This month’s theme:Rodeo

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March, 2007

From theProspector

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The sport of rodeo arosefrom cattle ranchingtraditions in North

America. In the late 1800’s cattleranching was very different fromnow. Back then, cowboysmoved cattle across the land inlong expeditions called cattledrives. When the animals arrivedat their destination they were letloose nearby to graze on thegrasses of the open range. Thisworked fairly well, but createdone big problem. Because therewere no fences, the cattle wouldwander around and get mixed up.After a few months it was difficultto figure out which cattle be-longed to whom. A couple of

times a year, all the cowboys in aregion would get together and holda roundup to sort the confusion out.At the roundup, the cowboys woulduse all of their skills in riding androping to drive the cattle into acommon corral. Each animal wasthen marked with hot metal brand-ing irons that showed everyone whoowned the animals. Even though the roundup washeld for practical reasons, thecowboys also enjoyed the socialgathering . Often times, when theyweren’t working, they held compe-titions, taking bets on who was thefastest and best on a horse. Thesecontests eventually came to be

Rodeo

Howdy Prospectors!

Spring is in the air. Birdsare singing, wildflowersare blooming, and my mule

is starting to think about rodeoseason. That’s right, my mule is abig rodeo fan. Every summer hedrags me down from my favoritegold claim so that he can watchthe latest rodeo action. Ishouldn’t complain, I like sittingin the stands and watching therodeo myself. Did you know thatrodeo comes from cowboytraditions of the late 1800’s?Sometimes a simple sportingevent can have a lot of historybehind it. Enjoy this month’sissue on the history of rodeo.

Lucky Noah

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known as a rodeo, taken from theSpanish word “rodear,” whichmeans to encircle or surround. In the late 1800’s barbed wirewas invented and ranchers had aquick, cheap way to fence theirland. If the cattle no longer roamedfree, most ranchers no longerneeded to participatein the roundups. Thecowboys still enjoyedthe gatherings,though,as a way to gettogether to show offtheir skills for enter-tainment. At first therewere just a few smallcontests, but they soongrew in number, andattracted largecrowds. Buffalo BillCody, a legendarywestern character, alsohad a lot to do withthe popular rise ofrodeos. He createdan elaborate WildWest Show that wassimilar to today’scircus. His show hadfantastic displays ofroping, riding andshooting that por-trayed the cowboy asan American hero. Ashis show traveled fromstate to state, peoplein the East who were unfamiliar withthe cowboy life, became interestedin the contests that make up today’srodeo events. Rodeos typically start out with adisplay of the American flag, fol-lowed by the singing of the NationalAnthem. There are several com-petitive events, with some in thecategory of ‘Rough Stock’, whichpits man against beast, and others intimed events. The rough stock

includes contests like bull riding andboth saddle and bareback broncriding. The rider is scored on howwell and how long he can ride thebucking animal, with both animaland rider scores tallied for totalpoints. The timed events includecalf roping, steer wrestling, steer

roping and barrel racing, which isthe only event women are usuallyallowed to enter. Mutton busting isa pre-rodeo event that challengeschildren to ride a sheep across thearena. People hold the sheep stillwhile the kids climb on, and whenthe signal is given, the sheep take offrunning with the small riders hangingon for an exciting ride. The onewho stays on the longest or rides the

farthest is given a ribbon or prize. The Cowboy Turtle Associationwas the name taken by a group of60 cowboys in 1936. They decidedthat they weren’t being treated fairlyby the organizers of the rodeo.They referred to their association asthe Turtles, because they said “they

were slow to get started,but they finally stuck theirnecks out.” The namewas eventually changedto the ProfessionalRodeo Cowboy Asso-ciation. The Snake RiverStampede is probablyIdaho’s most well-known rodeo. It startedas a bull and bronco-riding contest in 1913,which was held at thesame time as the Nampaharvest festival. In 1937the Stampede brokeaway from the festivaland changed the time ofthe rodeo to July, eventu-ally joining with theProfessional RodeoCowboy Association. Ofcourse, Nampa is justone of the many townsacross Idaho to hold anannual rodeo. Ourstate’s strong rodeotradition has helped

create several well-known rodeostars, with some entered into theHall of Fame, such as Eldon Evans,Gene Pruett and Shawn Davis. The Rodeo has been a part ofIdaho’s history for the last hundredyears and it continues to bringexcitement, entertainment andmemories of the days of the openrange.

Rodeo Continued

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The Fun Page

Word RodeoUse the letters in the phrase below and see how many new words you can

create. Plural forms of words don’t count. Good luck!

MUTTON BUSTERSMUTTON BUSTERSMUTTON BUSTERSMUTTON BUSTERSMUTTON BUSTERS

0-9 words Rodeo Clown10-25 words Novice Roper26-35 words Bronco Rider36 or more Rodeo Champion

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Next Month’s Activities

Well, we’ve told you all weknow about the historyof rodeo in Idaho, but

we need your help so that we canlearn more. Pick from one of theactivities below or make up yourown rodeo project and send it in toour Prospector Head-quarters. We’ll takesome of your best workand print it in nextmonth’s magazine.Remember to includeyour name, where you’refrom, and the name ofyour Prospector Chap-ter. We can’t wait to seewhat you send in!

Rodeo Clowns: One ofthe most entertainingparts of a rodeo is theclowns. Half cowboysand half circus perform-ers, these clowns have an importantjob. When a rodeo rider is thrownfrom a bronco or bull the clownmoves in to distract the angryanimal. The clown’s crazy clothesand antics keep the heavy animalsfrom trampling the fallen riders.Draw us a picture of the perfectrodeo clown in action. Will they

wear polka dot chaps or a giantpurple cowboy hat? See if you canmake your clown flashy enough toget an angry bull’s attention.

Rodeo Events: Most of themodern rodeo events come from

cowboy tradition. Bronco riding,steer roping, and barrel riding allshow off skills that were importantto a cowboy’s lifestyle. But thingshave changed a lot since the late1800’s. Maybe the rodeo shouldcome up with some new events forthe 21st century. Make up a newevent for the modern rodeo. Draw

a picture and write up a shortdescription of the event. We’ll printsome of the best in next month’sissue.

Report from the Field: Idaho is arodeo state. From panhandle towns

to the cities on theSnake River Plain,there are more rodeosthan you can imagine.Have you ever visitedor participated in arodeo? Write us asmall report telling therest of the Prospectorsabout your experience.We can’t wait to hearwhat you come upwith!

Send in your work byApril 26th to:

Prospector ClubLucky NoahIdaho State Historical Museum610 North Julia Davis DriveBoise, ID 83702

Or email it to us atkzwolfer@ishs.state.id.us.