A sport like rodeo, with its humble and honest beginnings, originated from something real; necessity.
The horse needs to be broken so that we can ride it. The calf needs to be roped and transported elsewhere, or given care. Bull riding? I haven't found an explanation for that one, and I'm not even going to try, other than its recreation for both man and beast.
As in every athletic event, there will always be a cheater or two. Some events seem to breed them, especially where money comes into play. We've seen a nauseating amount of this in the sports world in the past, and wherever cash is involved, you're going to find those here and there that try to pull a fast one. Some succeed, some don't, but they all get caught eventually.
The question of steroids was applied to the sport of rodeo, just like it's been looked into in every other sport. Cheating is against the cowboy way, but that doesn't prevent it from happening; anytime you put money into the mix, there's going to be a schmuck or two. Funny enough, this backfires with rodeo. Here's why:
There was an outbreak of steroid use in some of the rodeo bulls several years ago. It reached its peak, then quickly tapered off as those willing to stoop wizened up. While more than one owner admitted to using steroids on competitive bulls, they quickly realized that the losses far outweighed the gains. The detrimental side effects were vast and varied, doing to the valuable animals what steroids often did to humans: change in hair color and baldness, aggression, liver cancer, kidney failure, heart attacks, sterility, and the eventual shutting down of their system. In short; those that were willing to cheat found the short-cut to not be worth it. A bulking, massive bull is not much good to the owner when it's just had a very public heart attack. The experience of seeing a majestic animal dying in its prime to satisfy a human's enlarged ego is simply not a lesson that anyone wants to learn the hard way.
Not surprisingly, the rodeo people took action. In 2008 the first competition bull by the name of Big Bucks was publicly tested, and came out clean. Five other top bulls were tested that year, with the same results. The PBR (Pro Bull Riding Association) implemented a plan to test animals through their blood and urine keeping the bulls off any foreign substance, while also encouraging otherwise overly-ambitious owners and handlers to cease and desist with the additives, already. Between the harsh consequences (that of the death or debilitation of an animal) and the testing, the problem seems to have been largely quelled.
A few riders here and there have also attempted to get an edge on the competition. While many cowboys might have their favorite clothes for luck and say a prayer or two, some stragglers just had to try one thing more in steroids. They found something out in a big hurry: Rodeo is its own leveler.
The very essence of the sport makes it hard to cheat. Steroids do not help a rider when they come nose-to-nose with an animal's unpredictable personality and instinct. Rider Kody Lostroh says: "If you're big, you're not going to be able to make correct moves, because you're not as agile. It's not a strength sport. No matter how strong you get, taking drugs is not going to help you in any way. You'll never be stronger than the bull."
Bull riding is more about twist reflex, not bulking up. Rider Brendon Clark says, "You're competing against a wild animal, and you can use all the tricks you want. It doesn't matter."
The sheer difficulty of the sport seems to thwart the desired effect of any cheaters. Learned skills and usage of the brain and fast reflexes is where it's at, rodeo-wise. Just because a rider has strength doesn't mean that the opposing animal will do what he or she wants it to do.
While the rodeo association has been heckled with demands to test their participants for the presence of performance-enhancing drugs, this is why, for the most part, those in authority who know full-well the integral and refining qualities of the sport, figuratively looked at each other and went 'nah.'
From its origins on, rodeo is a sport that continues to hinge on honor and authentic grit, having its own special way of handing out cause-and-effect lessons, and of enforcing the phrase 'Just Say No.'
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