Playing Rodeo
As the days grow longer, the Kansas wind gets warmer, and the school year draws to a close, the thoughts of ranchers and would-be cowboys in Chase County and the surrounding communities turn to rodeo, specifically the Flint Hills Rodeo. The oldest consecutive rodeo of June, the Flint Hills Rodeo draws thousands of spectators from near and far. This two-day event is an experience that is not easily forgotten.
The Flint Hills Rodeo is an important yearly event with roots deeply embedded in Chase County history. It is said that in the 1930s, the children of E.C. Roberts, including Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee Marjorie Roberts and her brothers, rodeo stars Ken and Gerald, used to "play rodeo" on their ranch using their family's livestock. Gradually, local interest in these impromptu performances grew, and in 1937, Roberts, his son Ken, and his son-in-law Eddie Boysen staged what is widely considered to be the first professional rodeo in Chase County. At that time, no rodeo facilities existed, so Roberts offered the use of the big corral on his ranch located two miles west of Strong City. The event was such a rousing success, the Flint Hills Rodeo Association was formed the following year and plans were made to continue the Flint Hills Rodeo annually ("Flint…Rodeo," 348).
The early years were quite exciting, and the citizens of Chase County embraced the Flint Hills Rodeo. According to longtime resident Edith Edwards Kutz, it was community spirit and hard work that got the rodeo off the ground: "At the start, we all took cars and went around to towns throughout the state, putting up posters, honking horns and just letting people know we were having a rodeo" ("Collection" 24). During the weekend event, ...
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"Big Time Stars Will Be Here for the Rodeo." The Chase County News 10 May 1939.
Birk, Roberta. "Marjorie Roberts Hart Named to Rodeo Hall of Fame." The Emporia Gazette.
- - -. "Rodeo Founder Learned Skills on Ranch." The Emporia Gazette.
- - -, and Michael Horak. "Largest in Recent Years: Rodeo Parade Attracts Big
Crowd." The Emporia Gazette 8 June 1987.
Chase County Leader-News. 10 June 1993.
"Collection of Memorabilia Centers on Rodeo History." The Emporia Gazette 20 May 1987:
24.
"Flint Hills Rodeo." Chase County Historical Sketches. Vol. 3. Chase County, KS: Chase
County Historical Society, 1966.
"Flint Hills Rodeo Opens With a Parade." The Chase County News 17 May 1944.
"Flint Hills Rodeo Program Enlarged." The Chase County News 16 April 1941.
Hanson, Leah. "Cowboys at Heart." The Chase County Leader-News 1998.
Approximately forty-five miles east of Sacramento, California, is the friendly town of Placerville, which marks a major “Gold Rush” historical landmark in the United States. In the early days of this small gold mining boomtown, Placerville was known as “Hangtown.” If you come into town, you will see the sign of Placerville, and underneath it you will see its nickname reading, “Old Hangtown.” Nooses can be seen all over town, on police cars, on historical landmark signs – even at the firehouse and on the Placerville City Seal. Placerville has a great deal of history behind its name. Many people who pass through the town, or even those that live there, don’t realize the history behind the town.
Waters was the name of the town Chet and Norris got started in. Waters sounded like a swamp so they changed the name of the town to Pine Ridge, because of the woods and valleys of the Ouachitas. In Pine Ridge there was a sawmill, post office, blacksmith shop, gristmill, and other necessary services to the farm community. The community started in the early 1900’s. Lauck and Goff lived close to each other.
Rodeo, as a sport, is judged overall through a point system. So even if you don’t win a single event, you can still have enough points to get all around cowgirl if an individual participates and places in all events within a circuit. Since this sport is considered the biggest adrenaline rush for women in rodeo, I would love to participate in a barrel race. I think that the women that compete have a lot of guts to let a horse get at its top speed and still manage to maneuver around three barrels. The amount of athletic ability that is required from the horse is incredible and I give much respect to the women that excel and have the money to invest in such an amazing horse.
In the movie Wyatt Earp was getting ready to move to California to marry. Then he got word that his brother Virgil was in danger and needed his help with a rowdy bunch of cowboys. Dee Brown said, "Wyatt decided Dodge was too tame for him and at the end of the season he, Doc, and Big-Nose Kate left for Tombstone." His arrival in Arizona with Doc and Kate was already a problem since highly acclaimed Wyatt Earp was riding in with the cold-blooded killer, Doc Holliday. The film portrayed Wyatt's brothers as being very wary of Doc's presence, but they already knew what he had done for Wyatt so they had accepted him as friend, but that did not go for the rest of the town.
This track is a half mile clay high banked dirt track that averages 120 mph throughout all classes. This track holds many famous event like world 100, Dream, King's royal, UMP nationals, and Truck kings (Nascar trucks come to dirt to run 1 race on dirt). Throughout the offseason the track is torn apart and redone to bring new groves and better races for each year. This track also is ran by Tony Stewart which is is a big name in dirt racing as he just retired from nascar to tend to his family and go back to his
that, Wyatt moved to Dodge City, Kansas where he served as a police man three separate
It’s 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Jake and I are headed down the longest stretch of road in Texas. We have just pulled out of El Paso and are on the way to Fredericksburg to participate in the Frontier Days Rodeo. We were fortunate to have put together a decent run on our last draw and win enough day-money to keep us going for a while. Jake and I are rodeo-bums, to be specific, calf ropers. I am the one who tries to throw the loop of a rope around a calf’s neck and Jake is my partner, the best roping horse a cowboy ever mounted. By the way, how many understand the art of calf roping? I thought so. Let me walk through the steps of what it takes to put together that perfect run, not that I can do it that often.
prices. The Oklahoma land run took place that year, with settlers lining up at a
Many people may ask, “What the heck is the Cattleman’s Association?” Normally, the first thoughts that fill people’s minds when they hear “Cattleman’s Association” are: farmers, cows, farms, rednecks, dairy, beef, steaks, hamburger, milk, and so on. Many of these “stereotypes” prove true and many not so much. My experience with the KCA (Kentucky Cattleman’s Association) may be limited, but its roots run deep in my hometown and my family. Although a great number of my family members are in the KCA, I couldn’t tell you the first thing about them, which inspired me to “get to know” them.
In 1872 he appeared on stage for the first time, playing himself in "Scouts of the Prairie." Thereafter he continued to act in the winter and scout for the Fifth in the summer. The Wild West show was inaugurated in Omaha in 1883 with real cowboys and real Indians portraying the "real West." The show spent ten of its thirty years in Europe. In 1887 Buffalo Bill was a feature attraction at Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. At the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, only Egypt's gyrations rivalled the Wild West as the talk of Chica...
With the Southern Ohio Fair Association taking over the fairgrounds in 1874, the grounds were divided up into nine departments: Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Agricultural, Mechanics, Textile, Farm, Speed, and Grounds. When hearing this information, one would look at the fairgrounds present day and be a little confused. Back in the 1800’s the way to have fun was to race, sell, and buy horses. “The Southern Ohio Fair Association built the Exhibition Hall and a Machinery Hall. The track was enlarged and other improvements were made” (Drury 808). The Exhibition Hall became the focal point of the fairgrounds, and still is today.
Few Hollywood film makers have captured America’s Wild West history as depicted in the movies, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Most Western movies had fairly simple but very similar plots, including personal conflicts, land rights, crimes and of course, failed romances that typically led to drinking more alcoholic beverages than could respectfully be consumed by any one person, as they attempted to drown their sorrows away. The 1958 Rio Bravo and 1967 El Dorado Western movies directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Wayne have a similar theme and plot. They tell the story of a sheriff and three of his deputies, as they stand alone against adversity in the name of the law. Western movies like these two have forever left a memorable and lasting impressions in the memory of every viewer, with its gunfighters, action filled saloons and sardonic showdowns all in the name of masculinity, revenge and unlawful aggressive behavior. Featuring some of the most famous backdrops in the world ranging from the rustic Red Rock Mountains of Monument Valley in Utah, to the jagged snow capped Mountain tops of the Teton Range in Wyoming, gun-slinging cowboys out in search of mischief and most often at their own misfortune traveled far and wide, seeking one dangerous encounter after another, and unfortunately, ending in their own demise.
One sport of rodeo that raises the eyebrows of many anti-rodeo activists is Team Roping. Team roping was used for the purpose of catching live cattle on the range to perform vaccinations and to treat injuries. Team Roping is defined as on cowboy ropes the steer around the horns and turn left, so that the next cowboy can come behi...
Rodeo is a sport with long American traditions and loved by many spectators and participants. Past history has shown that rodeo needed to make way for a new era of riders and trainers with a larger emphasis on the welfare of the animals and not be discontinued or banned entirely. Today’s rodeos do not present a danger to the animals because the animals are well-cared for and protected, rodeos have strict rules and the stock are treated as prized animals.
When one thinks of the United States of America, they probably consider our history, our culture, our media, our impressive cities and the extremely wide variety of beautiful wildernesses that we are lucky enough to still enjoy. We are lucky enough to have a melting pot of cultures in this country, and many different kinds of people. However, when thinking of an original, all-American figure, cowboys come to mind for many people. Our history and the settlement of the U.S. was unlike any other country, and the development of the country in the more western states came with the unique and fascinating time period referred to now as “The Old West”. The Old West was a crucial time in American history, and though it was a simpler time it also came with its share of excitement. Some of the most memorable details about the Old West were the characters that came with it, and some extremely interesting ones were the least conforming- the outlaws. Jesse Woodson James was one of the most notorious outlaws in American history. His name would go down in history as one belonging to a tough as nails and fearless bank robber who led a group of outlaws across the mid-west robbing banks and trains, and even murdering people. When we look at the big picture of what the U.S. has become today, The Old West certainly has had a large impact on our culture, and Jesse James certainly had a large impact on the Old West. Though most would argue that he was not a decent or moral person, one cannot argue that he was still a very interesting and unique icon of the west. So how did Jesse Woodson James change and leave his mark on the United St...