Sit in the packed arena stands on any given weekend, turn up Garth Brooks’ 1991 hit single “Rodeo” extolling the “dust and the mud” and the “bulls and the blood,” peruse photographer Andy Anderson’s dramatic Montana series “All the Bucking Horses” — there’s proof everywhere that the sport of rodeo continues to captivate hundreds of thousands of spectators, drawing top competitors from around the country and providing some of the best entertainment on dirt.
To borrow from Garth again, “It’s the ropes and the reins, and the joy and the pain. And they call the thing rodeo.”
The term rodeo comes from the Spanish rodear, meaning “to surround” or “go around.” First used in American English about 1834 to denote a “round up” of cattle, the word and the activity it describes might date from the 16th century, when Spanish conquistadors introduced horses and cattle in the Southwest. In the 1800s, American cowboys and Mexican vaqueros working the vast cattle ranches of the region would have riding and roping contests. Their competitive cowboying became a form of entertainment, eventually evolving into the organized professional sport we know today.
It’s thought that the first rodeo took place more than a hundred years ago in Deer Trail, Colorado, during a cowboy feud over who was best at breaking wild horses. The competition became our modern saddle bronc riding event. Today’s most popular events include tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, bareback bronc riding, bull riding, barrel racing, and, of course, century, women’s events get stronger and stronger. In addition to barrel racing, breakaway roping has become one of rodeo’s most popular events, and junior bull riding can now be seen along with good old mutton bustin’.
