Rodeo: Engrained In the Agriculture of Western Canada

Every province has a stereotype, from political fanatics to hippies. So, what do you think of when someone brings up Alberta? Oilfields, hockey, mountains, and a large focus on Rodeo. We even dedicate a week out of the summer to the Calgary Stampede, considered the greatest outdoor show on earth. For the second time, a bill has been proposed to make Rodeo the official sport of Alberta. What I am going to do is express a view on the subject, why I agree with those wanting to pass this bill, and express the importance of rodeo and its impacts on the agricultural industry.

For those who don’t know, or only know rodeo for the hunky cowboys; this is an organization of people who come together utilizing old cowboy activities to create entertainment for the public. This entertainment brings revenue to the community, or association putting on the rodeo. Funds brought in by spectators are put back into the association or community. This creates a community-wide income, to support the people and the activities they participate in.

Events in rodeo range from team roping to bronc and bull riding, and all events stem from day-to-day activities cowboys in the early years of agriculture participated in, although some have an added theatrical “hold my beer” mentality. Many of these activities are still used in the cowboy way of life today and are seen in cattle and ranching operations across Alberta and the prairies. Every rodeo event has a tie to how ranchers and cowboys take care of their herds. Team roping stems from cowboys doctoring cattle to heal or prevent sickness, as does calf roping. Bronc riding comes from the act of breaking young or wild horses to be used on the ranch.  As someone who grew up in the rodeo community, I have a firsthand account of the morals and values that the people in this world hold near and dear to their hearts. Honesty, hard work, fairness, and values derived from the social expectations of men and women who put the lifestyle ahead of themselves are only some reasons why I feel rodeo is a perfect way to express the values of Albertans. Without these hard-working people, Albertans would lack many of the amenities they see daily in their grocery stores. Many of these cowboys and cowgirls work jobs in the agriculture sector, ranching beef cattle, and farming wheat, barley, and grains, which are used in products that we see lining our shelves. The activities performed in rodeo are a window into the daily life of ranchers who raise and provide food for stores and signify an important part of Canadian agricultural heritage.

The athletes of the sport, both human and animal, are treated with admiration, and utmost respect. Give your best, get the best, that’s how animals in the industry are treated. It’s a choice we allow them to make from the beginning. If a rider or stock contractor determines that one of their animals doesn’t have the desire to perform, the animal is turned out to pasture or moved onto a job more suited to its abilities. These thousand-pound animals have a brain of their own, and at the end of the day, if they don’t want to participate in the rodeo, we can’t make them. Successful rodeo stock even have their own hall of fame; to give perspective on how highly rodeo stock is respected. Ranchers and contractors only provide the best for these animals, and the best comes from other Canadian farmers in the industry, providing high-quality feed and supplements for these animal athletes. 

Cowboys and cowgirls throughout history complete amazing feats of strength and determination, inhuman acts are seen as crazy and impossible. Athletes train for hours a day to be in perfect condition to work alongside animal partners and bring awe-inspiring entertainment to those watching. Do you know anyone else beyond rodeo athletes who spend thousands and thousands of dollars a season for equipment, entry fees, and traveling? Only to lose it all in a second with one wrong move? Rodeo is one of the only sports where we enjoy the thrill more than the achievements, and this mindset is seen across the agricultural community, with farmers and ranchers working day in and day out, to at the end of harvest, barely break even. All in the name of providing for society.