure of wanting to win, wanting to be number one. I always tell him I’m going to throw you to the wolves, you either come back leading the pack or you get eaten. 'He’s always been one of the smaller guys. It’s something to kind of motivate him, pump him up.' He does, however, worry about the increasingly large bulls involved. 'Lance has eight more years before he can even think about riding here [in the main arena],' he says. 'Just think if these bulls are bucking this hard and are this rank right now, what are they going to be like in eight years when he’s there? 'If it continues the way it is, the sport of rodeo the way it is, it’ll no longer be a bull riding, it will be just a bull bucking competition. It’s all about money.'
target: Children as young as seven can take part in bull riding competitions .
  Youngest children ride calves before graduating to bullocks then bulls .
  Between four and six, they hone their skills by 'mutton busting' on sheep .
  Bull riding is thought to be one of the most dangerous sports in the world .
  An estimated one in every 15 bull rides ends in some sort of injury .
  Unreported World, tonight at 7.30pm on Channel 4 .