d.: During Cal.E’s absence, I had some time to study the subject of how the rodeo and the events involved came to be, since it is rodeo time in my adopted hometown. Houston has the largest and most popular rodeo in the United States, so it attracts the nation’s best talent. I decided to do some research on the events that are most popular in the rodeo while it is in Houston.
Bronc Busting is a time-honored tradition whereby cowboys would mount a wild horse and ride it until it was tired enough to be used for transport or to carry goods. Because these horses were often very skittish, this would sometimes need to be done without first putting a saddle on its back. That is why there is bare back bronc riding competitions.
Of course, this technique was only used when it was necessary to have the horse ready to use quickly. Some ranchers used a more humane technique, letting the horse tire himself or herself until the animal was too tired to object to having the weight of a full-grown man, plus his saddle, thrust on his or her back. That technique could take days, but it also was usually more effective. However, it would not be an interesting thing to watch.
Team and individual roping, steer wrestling, and bulldogging calves were all necessary for ranch hands to capture the livestock and brand the animals so that everyone would know to whom the livestock belonged if any of the animals were able to break through the meager fences that divided ranches in the late eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth century.
Barrell racing originated to show off a horse's speed and agility, as well as the rider's coordination with her mount. Mutton busting is just a kid's event that is an offshoot of bronc busting, with gentler and smaller animals.
All of these things I knew, since I have been involved with agriculture for most of my life. The one event that I could not reconcile in my mind as a useful sport was bull riding. That is what led me to do the research.
As it turns out, Cal.E. was not too far off base in her thinking that bull riding and bullfighting were similar. In fact, bull riding did start out as a form of bullfighting. The cowboy (or matador) would ride the animal until it was exhausted. He would then execute the bull and have it made into steaks, ground beef, and roasts.
I suppose the reason this progressed into steer wrestling is that steers make better beef than bulls. However, steers have a gentler demeanor than bulls do. It was not as interesting to watch the matador subdue the animal.
I assume that eight seconds is about all one can tolerate being on the back of a bucking bull. My one experience with a mechanical one convinced me that eight seconds may be TOO long to be on the back of a bull. A green-broke horse I bought as a teenager convinced me that bronc busting would not be my chosen sport, either.
There are those who believe the rodeo to be cruel to animals. I do not totally disagree with these people. Some of the events are unsettling to those who have never dealt with livestock. For those of us who have, the rodeo is an interesting distraction from everyday life with wars, pandemics, and senseless murders being the norm and not the exception in the twenty-first century.
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