Cowboy.
Cattle. Horses. Leather. Sweat. Dirt. Blood. Guts. Combine all these
words and you come up with only one word....Rodeo.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys' Association, or PRCA, traces its
roots back to 1936 when a group of cowboys staged a walkout at a
rodeo at the Boston Garden. The protest resulted from the rodeo
promoter's refusal to add the cowboys' entry fees to the prize money.
The cowboys vowed to boycott until the entry fees were added to
the prize money and judging was done with greater objectivity.
With
more than 170,000 fans attending the National Finals Rodeo in Las
Vegas and more than 13 million viewers tuning into the finals on
television, rodeo is more popular and competitive than ever.
The
standardized events that now characterize rodeo are bareback riding,
steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, calf roping and
bull riding. Many rodeos also include barrel racing, a sport that
is dominated by female equestrians.
Rodeo
has become a sport distinctly different from its stock horse roots.
Today's stock horse shows revolve around the disciplines of reining,
reined cow horse and cutting, and usually include amateur riders
as well as professional trainers.
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