Out of the Chute

You don't care who is watching you as you ease down.
All you know is only one of you can come out on top,
you or the wild animal under you.
You take a deep breath and nod your head.
The chute flies open and there is no turning back.
You don't have a reason to anyways.
This is where you want to be,
need to be.

Time freezes even though all you need is eight seconds.
Then the buzzer sounds and applause roars from the stands,
behind the chutes,
everywhere.
You ignore the aches in your shoulder for now as you just stand there,
amazed.
Your score is announced and you know you've done it.
You've won.

You can't wait to ride like this again.

Hey, Ninja! Can't wait to read this. Just give me a moment to come up with a proper review . . .

You don't care who is watching you as you ease down.
All you know is only one of you can come out on top,
you or the wild animal [s]under you.[/s] you mount.
You take a deep breath and nod your head.
At your command, the chute flies open and there is no turning back.
You don't have a reason to anyways. "Anyways" adds voice. I like it.
This is where you want to be,
need to be. Italicized "need" to add emphases.

Time freezes even though all you need is eight seconds.

Right about here: maybe you ought to add two or three lines about riding the bronco. The bouncing, the pitching, the holding-on-for-dear-life. You know.
Then the buzzer sounds and applause roars from the stands,
behind the chutes,
everywhere.
You ignore the aches in your shoulder.
New Paragraph for [s]now as[/s] For the moment you just stand there,
amazed.
Your score is announced and you know you've done it.
You've won.

You can't wait to ride like this again.

OVERALL: It's thrilling. I've never been to a rodeo (sad, I know) but I like the way you describe this. It seems very personal, and I can picture myself enduring the same thing as I read it. Great work.

~Sunny