History of the rodeo

_Elsa_

She finds an interesting article A brief history of rodeo in the United States. Just as she is about to read it her phone rings and it’s Tiffi. 

“Tiffi, you’re not going to believe the outfit that the graphic department created for me!” exclaims Olivia. “I’m going to be a cowgirl and you should see my cowgirl boots! They are totally awesome! I’m online now googling to learn more about cowgirls. Do you want to help me? Maybe this will make for a new story for Elsa.” 

Of course, Tiffi is always willing to Google. She tells Olivia to send her a picture so she can see what the new outfit looks like. Olivia takes the picture and sends it to her in a text message and then she begins to read the article.

‘Rodeo, and the story behind it, is a blend of cultures, traditions, and upbringings all melded into this one thing they call the rodeo.

Spanish Origins - The roots of today’s rodeo culture reach way back to the cattle industry of the American West, where it was originally influenced by Spanish conquistadors in the 1700s. There, rodeo inherited many of its practices from Spanish ranchers and their Mexican ranch hands, known as vaqueros. The word “rodeo” itself is derived from the Spanish word “rodear” meaning “roundup,” in reference to the roundup of cattle.

As pioneers from the East interacted with the Spanish, Mexican, Californian, and Texan cowboys, they inevitably picked up many of the vaqueros’ styles and traditions of working the ranch.

The blending of Anglo and Spanish-Mexican cultures led to the birth of the American cowboy era in the 1800s. Breaking horses to ride and catching cattle for branding, medical attention, and sale required roping and riding skills on the frontier ranches. In the 1820s and ’30s friendly ranch-versus-ranch contests began to spring up with cowboys and vaqueros testing their skills against each other.

The Cowboy Era - It wasn’t until after the Civil War, however, that the cowboy era truly began, as ranchers from the Southwest organized cattle drives to deliver cattle to trains where they would then be transported East. In their free time at the end of a drive, cowboys would hold informal competitions against each other to see which group had the best skills in riding and roping. These gatherings soon translated into competitions on display at race tracks, fairgrounds, and festivals across the West. From these initial contests, modern rodeo would eventually be born. And many of the skills showcased evolved into today’s tie-down roping, team roping, steer roping, and bronc riding events.

As the railroad expanded and fencing was introduced to the West, this brought an end to the open range and left many cowboys without regular employment. With only seasonal work available, they began to participate in cowboy entertainment programs that were being established. Social occasions, like the Fourth of July, provided cowboys the chance to challenge the bronc riding and roping skills of cowboys from other ranches, and these contests soon became annual events.

The First Rodeo - Some allege that the first official rodeo was born in 1869 in Deer Trail, Colorado, when two groups of cowboys from neighboring ranches met to settle an argument over who was best at performing everyday cowboy tasks, including breaking wild horses, which is today’s saddle bronc riding event.

While many consider this event to be the first rodeo, over the years, a culmination of skills and techniques from Spanish-speaking cowboys, vaqueros, and cowboys from the East combined to bring us today’s modern rodeo.

Many others claim to be the first rodeo in the U.S., including Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1872; Winfield, Kansas, in 1882; and Pecos, Texas, in 1883. Still, these early contests were primarily simple displays of riding and roping skills and not the organized events now standard in today’s rodeo industry.

From the 1880s through the 1920s, frontier days, stampedes, and cowboy contests were the most popular names of what we now call the rodeo. Buffalo Bill Cody and his Fourth of July Wild West show in North Platte, Nebraska, in 1882 was the first competition to offer prize money, with Prescott, Arizona, claiming to hold the “first formalized rodeo” on July 4, 1888. From there, Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1897, the Pendleton Round-Up in 1910, and the Calgary Stampede in 1912 followed as popular rodeo venues.’ (Source)

Let’s continue - History of the rodeo continued …

Start at the beginning – Olivia wants to become a cowgirl.