Rodeo
Rodeo these days is a sport that draws
millions of paying customers, offers millions in prize money, and provides a
year-round spectacle which has danger, color, and excitement. Back in the
early 1800's, when Yankee cowboys first learned the tricks of herding longhorns
from Mexican
vaqueros, there were no rodeos, only informal contests
spurred by the competitiveness of the cowpokes. Towns that sprang up along
cattle-drive trails saw many a wild demonstration of roping, riding, and
racing. As the cattle industry spread after the Civil War, these contests
became more elaborate, involving teams from several ranches. Deer Trail,
Colorado, hosted the first such competition in 1869. By the time of the
Denver show of 1887--the first to which spectators had to pay admission--rodeo
was firmly established as part of the Western scene.
The main events of the rodeo show the cowboy at work, roping
runaway steers, throwing and tying calves, sticking on the back of an untamed
horse. A smart horse is a great help to a rodeo contestant, and in bronc-riding
contests a wild horse is a better test of ability. (The "bucking
bronco" is a horse that has learned to hate the feel of a rider, usually
because of harsh treatment in being broken to the saddle.)
There are some 600 shows on today's rodeo circuit (written
1974). The "Big Four" outdoor shows are the Cheyenne
"Frontier Days," the Pendleton, Oregon, Roundup, the Calgary Stampede,
and the "California Rodeo" at Salinas. With opening parades,
specialty acts, celebrity appearances, etc., they little resemble their
rough-and-ready origins; but for riding and roping, the rodeo is, as much as
ever, a thrilling view of the cowboy in action with the best cow ponies in all
the West.
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Bareback Riding
In this event, the contestant slips onto his bronco inside a narrow chute, and
gets a one-handed grip on the strap that circles the horse's barrel behind the
front legs. Another strap circles the horse tightly just in front of the
hind legs to provoke him into bucking more angrily. When the chute opens
the rider spurs his bronco out into the arena. He is supposed to keep on
spurring, and stay on for eight seconds. He cannot change hands on the
grip strap and must keep his other hand well away from his body. If he is
not thrown, a mounted pick-up man closes in and deftly swings him off his horse
at the end of the ride.
Two judges, each with 50 points to award (25 for rider, 25
for horse), score the ride. Out of a possible 100 the average bronc-rider
is happy to score in the 60's.
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Calf Roping
The next main event is calf roping, each contestant drawing lots for the calf he
will rope. The trick is to catch the scampering calf cleanly with the
first throw of the lariat, flip it on its side, and hitch three of its feet
together--all in winning time. A top roper with a well-trained horse can
do it in 12 or 13 seconds. He spurs his horse into action as soon as the
calf crosses the starting line. Within a few feet of the animal he throws
the rope he has had in readiness, one end tied to the saddle horse, the rest
coiled in his right hand. As the calf is roped, the horse skids to a stop
and the rider jumps to the ground. Twenty or 25 feet of line uncoil and
the horse, backtracking if necessary, keeps it stretched taut between the calf
and the saddle horn. The man spills his calf, whips the "pigging
string"--a short rope--from his teeth, and makes the required tie of three
of the calf's feet. Then he signals that he is through. If he has
done the job in winning time, much credit must go to the horse.
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Saddle-bronc Riding
Central event of the rodeo is saddle-bronc riding, in which the horse carries a
regulation Western saddle and the rider tries to stay in it for ten seconds,
while spurring his horse on to buck wildly. He can hold on only with his
legs. Like the bareback rider, he must keep one hand well away from his
body; with the other he holds the reins. If he takes hold of the saddle or
if either foot slips out of the stirrups, he will be disqualified. The
reins are attached to a halter only; the horse wears no bit. The wilder
the ride, the more points earned.
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Bulldogging
This event, also called steer wrestling, demonstrates the way to stop a steer if
you don't happen to have a lasso handy. A young bull of 700 or 800 pounds
is released. Two riders go after it--one, called a hazer, rides alongside
the steer to keep it from veering away. On the other side rides the
bulldogger, whose horse brings him skillfully abreast of the steer at just the
right distance so that he will be in position for an easy fall on the
animal. The bulldogger throws himself from his horse and brackets the
steer's neck between his chest and outer arm. He crooks this arm around
the steer's outside horn and grabs hold of the inside horn with his other
hand. His feet are slipping from the stirrups well ahead of him to act as
a break and to help him flip the steer as he thrusts down on the inside
horn. Done by a top performer, it can all be over in as little as five
seconds.
A bulldogger needs a good horse, and if ridden on loan from
another owner, the horse takes a share in the winnings.
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Bull Riding
In this, the climax of the rodeo, contestants try for an eight-second ride on the back of a bucking Brahma bull. A rope tied loosely around the bull's middle is the only hand-hold allowed. This is a dangerous sport, since bulls are inclined to gore a rider who is thrown or dismounted. It is the job of the rodeo clowns to distract a bull during those tense moments. A bull ride, however, is almost always spectacular, and rodeo riders feel that the extra risk is worth it for the points they can pick up.