Follows the evolution of rodeo from the range to Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show to the extravaganzas in modern times.

From its roots in cowboy and vaquero culture to the big-business excitement of today's National Finals competitions, rodeo has embodied the rugged individualism and competitive spirit of the American West. Showcasing the collections of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, this illustrated volume depicts rodeo's material and graphic heritage. Richard Rattenbury opens with an illustrated history of rodeo, from its first recorded competition in Colorado in 1869 to its role in county fairs, cattlemen's conventions, and old settlers' reunions across the West, to its rise to national prominence between 1920 and 1960. Following its historical overview, Arena Legacy features an extensive pictorial gallery of signature materials. A series of colorful portfolios reveals artifacts from rodeo life, including costumes, trophies, buckles, and riding equipment.

In this study, historian Michael Allen examines the image of the rodeo cowboy and the role this image has played in popular culture over in the 20th century. He sees rodeo as a significant American folk festival and the rodeo cowboy as the surviving avatar of a nearly vanished authentic figure - the real cowboy, who embodies the skills and values of traditional western rural culture.

They ride horses, rope calves, buck broncos, ride and fight bulls, and even wrestle steers. They are Black cowboys, and the legacies of their pursuits intersect with those of America’s struggle for racial equality, human rights, and social justice. Keith Ryan Cartwright brings to life the stories of such pioneers as Cleo Hearn, the first Black cowboy to professionally rope in the Rodeo Cowboy Association; Myrtis Dightman, who became known as the Jackie Robinson of Rodeo after being the first Black cowboy to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo; and Tex Williams, the first Black cowboy to become a state high school rodeo champion in Texas. Black Cowboys of Rodeo is a collection of one hundred years of stories, told by these revolutionary Black pioneers themselves and set against the backdrop of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, segregation, the civil rights movement, and eventually the integration of a racially divided country.

This work celebrates a great national pastime and tradition. Taking the reader behind the chutes, Wayne Wooden and Gavin Ehringer reveal the essential character of rodeo culture today and show why it retains such a strong hold on the American imagination.

"Explores the life of Bill Pickett, the African-American cowboy who invented bulldogging, from his childhood in Texas to his life as a working cowboy to his career as a rodeo star"--Provided by publisher.

From the Wild West shows of the nineteenth century to the popular movie Westerns of the twentieth century, one view of an idealized and mythical West has been promulgated. Elyssa Ford suggests that we look beyond these cowboy clichés to complicate and enrich our picture of the American West. Rodeo as Refuge, Rodeo as Rebellion takes us from the beachfront rodeo arenas in Hawai‘i to the reservation rodeos held by Native Americans to reveal how people largely missing from that stereotypical picture make rodeo—and America—their own. Because rodeo has such a hold on our historical and cultural imagination, it becomes an ideal arena for establishing historical and cultural relevance. By claiming a place in that arena, groups rarely included in our understanding of the West—African Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Hawaiians, and the LGBT+ community—emphasize their involvement in the American past and proclaim their right to an American identity today. In doing so, these groups change what Americans know about their history and themselves. In her journey through these race- and group-specific rodeos, Ford finds that some see rodeo as a form of escape, a refuge from a hostile outside world. For others, rodeo has become a site of rebellion, a place to proclaim their difference and to connect to a different story of America. Still others, like Mexican Americans and the LGBT+ community, look inward, using rodeo to coalesce and celebrate their own identities. In Ford’s study of these historically marginalized groups, she also examines where women fit in race- and group-specific rodeos—and concludes that even within these groups, the traditional masculinity of the rodeo continues to be promoted. Female competitors may find refuge within alternate rodeos based on their race or sexuality, but they still face limitations due to their gender identity. Whether as refuge or rebellion, rodeos of difference emerge in this book as quintessentially American, remaking how we think about American history, culture, and identity.