The rodeo began as a sport in Spain and traveled to Mexico, where the working vaqueros used their skills out of the practices in cattle herding, horseback riding, and handling other livestock.
The original challenge was to see how fast and the skilled the cowboys were when participating in the various events. The modern day rodeos usually have the following events: calf roping by individuals and teams, steer wrestling, bronc riding with saddles and bareback, barrel racing, and bull riding. There are usually two categories, stock and timed, and depending on who is sanctioning the event, in some cases, events are added for local areas. Rodeos have been very popular events in various parts of the western United States. In the states of Wyoming and Texas, rodeo is the official sport and the province of Alberta, Canada, is considering making it the official sport there, as well. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association govern the sport and sanction major events and there are also quite a few other associations involved as well. There is the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour, featuring the Gold and Silver rodeos, leading to the December National Finals Rodeo in the Las Vegas finale. If you have ever had the opportunity to attend a rodeo, the competitiveness, potential danger, and overall excitement is absolutely incredible and usually lasts over a few days for preliminary qualifying rounds.
Recently, there have been occasional complaints from animal rights groups aiming to improve the welfare of the animals, so there has been veterinary care readily available to protect the rodeo animals. There have been huge strides being made which help keep the riders and animals safer.
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