Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,
Where I help you drift off one fact at a time.
I'm your host,
Benjamin Boster,
And today's episode is about rodeos.
Rodeo is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico,
Expanding through the Americas and to other nations.
It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqueros,
And later cowboys,
In what today is the western United States,
Western Canada,
And northern Mexico.
Today it is a sporting event that involves horses and other livestock,
Designed to test the skill and speed of the cowboys and cowgirls.
Professional rodeos generally comprise the following events.
Tie-down roping,
Team roping,
Steer wrestling,
Saddle bronc riding,
Bareback bronc riding,
Bull riding,
Breakaway roping,
And barrel racing.
The events are divided into two basic categories,
The timed events and rough stock events.
Depending on sanctioning organization and region,
Other events,
Such as goat tying and pole bending,
May also be a part of some rodeos.
The world's first public cowboy contest was held on July 4,
1883.
In Pecos,
Texas,
Between cattle driver Trav Wyndham and roper Morgue Livingston.
Rodeo particularly popular today throughout the western United States and in the Canadian province of Alberta,
Is the official state sport of Wyoming,
South Dakota,
And Texas.
The iconic silhouette image of a bucking horse and rider is a federal and state registered trademark of Wyoming.
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta has considered making rodeo the official sport of that province.
However,
Enabling legislation has yet to be passed.
In the United States,
Professional rodeos are governed and sanctioned by the U.
S.
Department of Transportation and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association,
PRCA,
And Women's Professional Rodeo Association,
WPRA,
While other associations govern assorted children's,
High school,
Collegiate,
And other amateur and semi-professional rodeos.
Associations also exist for Native Americans and other minority groups.
The traditional season for competitive rodeo runs from spring through fall,
While the modern professional rodeo circuit runs longer and concludes with the PRCA National Finals Rodeo NFR in Las Vegas,
Held every December.
The American English word rodeo is taken directly from the Spanish rodeo,
Which roughly translates into English as roundup.
The Spanish word is derived from the word rodear,
Meaning to surround or go around,
Used to refer to a pen for cattle at a fair or market,
Derived from the Latin rota or rotare,
Meaning to rotate or go around.
In Spanish America,
The rodeo was the process that was used by vaqueros to gather cattle for various purposes,
Such as moving them to new pastures or separating the cattle owned by different ranchers.
The yearly rodeos for separating the cattle were overseen by the juez del campo,
Who decided all questions of ownership.
The term was also used to refer to exhibitions of skills used in the working rodeo,
And it evolved from these yearly gatherings where festivities were held,
And horsemen could demonstrate their equestrian skills.
This latter usage was adopted into the cowboy tradition of the United States and Canada.
The term rodeo was first used in English in approximately 1834,
To refer to a cattle roundup.
Today the word is primarily used to refer to a public exhibition of cowboy skills,
Usually in the form of a competitive event.
Many rodeo events were based on the tasks required by cattle ranching.
A working cowboy developed skills to fit the needs of the terrain and climate of the American West,
And there were many regional variations.
Some of the skills required to manage cattle and horses date back to the 16th century rodeo traditions of the vaqueros in the lands of the viceroyalty of New Spain,
Present-day Mexico,
And the American Southwest.
Early rodeo-like affairs of the 1820s and 1830s were informal events in the western United States and northern Mexico,
With cowboys and vaqueros testing their work skills against one another.
After the American Civil War,
Rodeo competitions emerged with the first held in Deer Trail,
Colorado in 1869.
Prescott,
Arizona,
North of Phoenix,
Claimed the distinction of holding the first professional rodeo as a charged admission and awarded trophies in 1888.
Between 1890 and 1910,
Rodeos became public entertainment,
Sometimes combined wild west shows featuring individuals such as Buffalo Bill Cody,
Annie Oakley,
And other charismatic stars.
By 1910,
Several major rodeos were established in western North America,
Including the Calgary Stampede in Calgary,
Alberta,
The Pendleton Roundup in northeastern Oregon,
And the Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne,
Wyoming.
On July 4,
1883,
In the frontier town of Pecos,
An argument between Trav Wyndham,
A cattle driver,
And Morgue Livingston,
An accomplished cattle roper,
Led to what the Encyclopedia Britannica refers to as the world's first public cowboy contest,
And is often referred to as the first official rodeo.
The two men chose to have the competition on the flatland on west side of the Pecos River.
A July 4 public holiday allowed ranchers,
Cowboys,
And townsfolk to attend.
Many other ranchers and cowboys chose to take part in the event,
Including Jim Manon,
John Chalk,
And Brawley Oates,
Many whom traveled from distant ranches.
Wyndham would end up winning the roping contest.
Other winners include Pete Beard of Hashknife Ranch and Jeff Chisholm.
Prize money was $40,
And blue ribbons donated by a young resident.
The rodeo type events also became popular for a time in the big cities of the eastern United States,
With large venues like Madison Square Garden playing a part in popularizing them for new crowds.
There was no standardization of events for a rodeo competition until 1929,
When associations began forming.
In the 1970s,
Rodeo saw unprecedented growth.
Contestants referred to as the new breed brought rodeo increasing media attention.
These contestants were young,
Often from an urban background,
And chose rodeo for its athletic rewards.
By 1985,
One-third of PRCA members had a college education,
And as many as one-half of the competitors had never worked on a cattle ranch.
Today,
Some professional rodeos are staged indoors in large climate-controlled arenas,
And many are telecast.
Other professional rodeos are held outdoors.
Historically,
Women have long participated in competitive rodeo.
Prairie Rose Henderson debuted at the Cheyenne Rodeo in 1901,
And by 1920,
Women were competing in rough stock events,
Relay races,
And trick riding.
Rodeo women organized into various associations and staged their own rodeos.
Today,
Women's barrel racing is included as a competitive event in professional rodeo,
With breakaway roping and goat tying added at collegiate and lower levels.
They compete equally with men in team roping,
Sometimes in mixed-sex teams.
Women also compete in traditional roping and rough stock events at women-only rodeos.
Professional rodeos in the United States,
Canada,
Mexico,
Australia,
And New Zealand usually include timed events and rough stock events,
Most commonly tie-down roping,
Team roping,
Steer wrestling,
Saddle bronc and bareback bronc riding,
Bull riding,
Breakaway roping,
And barrel racing.
Additional events may be included at the collegiate and high school level,
Such as goat tying.
Some events are based on traditional ranch practices.
Others are modern developments and have no counterpart at ranch practice.
Rodeos may also offer western-themed entertainment at intermission,
Including music and novelty acts,
Such as trick riding.
Roping competitions are based on the tasks of a working cowboy,
Who often had to capture calves and adult cattle for branding,
Medical treatment,
And other purposes.
The cowboy must throw a type of rope with a loop,
Known as a lariat,
Riata,
Or riata,
Or lasso,
Over the head of a calf or onto the horns and around the hind legs of adult cattle,
And secure the animal in a fashion dictated by its size and age.
Calf roping,
Also called tie-down roping in the United States and Canada,
And rope and tie in Australia and New Zealand,
Is based on ranch work in which calves are roped for branding,
Medical treatment,
Or other purposes.
It is the oldest of rodeo's timed events.
The cowboy ropes a running calf around the neck with a lariat,
And his horse stops and sets back on the rope while the cowboy dismounts,
Runs to the calf,
Throws it to the ground,
And ties three feet together.
If the calf falls when roped,
The cowboy must lose time waiting for the calf to get back to its feet,
So the cowboy can do the work.
The job of the horse is to hold the calf steady on the rope.
A well-trained calf roping horse will slowly back up while the cowboy ties the calf to help keep the lariat snug.
Breakaway roping is a form of calf roping where a very short lariat is used,
Tied lightly to the saddle horn with string and a flag.
When the calf is roped about the neck,
The horse stops,
The flagged rope breaks free of the saddle,
And the calf runs on without being thrown or tied.
In most of the United States,
This event is primarily for women of all ages and boys under 12.
In places where traditional tie-down calf roping is not allowed,
Riders of both genders compete.
Team roping,
Also called heading and heeling,
Is the only rodeo event where men and women riders compete together.
Two people capture and restrain a full-grown steer.
One horse and rider,
The header,
Lassos a running steer's horns,
While the other horse and rider,
The heeler,
Lassos the steer's two hind legs.
Once the animal is captured,
The riders face each other and lightly pull the steer between them so that both ropes are taught.
This technique originated from the methods of capture and restraint for treatment used on a ranch.
Barrel racing is a time,
Speed,
And agility event.
In barrel racing,
Horse and rider gallop around a cloverleaf pattern of barrels,
Making agile turns without knocking the barrels over.
In professional,
Collegiate,
And high school rodeo,
Barrel racing is an exclusively women's sport,
Though men and boys occasionally compete at local omoxy competition.
Steer wrestling,
Also known as bulldogging,
Is a rodeo event where the rider jumps off his horse onto a coriander steer and wrestles it to the ground by grabbing above the horns.
It is probably the single most physically dangerous event in rodeo for the cowboy,
Who runs a high risk of jumping off a running horse headfirst and missing the steer,
Or of having the thrown steer land on top of them,
Sometimes horns first.
Goat tying is usually an event for women or preteen girls and boys.
A goat is staked out while a mounted rider runs to the goat,
Dismounts,
Grabs the goat,
Throws it to the ground,
And ties it in the same manner as a calf.
The horse must not come into contact with the goat or its tether.
The event was designed to teach smaller or younger riders the basics of calf roping without requiring the more complex skill of roping the animal.
This event is not part of professional rodeo competition.
In spite of popular myth,
Most modern Bronx are not,
In fact,
Wild horses,
But are more commonly spoiled riding horses or horses bred specifically as bucking stock.
Rough stock events also use at least two well-trained riding horses,
Ridden by pickup riders,
Either men or women,
Tasked with assisting fallen riders and helping successful riders get safely off the bucking animal.
Bronc Riding There are two divisions in rodeo.
Bareback bronc riding,
Where the rider is only allowed to hang onto a bucking horse with a type of surcingle called a rigging.
Saddle bronc riding,
Where the rider uses a specialized western saddle without a horn for safety and hangs onto a heavy lead rope called a bronc rein,
Which is attached to a halter on the horse.
Bull Riding Bull riding is an event where the cowboys ride full-grown bucking bulls instead of horses.
Although skills and equipment similar to those needed for bareback bronc riding are required,
The event differs considerably from horse riding competition due to the danger involved.
Because bulls are unpredictable and may attack a fallen rider,
Rodeo clowns,
Now known as bullfighters,
Work during bull riding competition to distract the bulls and help prevent injury to competitors.
Steer Riding Steer riding is a rough stock event for boys and girls,
Where children ride steers,
Usually in a manner similar to bulls.
Ages vary by region,
As there is no national rule set for this event.
Participants are at least 8 years old and compete through about age 14.
It is a training event for bronc riding and bull riding.
Several other events may be scheduled on a rodeo program,
Depending upon the rodeo's governing association.
Steer Roping Steer roping is not listed as an official PRCA event and banned in several states,
But quietly recognized by the PRCA in some areas.
It is rarely seen in the United States today because of the tremendous risk of injury to all involved.
A single rider ropes his steer around the horns,
Throws the rope around the steer's back hip,
Dalleys,
And rides in a 90 degree angle to the roped steer,
Opposite side from the aforementioned hip.
The action brings the steer's head around towards the legs in such a manner as to redirect the steer's head towards its back legs.
This causes the steer to trip.
Steers are too big to tie in the manner used for calves.
Absent a heeler,
It is very difficult for one person to restrain a grown steer once down.
However,
The steer's trip causes it to be temporarily incapacitated,
Allowing its legs to be tied in a manner akin to calf roping.
The event has roots in ranch practices north of the Rio Grande,
But is no longer seen at the majority of American rodeos.
However,
It is practiced at some rodeos in Mexico and may also be referred to as steer tripping.
Steer dobbing is usually seen at lower levels of competition and is an event to help young competitors learn skills later needed for steer wrestling.
A rider carrying a long stick was a paint-filled dauber at the end,
Attempts to run up alongside a steer and place a mark of paint inside a circle that has been drawn on the side of the animal.
Pull bending is a speed and agility competition sometimes seen at local and high school rodeos.
It is more commonly viewed as Gymkhana or Omoxi competition.
In pull bending,
The horse and rider run the length of a line of six upright pulls,
Turn sharply and weave through the pulls,
Turn again and weave back,
Then return to the start.
Shoot dodging is an event to teach pre-teen boys how to steer wrestle.
The competitor enters a bucking shoot with a small steer.
The boy will then place his right arm around the steer's neck and left hand on top of its neck.
When ready,
The gate is opened and steer and contestant exit the shoot.
Once they cross over a designated line,
The competitor will grab onto the horns of the steer colloquially to hook up to the steer and wrestle it to the ground.
Outside of competitive events,
Other activities are often associated with rodeos,
Particularly at local levels.
A typical rodeo begins with a grand entry,
In which mounted riders,
Many carrying flags including the American flag,
State flags,
Banners representing sponsors,
And others enter the arena at a gallop,
Circle once,
Come to the center of the arena,
And stop while the remaining participants enter.
The grand entry is used to introduce some of the competitors,
Officials,
And sponsors.
It is capped by the presentation of the American flag,
Usually with a rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner,
And depending on region,
Other ceremonies.
If a rodeo queen is crowned,
The contestants or winner and runners-up may also be presented.
Variety acts,
Which may include musicians,
Trick riders,
Or other entertainment,
May occur halfway through the rodeo at intermission.
Some rodeos may also include novelty events,
Such as steer riding for preteens,
Or mud and busting for small children.
In some places,
Various types of novelty races or events,
Such as wild cow milking,
Are offered for adults.
Formal associations and detailed rules came late to rodeo.
Until the mid-1930s,
Every rodeo was independent and selected its own events from among nearly 100 different contests.
Until World War I,
There was little difference between rodeo and charleada.
Athletes from the U.
S.
,
Mexico,
And Canada competed freely in all three countries.
Later,
Charleada was formalized as an amateur team sport,
And the international competitions ceased.
It remains popular in Mexico and Hispanic communities in the U.
S.
Today.
Numerous associations govern rodeo in the United States.
Each with slightly different rules and events.
The oldest and largest sanctioning body of professional rodeo is the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association,
PRCA,
Which governs about a third of all rodeos staged in the U.
S.
Annually.
It was originally named the Cowboys Turtle Association,
Later became the Rodeo Cowboys Association,
And finally the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1975.
The PRCA crowns the world champions at the National Finals Rodeo and FR in Las Vegas on the UNLV campus,
Featuring the top 15 money winners in seven events.
The Professional Bull Riders,
PBR,
Is a more recent organization dedicated solely to bull riding.
Rodeo gender bias was a problem for cowgirls,
And in response women formed the Girls Rodeo Association in 1948,
Now the Women's Professional Rodeo Association,
WPRA,
And held their own rodeos.
The Women's Professional Rodeo Association is open exclusively to women.
Women's barrel racing is governed by the WPRA,
Which holds finals for barrel racing along with the PRCA with the Cowboys at the NFR.
There are also high school rodeos sponsored by the National High School Rodeo Association,
NHSRA.
Many colleges,
Particularly land-grant colleges in the West,
Have rodeo teams.
The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association,
NIRA,
Is responsible for the College National Finals Rodeo,
CNFR,
Held each June in Casper,
Wyoming,
Northwest of Laramie.
Other rodeo governing bodies in the United States include American Junior Rodeo Association,
AJRA,
For contestants under 20 years of age,
National Little Britches Rodeo Association,
NLBRA,
For youths ages 5 to 18,
Senior Pro Rodeo,
SPR,
For people 40 years old or over,
And the International Gay Rodeo Association.
Each association has its own regulations and its own method of determining champions.
Athletes participate in rodeos sanctioned by their own governing body or one that has a mutual agreement with theirs and their points count for qualification to their association finals.
Rodeo committees must pay sanctioning fees to the appropriate governing bodies and employ the needed stock contractors,
Judges,
Announcers,
Bullfighters,
And barrel men from their approved lists.
Other nations have similar sanctioning associations.
Until recently,
The most important was PRCA,
Which crowns the world champions of the National Finals Rodeo,
Held since 1985 in Las Vegas,
Nevada,
Featuring the top 15 money winners in seven events.
The athletes who have won the most money,
Including NFR earnings,
In each event are the champions.
However,
Since 1992,
Professional Bull Riders has drawn many top bull riders and holds its own multi-million dollar individual season world finals in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex every spring,
And Team Series Championship in Las Vegas every autumn since 2022.
Women's Barrel Racing is governed by the WPRA and holds its finals along with the PRCA with the Cowboys at the NFR.
Contemporary rodeo is a lucrative business.
More than 7,
500 Cowboys compete for over $30 million at 650 rodeos annually.
Women's Barrel Racing,
Sanctioned by the WPRA,
Has taken place at most of these rodeos.
Over 2,
000 barrel racers compete for nearly $4 million annually.
Professional cowgirls also compete in bronc and bull riding,
Team roping,
And calf roping under the auspices of the PWRA,
A WPRA subsidiary.
However,
The numbers are small,
About 120 members,
And these competitors go largely unnoticed,
With only 20 rodeos and 70 individual contests available annually.
The total purse at the PWRA National Finals is $50,
000.
Meanwhile,
The PBR has 800 members from three continents and $10 million in prize money.
