Western Entertainment
July 4, 1888
Rodeo is a sport that grew out of the cattle industry in the American West. Its roots reach back to the sixteenth century. The Spanish conquistadors and Spanish-Mexican settlers played a key role in the origin of rodeo with the introduction and propagation of horses and cattle in the Southwest.
Some say that rodeo was born in 1869 when two groups of cowboys from neighboring ranches met in Deer Trail, Colo., to settle an argument over who was the best at performing everyday cowboy tasks, including breaking wild horses to ride for ranch work – a common cowboy task that evolved into rodeo’s saddle bronc riding
Rodeo events included: calf roping, bronco riding (horses for the men and mules for women), fast and ‘slow’ horse racing, best costume competition, team roping, a children’s pony race and a three quarter mile novelty race (walk, trot, and run). Many participated and events were well attended.
75,580 fans
Other animal welfare groups, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), also object to rodeos . The ASPCA calls them “a cruel form of entertainment that involves the painful, stressful and potentially harmful treatment of livestock”.
The Reno Rodeo . Prescott Frontier Days: World’s Oldest Rodeo . Greeley Stampede. Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo . Pendleton Round-Up. Weekley Brothers Davie Pro Rodeo . Ellensburg Rodeo . National Western Stock Show & Rodeo .
Cheyenne Frontier Days
The United Kingdom and the Netherlands have banned rodeos outright. In the United States, rodeo is the official state sport in Wyoming and Texas. Other countries where rodeo is still a big sport are Canada, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, and Spain.
Bull Riding Bucking straps and spurs can cause the bull to buck beyond his normal capacity and his legs or back may thus be broken. Eventually, when bulls cease to provide a wild ride , they too are sent to slaughter.
Prescott Frontier Days
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, Nevada, currently held every December.
At once gritty and pastoral, it’s a scene iconic to the American West— Rodeo . And from the proverbial one-horse town to the country’s biggest cities, its popularity is burgeoning. Nationwide, there are more than 600 rodeos sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).
Prescott Rodeo Grounds
Bareback Riding . Bareback riding , developed in the rodeo arena many years ago, consistently produces some of the wildest action in the sport. Steer Wrestling . Wrestling a steer requires more than brute strength. Tie-Down Roping . Saddle Bronc Riding . Team Roping . Barrel Racing . Bull Riding . Steer Roping .