I think my opinion began to form at a very young age; the opinion that it’s wrong to try to turn any person or creature into something they’re simply not.
Beginning in a third-grade classroom, I watched as a teacher tried to turn a left-handed student into a right-handed student. My poor friend was struggling and frustrated, and so was the teacher. Nowadays, we know better. The best thing to do is to adjust the circumstances and equipment for that person, and let them be who they are.
In the choosing of my profession, I’ve done everything from electrical contracting to professional cake decorating and beyond, thinking that the only path to success would be to do what others expected of me and to follow the norm. I could show some impressive things I’ve done, and employment positions that I’ve held, ones that paid well and took no small amount of tenacity, but truly I’m embarrassed of the time I’ve wasted doing the wrong thing for me. I’ve been miserable for decades. In my head, I’ve been a writer since the time I could read. It is my true vocation; what I was meant to do. Thank goodness I realized that before I’d wasted my entire life.
Animals are not much different than humans in this regard. There are plenty when it comes to livestock that can do the day-in, day-out things that livestock do. Just like with humans, though, there will be a few here and there that are just plain not cut out to run with the herd. They’ll step out of line. They’ll buck. They’ll kick up their heels. They’ll cause a bit of trouble. These rebels are yearning for something different. They are different. They can’t help it; it’s in their nature. To force them to live a life of ordered security would be borderline cruelty, when they want to buck, kick, and run. They are happiest when doing what they were born to do.
A keen observer can pick out an animal like this, and, if they’re wise, will provide for them the sort of lifestyle they truly desire, versus trying to ‘make them cut with the right-handed scissors’. Many a wise cowboy and cowgirl will know that animals like these are prime for, and happiest when given the life of the rodeo.
There are a diminishing number of people these days that have rural ties. Fewer and fewer of us have ever handled, ridden, or been around livestock. Some don’t understand the reasons for the rodeo or its culture or the nature of the rodeo animals. Some, seeing steers in their pens wearing devices made of leather that encircle the animals’ faces may assume that there are jaw problems or some such thing. Those devices are horn wraps, used to protect roping steers from getting their heads rubbed by the rope during a team roping event, where a steer is simply required to run, something that they do quite happily and naturally. To the uninformed, there are many misgivings about the way things are done when it comes to the rodeo. The answers lie in an increased understanding of the sport.
Rodeo’s roots lie in the chores of a tough mode of employment, where the work is hard and the pay is low. During this time, the ranch-hands spend many hours with the animals, and they get to know them very well. The rodeo events of riding broncs and roping calves were born out of necessity; those who needed to rope a calf or steer were required to do so, and do so quickly in order to help an animal, especially if it required veterinary assistance. Breaking a horse that had never been ridden or was green-broke was just another part of the cowboy’s daily life, as well.
Beyond necessity, it stands to reason that the very people who spent entire days, months, and years of their lives around animals would find a way to form some sort of recreation out of it. Back in the day, it was good for both the soul of the man and the beast, affording some much-needed release from the stress, strains and chores of the often daunting tasks. The laughter and the sport were good human and animal psychology alike. It was exactly the relief from routine that was needed.
The hearts of these animals are tremendous. How lucky are we to get to witness greatness that might only have been seen by ranch-hands and cattlemen, in another place and time? Nowadays, bulls and broncs become veritable legends as cowboy after cowboy attempts to ride them. There is an adoration and respect for an animal with such power and stamina. It’s a thing of beauty. The animals have a good thing going; they are well cared-for and well-fed. Rodeo often adds years of life to some of these bulls, bulls who would not have been used for breeding, seeing how more females than males are desirable for the building up of the beef industry herds.
Veterinarians attribute the longevity of the bulls and horses to the activity they get in the rodeo life, and the good care and excellent nutrition they receive.
If you get to know the average cowboy or cowgirl, you’ll quickly understand that their animals are everything to them. They know better than most how to care for an animal’s needs, often having a special connection with the four-legged critter that’s hard to explain. Small wonder then, also, that history records the rules for the humane care and treatment of rodeo animals having been instituted in 1947 by the PRCA (Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association) seven long years before the founding of the Humane Society in the United States.
The more I’ve learned, the more respect I have for rodeo organizations and its participants. I would encourage those of you that might be skeptics to get all of the information you can, and to just ask if you have questions on things you see that might not make any sense.
The rodeo gives the equivalent of the animal-world lefties and creative rebels a chance for expression and adoration. This sort of thing, instead of being critiqued and squelched, should be celebrated.
Let’s hear it for the animals and humans alike that are bound and determined to be who they are, and for the people that help them to do it. This year, let’s celebrate the unique animals and people who make up the Snake River Stampede like never before. We understand it, we support it, and we love it.
The Stampede’s coming.
Be there. Be a part of it. Because life is like a rodeo. Grab it and hold on.
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