Rodeo
The word rodeo means "to round up livestock (usually cattle or horses) for counting, inspection, and branding." As a sport, it refers to the spectacle of cowboys competing in various events: bucking, bull riding, bull wrestling, and calf and bull roping (more recently, other types of events have been added, such as barrel racing, chuckwagon racing, and bucking). These events are contested at annual competitions, such as the CALGARY STAMPEDE .
Historical
The term rodeo comes from the Spanish verb rode "to encircle" or from the Latin verb rotate "turn." Today, rodeo, which is generally associated with the "West" lifestyle, attracts spectators from coast to coast. The first official Canadian rodeo, "The Last and Best Great West Frontier Days Celebration," was held on September 2, 1912, in Calgary. Rodeo in North America has its origins in a variety of historical traditions and types of entertainment. In the 16th century, the vaqueros , or Mexican cattle drivers, used the reata (rope), wore hats (greaves) and, on their spirited mounts from North Africa, guarded the robust Spanish cattle.
The travel journals of an Irish soldier, Captain Mayne Reid, dated 1847, are probably the first documents that describe the lassoing and setting free of oxen in the streets of Santa Fe, New Mexico. vaqueros . These ancient festivals, established in communities located all along the cattle drive route, such as Cheyenne (Wyoming), Pecos City (Texas) and on the ranches that, before 1900, occupied the territory of present-day Alberta, gave birth to the rodeo in its purest form.
In Western Canada, wild horse training was considered a sport at the Military Colonization Company ranch, and roping competitions were common at the Fort Macleod Agricultural Fair in the 1880s. John Ware is credited with being one of those who first demonstrated bull-pulling at the Walrond corral in 1892. The first Canadian rodeo was held in Raymond, Alberta, in 1903. However, it was not until the large-scale American Wild West Show was brought to Canada in the early 20th century that the century that spectators pay to see cowboys perform feats of skill.
The introduction of Wild West-themed shows in Canada was initiated by a former cattle brander, the American Guy Weadick. He decided to organize an annual party in Calgary celebrating the gold-digging era, "The Pioneer Reunion," and featuring competitions in which cowboys competed in world championships. With the help of local politicians and businessmen, he raised over $100,000 for the first Stampede in 1912. This six-day rodeo show attracted over 40,000 spectators daily, as well as legendary cowboys of the era, including some of Pancho Villa's bandits, in pursuit of $20,000 in prizes and world titles. The First World War put a stop to rodeo competitions, but the Victory Stampede in Calgary (1919) revived them permanently. In 1923, the Calgary Rodeo, combined with an exhibition, became an annual event of international significance.
The sport's popularity spurred the development of rodeo organizations in the 1930s; the Rodeo Association of America (RAA) was the first to be created (it primarily represented promoters). In 1936, during an RAA rodeo at Boston Garden, Canadian and American cowboys boycotted the event to end the managers' monopoly on purses. This first strike allowed professional cowboys to obtain a larger percentage of the revenue and hastened the formation of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys' Association in the United States and the Canadian Rodeo Cowboys' Association in 1944.
Despite periodic intrusions to modify rodeo competitions in accordance with the rules of a team sport, the fundamental qualities required of a cowboy, namely the strength and skill to wrestle an animal in a race against time, are retained.
Bull riding
Bull riding, the ability of a rider to balance on the back of a one-ton Brahma bull that cannot bear to be ridden, was officially introduced into rodeo competition in 1921. Riding wild horses dates back to a time when some cowboys made a living by training them.
Bareback riding
Bareback riding emerged as an attraction, as young cowboys earned a lot of money riding particularly stubborn and untamed horses. In the 1950s, bareback riding was accepted into rodeo, along with the other two equestrian events.
Lassoing
Calf roping is still practiced on ranches, but in the artificial environment of a rodeo arena, it is almost perfected. It goes like this: after a gate is opened, as a calf is released, a rider gives chase. Then the rider dismounts, knocks the calf down, pins it to the ground, and ties three of its legs. The fastest competitor wins.
Earthworks of the steer
The other timed event, steer wrestling (originally known as bulldogging ), originates from the American Wild West Shows and was included in the first rodeos. In this type of event, the cowboy demonstrates his strength: he must, by jumping from a horse, knock down a running ox by grabbing its horns and knocking it to the ground. In the first rodeos, the cowboy had to finish the event by trapping the ox's lower lip between his teeth.