I prefer to watch dismounts over barriers. Bunny hops are cool but when I think CX I think dismounts.

But....

.... it's up to the course designers to deal with that. I've seen courses with a 180 degree turn right before the barrier - impossible for even the Cat 1s to keep enough speed to bunny hop during a race (saw some do it in warm-ups but it was not as fast as a traditional dismount). Another race put the barriers just after enough of an uphill that riders couldn't carry enough speed. One other buried a small log about 10 feet in front of a barrier -- it was easy to ride over but again just enough to slow most riders down so that a dismount was the fastest way over the barriers.

But other places the course designers set up a nice straight away so a rider with the skills and strength can choose to bunny hop. I don't follow local results at all, but for all I know the guys who bunny hop and win races can't eek out a podium on a course that essentially forces a dismount. That's part of what makes CX races fun. Some racers' skills translate better to one course than to another.