I’m not sure what possessed me to include rodeo on the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events list, but I did … and I’m happy about it.
When I first began sketching out my “dream big” schedule for this project, I actually included two rodeos on the list: The Calgary Stampede and Cheyenne Frontier Days. The fantasy was to attend a day or two in Calgary, enjoy a drive south through the Canadian Rockies into Montana, check out Yellowstone, Devil’s Tower, and whatever else spurred my interest before arriving in Cheyenne.
It’d be perfect, attend two of the world’s most-recognizable rodeos in an epic 2-week road trip and see some of North America’s most glorious natural scenery along the way.
Then I began costing it out …
… so a single rodeo was in the offing and it needed to be Frontier Days because my wife, Carol, and I would double-up and count it as our state trip for the year (50 Years, 50 States don’t you know).
Our adult daughter, Helena, decided to join in the fun so it became, collectively, our first rodeo.
Take the Tour
Clockwise from upper left, that there is what’s known as a “Cheyenne Souvenir” if you happen to step in it; this tunnel is what’s used to move the animal athletes into and out of the arena; the massive stage is on wheels and is transported out onto the arena floor each evening for concerts; our tour guide told us about the grounds, the history, and provided us a CFD primer; to those in the know, this rodeo is the “Daddy of ’em All” because of its historical significance; Chute 9 is where the roping events enter the arena from.
I can’t speak for other rodeos, but Cheyenne Frontier Days offers visitors a free “Behind the Chutes” tour twice each morning before the competition begins.
It gets visitors out onto the arena grounds, close to some of the pens where the animal athletes are awaiting their moment in the spotlight, an up close look at the chutes, and plenty of historical nuggets about Frontier Days’ history.
Though crowded the Sunday we were there (probably 200 people on the tour with us) it was enjoyable to slip behind the scenes a bit, learn about the history of this rodeo, avoid stepping in some of the “Cheyenne Souvenirs” some of the animals left behind, and get a crazy cool photo of us standing behind a chute gate.
Sitting Higher Up is Cooler (and Drier)
When I called the box office several months ago to secure tickets, I put my full faith in the ticket agent assisting me.
Her advice, for a first-time attendee, was to sit behind the chutes (as opposed to the opposite side of the arena) not only for a closer view, but to also sit higher up to ensure cover from the elements. For us, the Sunday we attended, the main element to avoid was the searing sun. With high temperatures forecast to touch 90 degrees, I as grateful for that pro tip from the agent.
Though we marched all the way to the final row of our section (which provided for some terrific views of the pens behind us) there was both a breeze and full-time shade for the entirety of the nearly three hours at the venue.
In full transparency, the sections closest to the chutes below us did have the benefit of the cooling misters (water pumped through a fan) for the better part of the afternoon. I never ventured down there to see how it felt, but it certainly had be cooler than roasting in the mid-afternoon sunshine which beat down much of the day.
Animal Athletes?
For Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, the animal athletes are the bulls (at left), broncos and bulls (upper right), and the steers. During our tour and for most of our stay at the arena, they were all over the place.
If our tour guide used the phrase “animal athletes” once he used it a dozen times during our hour with him prior to the day’s competition.
As a naive rodeo first-timer, I found myself skeptical.
Then I saw the number of veterinarians on site, the number of livestock contractors, and the way the animals and humans worked together (especially in the roping and racing events) and my skepticism waned and I became believer.
But About Those Cowboys … and Cowgirls
Clockwise from top, one of the Barrel Racers makes the turn for home; the a Team Roping duo chase down a steer; the rodeo clowns and barrel man are important to the safety of riders in the bucking events; this Saddle Bronc rider hangs on; as does this Bull Rider.
The stars of the show, though, are the men and women who mount up and ride … and wrestle … and rope.
All totaled, the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo features 11 events and, mercifully, prior to each there was a Rodeo 101 video for the benefit of us first-timers that assisted our understanding – at least a little;-) – for what we were about to witness. Following is the list of the 11 events with a link to the Rodeo 101 video for each. The descriptor is from the CFD website.
- Bareback Broncos – Bareback riding is one of rodeos most physically demanding events. It grew in popularity in the early 1900s when there were no set rules, so some riders would hold on to the horses mane, or a loose twisted rope around the horse’s girth. A rigging similar to the one used today was introduced in the 1920s by Earl Bascom who invented it.
- Tiedown Roping – Beginning as a chore that can be traced back to the 1800’s at the old working ranches of the west, derived from roping calfs for medical treatment and branding, tie-down roping started when ranch hands went head-to-head to see who was the fastest roper.
- Bull Riding – Gaining popularity in the nineteenth century, Bull Riding started as a competition among cowboys to determine who was the toughest rider. Starting on small ranches and moving to wild west shows and finally going on its own, bull riding has become the rodeos most popular event to-date.
- Women’s Breakaway Roping – Women’s breakaway roping is comparable to men’s tie-down roping, except the cowgirls are not required to dismount and tie the calf.
- Saddle Bronc – Saddle Bronc riding was the first rodeo event introduced to Cheyenne Frontier Days and is often considered the classic event of rodeo, embodying the sport’s roots. This event demands finesse, balance, and agility from competitors who use a modified western saddle, typically custom-made to their specifications. Unique to Saddle Bronc riding is the buck rein, which is attached to a halter, and the rider must decide precisely where to place and hold it.
- Ladies Ranch Saddle Bronc – This event was founded in 2016 and the rider must maintain possession of the rein with the original riding hand for the full eight seconds. The rider can use her free hand to hold the saddle horn or night latch/rope.
- Team Roping – Team Roping started in the old working ranches of the west, when two ropers were needed because the size of the animal was too much for a single man. One cowboy would rope the steer around the horns while the second would rope the legs to allow for branding or vaccination.
- Rookie Saddle Bronc – Same rules as Saddle Bronc above, but these riders do not yet have their Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) cards and the horsers are much younger.
- Steer Wrestling – Steer wrestling or Bulldogging is an event where men try to wrestle a 600 pound steer to the ground. Steer Wrestling has a long history at Cheyenne Frontier Days, first being introduced in 1904. It is said that the event is influenced by working cattle dogs who would grab the cattle when they were unruly. Steer Wrestling has evolved and now has a hazer and the Bulldogger. Cattle dogs are still used on ranches today to help manage the cattle.
- Barrel Racing – Barrel Racing evolved from the relay races in the old wild west shows. Introduced into rodeo as an exclusive event for women on horseback, our barrel racing is sanctioned by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association.
- Wild Horse Race – One of the first rodeo events and as western as the word itself, the wild horse race started in the 1800’s as a competition between ranch teams. From its roots as a race through town with only wagons as fences, the wild horse race is now a fully grown rodeo event. In today’s wild horse races, true wild horses are no longer used. Instead, cowboys race ranch-raised horses.
While each event was enjoyable (and, at times, head-scratching) in its own way, my personal favorite was Team Roping. I think because it involved two participants working simultaneously (a Header and a Heeler), was an event that both men and women could compete in, and the skill it has to take to not only lasso the horns but also the back hooves, all made it a favorite of mine. Couple that with the fact, that only six of the 11 teams we saw successfully completed the task told me there was a fair amount of skill involved.
My wife and daughter, meanwhile, found themselves often times rooting for the calves or the steers to make a clean getaway from their ropers or wranglers. I’m not saying I could blame them because, to the casual observer, it appears a somewhat barbaric event, leaping off a gallopping horse onto a steer attempting to wrestle it to the ground. In the end, however, whether roped and tied or wrestled to the gorund, the animal always got up to its feet and, somewhat merrily, went on its way back to the stables for whatever feed was being served up.
Without question, though, the most bananas event I witnessed was the Wild Horse Race.
Handlers brought “wild” (they’re no longer wild but rather ranch-raised) horses across the arena onto the track where teams of three were charged with nabbing a horse, saddling it, and then riding it around the entirety of the track. The names of the three-person teams sound even wilder: Mugger (charged with holding the head), Shanker (holding the rope), and Rider (who must saddle and ride it around the quarter mile).
Honestly, I’m not sure which one of this trio has the toughest job.
Nuts!
Some Final Looks
Clockwise from upper left, this statue of champion bullrider Lane Frost who died at the CFD Rodeo in 1989 at the age of 25 after being thrown and struck by the bull. The statue, by artist Chris Navarro was dedicated in 1993; Carol is always interested in what’s going on; beyond the big concerts during Frontier Nights, there are also small groups playing in Frontier Town; part of the parade entering the arena prior to the rodeo’s start; a look at Frontier Town.