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I can't really understand how it's supposed to work.
As a full-round action, a creature with the trample ability can attempt to overrun any creature that is at least one size category Smaller than itself. This works just like the overrun combat maneuver, but the trampling creature does not need to make a check, it merely has to move over opponents in its path. Targets of a trample take an amount of damage equal to the trampling creature’s slam damage + 1-1/2 times its Str modifier. Targets of a trample can make an attack of opportunity, but at a –4 penalty. If targets forgo an attack of opportunity, they can attempt to avoid the trampling creature and receive a Reflex save to take half damage. The save DC against a creature’s trample attack is 10 + 1/2 the creature’s HD + the creature’s Str modifier (the exact DC is given in the creature’s descriptive text). A trampling creature can only deal trampling damage to each target once per round, no matter how many times its movement takes it over a target creature.
A stampede occurs if three or more creatures with stampede make a trample attack while remaining adjacent to each other. While stampeding, the creatures can trample foes of their size or smaller, and the trample's save DC increases by +2.
Soooo... if you have three aurochs next to one another in a line, they can do a stampede. However... the timing of this becomes insane. Each of the aurochs gets a round, even if these are on the same initiative, they would do their rounds one after the other. They wouldn't stay next to one another. Sure, you could come up with move patterns that would let them stay adjacent, but those will include moving only a few squares per round, not the trampling stampede of death people imagine.
So how does this work?
Fear the Dire Cow.
The thing is, just because you have the same init modifier and the same dex, you still roll initiative as normal. Admittedly, aurochs invite being used as a single init group, so that could be fine. But still, different creatures do not go simultaneously no matter what. If you try to break it down, you could say "if these three aurochs begin and end their moves adjacent", or even "if the moves these aurochs do remain adjacent to some part of the paths taken by the other aurochs" or the like... But that is clunky language indeed. You could go with readied actions, but this in itself changes nothing.
Exactly. Hitting the FAQ button.