History of Rodeo - Additional Material

Additional Material

Santa Fe, New Mexico lays claim to the first rodeo based on a letter dated 1847 written by Captain Mayne Reid from Santa Fe to a friend in Ireland:

"At this time of year, the cowmen have what is called the round-up, when the calves are branded and the fat beasts selected to be driven to a fair hundreds of miles away. This round-up is a great time for the cowhand, a Donny-brook fair it is indeed. They contest with each other for the best roping and throwing, and there are horse races and whiskey and wines. At night in clear moonlight, there is dancing on the streets."

Following the American Civil War, organized rodeo emerged with the first held in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1872. Prescott, Arizona claims the distinction of holding the first professional rodeo when it charged admission and awarded trophies in 1888. Between 1890 and 1910, rodeo became a public entertainment made popular through Wild West Shows and Fourth of July celebrations with Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, and other charismatic stars lending their glamour and prestige to the spectacle. Oakley was a sharpshooter in Cody's Wild West show (rather than as a rodeo performer), but she created the image of the cowgirl and appeared as the first cowgirl in a western film shot by Thomas Alva Edison in 1894.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, rodeo became a spectator sport with round ups, frontier days, and other themed exhibitions attracting regional audiences. In the 1920s, Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden drew nationwide attention staging rodeos. Every rodeo was independent and selected its own events from among nearly one hundred different contests. Until World War I, there was little difference between rodeo and charreada, and competitors from the United States, Mexico and Canada participated freely in all three countries.

In 1929, local rodeo boards, stock contractors, and sponsors formed the Rodeo Association of America (later the International Rodeo Association) to police rodeo by forbidding false advertising of big money purses, and self-styled "championship" rodeos. By the mid-1930s, cowboys had organized themselves into the Cowboys Turtle Association which eventually became the Rodeo Cowboys Association, and finally the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1975. Gas rationing and other restrictions attending World War II hit rodeo hard with women's ranch events such as bronc riding curtailed and inexpensive barrel racing and beauty pageants being held in their stead. Following the war, rodeo gender bias faced women and in response they formed the Girls Rodeo Association in 1948 (now the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA)). Women then held their own rodeos.

In 1958, the RCA created the National Finals Rodeo Commission to produce a major, end-of-season rodeo event similar in prestige to baseball's World Series and hockey's Stanley Cup. CBS telecast the first such event. Though rodeo had traditionally suspected television to be a liability rather than an asset (keeping people home to watch rodeo rather than attending competitions), the industry heartily approved the telecast. Rodeo schools, which had their tentative beginnings in the 1930s, gained attention and growth through the 1950s, with the first regular school opening in 1962.

In the 1970s, rodeo saw unprecedented growth. Contestants referred to as "the new breed" brought rodeo increasing media attention. These contestants were young, typically from an urban background, and chose rodeo for its athletic rewards. Photojournalists and reporters viewed them as a source of interesting stories about behind-the-scenes routines and lifestyles. The "new breed" was a far cry from traditional rodeo men who sought all-night binges rather than the stock portfolios, airline credit cards, recording and television contracts, and retirement packages desired by the new breed. By 1985, one third of PRCA members admitted to a college education and one half admitted to never having worked on a cattle ranch.