If you're already in rodeo, or a long time, knowledgeable spectator then you know how hard it can be to explain why you get up at 4 AM to load the horse trailer and pickup or set out with arms full of blankets, waters and go sit on the hard benches of most grandstands for hours on end, smelling 'that' smell. This website is for you to hand over to that annoying relative, friend or neighbour that just doesn't get it. *wink*
Okay, we'll be serious, "Know Your Rodeo" is an attempt at providing a guide to those who attend rodeo as tourists or occasionally for a day out in the country. "Know Your Rodeo" is intended to assist you in enjoying the great sport and tradion of rodeo and we hope to do that by explaining some of the often missed aspects of rodeo; and maybe explain its appeal as a way of life as well as its niche in history
We believe to understand why rodeo is still a viable, enjoyable and chosen lifestyle for so many it will be helpful to know where these traditions come from. You also should understand, or at least be willing to concede that agriculture, livestock husbandry and rodeo are ways of life for others and that by condemning rodeo, you condemn a pretty wide swathe of people. Livestock husbandry is not only a way of life, it's also the means by which many of the participants make their living. Just as a carpenter will care for his tools, so will a rancher or farmer care for theirs and like it or not, personality or not, sheer beauty or not or even genuine love of the breed or not, livestock is the tool by which ranchers make their living.
Pick your page from the navigation menu on the left to learn about why the chuckwagons race for home, why it's really necessary to tie up that calf and why it's women who compete in barrellracing. We suggest you start with the page about how to enjoy the day, as once you're comfortable it's far easier to concentrate on the finer aspects of RODEO.