When Dad Rides the Rodeo Circuit, Many Families Saddle Up

Cowboys have a reputation as hard-living tough guys, men who have foresworn wives and children for a life riding bulls and wrestling steers. And although many rodeo competitors work hard to live up to the image, a number of them take their families on the road. Some travel with children only in the summer, when school is out and the rodeo season is at its peak. Others, like Ray and his wife, Robbin, spend much of the year on the circuit. As a result, the Ray girls are home schooled by their mother. Although there are no statistics on how many rodeo competitors travel with their families, children are a part of rodeo life, said Karl Stressman, the commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the sport’s governing body. “I think we’re probably the largest professional sport that does travel with families,” Stressman said. “Our sport is a young man’s sport, so there’s a lot of young families that do travel with them.” Children often occupy the dusty lots behind any major rodeo. Boys toss ropes at hay-bale dummies and tip back their cowboy hats when they talk to strangers. Girls borrow their fathers’ horses between events. Cowboys ride to the rodeo arena with babies tucked into the saddle in front of them...NYTimes