The Young and the Rodeo: A Tale of How Young People Keep Alive the Sport of Rodeo in the Region Called the Arklamiss

By Robert Jackson

Introduction:

"The Young and The Rodeo" is the tale of a journey that took me into the world of rodeo through the eyes and experience of the next generation of rodeo superstars, cowboys and cowgirls. It contains personal highlights and individual stories that help explain why rodeo continues to thrive in a modern, high-tech world of video games and smart phones. It is not a detailed examination of results, instead this is a view of the sport from the eyes of those that compete in it.

It is also not a hard-news analysis, rather it is a look at what makes rodeo so special and why regional and community rodeo competitions designed for young people is a flourishing segment of the sporting world in the tri-state region of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

I will also introduce the reader to several amazing young people who love the sport and want to share that love so that others can understand why they feel the way they feel.

Hopefully, you as a reader will discover what I discovered and understand why I have fallen in love with the sport - and those young people that keep it alive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477269046

Robert Jackson

A native of St. Louis, Robert Jackson is the great-grandson of a carpenter who helped build the palaces in Forest Park for the 1904 World's Fair. He has trained for two marathons on the park's restored grounds. Although he has since lived in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City, he remains a loyal St. Louisan, especially during baseball season when the Cardinals are playing. Robert Jackson studied American literature and culture at New York University, where he received his Ph.D. This is his first book.

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© 2012 by Robert Jackson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/18/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-6906-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-6905-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-6904-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012917031

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter One

America’s Sporting Soul

Chapter Two

Relaxation, Dreams

Chapter Three

The Rodeo Spirit

Chapter Four

Family Ties

Chapter Five

A Lesson Learned

Chapter Six

A Champion Called Rowdy

Chapter Seven

The Bull Palace

Chapter Eight

It Is Not That Bad

Chapter Nine

The Bigger Picture

Chapter Ten

A Family Tale

Introduction

The Young and The Rodeo is the tale of a journey that took me into the world of rodeo through the eyes and experience of the next generation of rodeo superstars, cowboys and cowgirls. It contains personal highlights and individual stories that help explain why rodeo continues to thrive in a modern, high-tech world of video games and smart phones. It is not a detailed examination of results, instead this is a view of the sport from the eyes of those that compete in it.

It is also not a hard-news analysis, rather it is a look at what makes rodeo so special and why regional and community rodeo competitions designed for young people is a flourishing segment of the sporting world in the tri-state region of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

I will also introduce the reader to several amazing young people who love the sport and want to share that love so that others can understand why they feel the way they feel.

Hopefully, you as a reader will discover what I discovered 

and understand why I have fallen in love with the sport—and those young people that keep it alive.

Chapter One

America’s Sporting Soul

Having written a lot about sports, and watched it as a fan across our nation; I have often asked myself, What is the most American of sports?

Some sporting events advertise themselves by claiming to be the nation’s pastime or as American as hot dogs and apple pie on the Fourth of July; however, I have my own opinion developed apart from the efforts of public relations professionals.

Those who are involved in football as promoters, owners, and major college presidents point to TV ratings as evidence that football is America’s sport. Those in love with baseball use tales of history and romance to claim that their sport is the true American sport.

Those who follow the wide variety of motor sports offered in our nation are among the most fanatical of fans in the United States. If you question that assumption, simply look at how far those fans drive in order to attend a NASCAR, Indy Car or NHRA competition despite record-high gas prices and travel costs.

What is the most American of sports? In my way of thinking and looking at life, there is a tie between basketball and rodeo.

Baseball was born on the cricket fields of merry old England. Football is rugby with helmets, an odd rule about kicking the ball and a few extra moving parts.

As for motor sports, I believe it is simply crazy to do what race drivers do—reach unsafe speeds and put their lives in danger while constantly making left-hand turns. Additionally, it seems strange to me to have corporate sponsors pay millions of dollars to place colorful billboards on cars that fly around in circles at such a high rate of speed that the human eye is unable to see anything other than a colorful blur on the side of a racing machine.

Golf is not America’s game. It is Scottish and the longest running act in the sport is the British Open. Although I have a special fondness for tennis, I just cannot see Americans really embracing a sport that does not count points 1,2,3,4. Why is the first point in a set listed as 15 and zero points is love? It is illogical, to quote the eminent Star Trek philosopher Spock, to equate zero with love.

That leaves me with basketball and rodeo. For me, those two sports are as American as apple pie, maybe more American than even that dessert.