Let’sLearnAboutRodeo
Rodeoasweknowitdidnotexistun4lthelate1800’s,butitsrootsinNorthAmericaaretraced
backtotheSpanishse@lingCaliforniaandbecomingca@leranchers.
TheskillsoftheearlySpanishvaqueroswereeventuallypassedalongtotheAmericanCowboy
aIerthecivilwarwhenthefron4erterritorieswereheavilyexpanding.Thedifferencebetween
SpanishrodeoandAmericanrodeoisthattheSpanishversionfocusesonstyle,whilethe
Americanversionfocusesonspeed.
Inthelate1800’s,WildWestShowsbegantravelingthroughouttheEasternstatesanddidsofor
about50years.Today’srodeosareanoffspringoftheseearlyshowsthatfeaturedgreat
cowboys.Theearly1900’smarkedtheintroduc4onoftheWildWestShowoverseas,with
performancesinEnglandandAfrica.Thecowboysintheseshowswerepaidperformersandit
wasnotacontestlikemodernrodeosnow.
In1936,thecowboysdecidedtoformtheirownorganiza4onaIerstrikingattheBostonGarden
Rodeo.Theorganiza4onwasnamedtheCowboysTurtleAssocia4onbecausetheywereslowto
organize,buteventually“stucktheirneckout”.Theorganiza4onwantedtoensurefairprize
money,equalityinjudgingandhonestadver4singofthesport.In1945,thenamewaschanged
totheRodeoCowboysAssocia4on.Againin1974thenamewaschanged,this4metothe
ProfessionalRodeoCowboysAssocia4on.
ThePRCAsanc4onsnearly600rodeosyearly.Thestandardeventsaresaddlebroncriding,
barebackriding,bullriding,4edownroping,steerwrestlingandteamroping.
Rodeo’s“classic”event,saddlebroncridinghasrootsthatrundeepinthehistoryoftheold
west.RanchhandswouldoIengatherandcompeteamongthemselvestoseewhocould
displaythebeststylewhileridinguntrainedhorses.Itwasfromthisearlycompe44onthat
today’seventwasborn.Thereisasaddleands4rups.Thesaddlebroncridershouldstayonfor
eightsecondswithouttouchingtheanimalwithhisfreehand.
Abarebackrideisdonewithoutasaddleandisagain4medtobeaneightsecondride.Arider
isdisqualifiedifhetoucheshisequipment,himselfortheanimalwithhisfreehandorbucksoff.
Unliketheotherroughstockcontestants,bullridersarenotrequiredtospur.It’susually
impressiveenoughjusttoremainseatedforeightsecondsonabullthatmayweighmorethana
tonandisasquickasheisbig.
Tiedownropingisaneventbornontheranchesoftheoldwest.Calveswereropedand4ed
downformedicaltreatment.Today,successin4edownropingdependslargelyonthe
teamworkbetweenthecowboyandhishorse.AIerthecalfisgivenaheadstart,horseand
ridergivechase.
Thecontestantropesthecalf,thendismountsandrunstotheanimal.AIercatchingtheanimal,
thecowboy4esthreeoftheanimal’slegstogether.
Steerwrestling(alsoknownasbulldogging)isaneventthatbeginswithasteerwrestleron
horseback.HewillbeginthechaseaIerthesteeraIerthesteerhasbeengivenaheadstart.
Thesteerwrestlerisassistedbyahazer,anothercowboyonhorsebacktaskedwithkeepingthe
steerrunninginastraightline.Whenthebulldogger’shorsepullsevenwiththesteer,heeases
downtherightsideofthehorsetoreachforthesteershorns,aIergraspingthehorns,hedigs
hisheelsintothedirt.Asthesteerslows,thetaskofthecowboyisto4pthesteerover.The
clockstopswhenthesteerisonthesidewithallfourlegspoin4nginthesamedirec4on.
Teamropingisuniqueinthattwocowboysworktogetherforashared4me.Thefirstcowboy,
knownasthe“header”,ropesthesteereitherbythehorns,aroundtheneck,oraroundthe
hornandneck.AIerthecatchismade,theheaderwrapshisropearoundthesaddlehornand
turnsthesteertotheleI.Thesecondcowboyknownasthe“heeler”goesbehindthesteerand
ropesthebackfeet.
Somelinksthatmaybeshownontheevents:
Saddlebronc
h@p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bbPz3epETE
Bareback
h@p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGqUIFZihO4
BullRiding
h@p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f81-ZhDCkU
Tiedownroping
h@p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfw3rEbBZtg
SteerWrestling
h@p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD2WawNF2iI
TeamRoping
h@p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfXxPupJuYg
AMapofTheProfessionalRodeoCowboysAssocia4onCircuitRodeos