History Of Rodeos by Vivian Vallarsa
The start of rodeos dates back to the 16th century Conquistadors. Starting with a mix of cattle wrangling and bull fighting, it has blown up in popularity spreading across the United States.
One activity introduced by the Spanish and incorporated into the modern version of rodeos was bull riding. When bull riding made its way to the United States in the 1910’s, it began as open-area steer riding. It wasn’t until the 1930’s the larger crossbred bull made an appearance when arena chutes came into use. This event has a competitor riding a 1,700 to 2,000 pound bucking bull.
Bulls have been widely used for entertainment in mediterranean countries, including spain, for many generations. The ancient Minoas of Crete practiced bull jumping, bull riding, and bull wrestling. Bull wrestling was also one of the Olympic sport events of the ancient Greeks. These events spread throughout countries and finally made their way to the United States.
Steer wrestling made its way into modern rodeos because of a boy named Bill Pickett. He composed his own way of bulldogging steers. His method involved jumping from a horse’s back onto the steer, and throwing it to the ground by its horns. He performed this method at local fairs and rodeos in central Texas. At one of these fairs he was discovered by an agent who signed him up to tour the west with his brothers. After his performances, his method of steer wrestling gained popularity, and is now the standard method.
Rodeos continued to gain popularity and soon became extremely competitive. Many more events have been added to modern rodeos such as barrel racing, bronco riding, pole bending, and many more. This highly competitive field of sports has accumulated enough of a crowd that it has spread from the west to the rest of the country, and has made prize money a huge incentive.
One activity introduced by the Spanish and incorporated into the modern version of rodeos was bull riding. When bull riding made its way to the United States in the 1910’s, it began as open-area steer riding. It wasn’t until the 1930’s the larger crossbred bull made an appearance when arena chutes came into use. This event has a competitor riding a 1,700 to 2,000 pound bucking bull.
Bulls have been widely used for entertainment in mediterranean countries, including spain, for many generations. The ancient Minoas of Crete practiced bull jumping, bull riding, and bull wrestling. Bull wrestling was also one of the Olympic sport events of the ancient Greeks. These events spread throughout countries and finally made their way to the United States.
Steer wrestling made its way into modern rodeos because of a boy named Bill Pickett. He composed his own way of bulldogging steers. His method involved jumping from a horse’s back onto the steer, and throwing it to the ground by its horns. He performed this method at local fairs and rodeos in central Texas. At one of these fairs he was discovered by an agent who signed him up to tour the west with his brothers. After his performances, his method of steer wrestling gained popularity, and is now the standard method.
Rodeos continued to gain popularity and soon became extremely competitive. Many more events have been added to modern rodeos such as barrel racing, bronco riding, pole bending, and many more. This highly competitive field of sports has accumulated enough of a crowd that it has spread from the west to the rest of the country, and has made prize money a huge incentive.