Don't you wonder how the various events in modern day rodeo got started?
As
was told to me, rodeo events were supposedly based on things that
happen on your average the run-of-the-mill ranch, but in all my years of
running cattle I've never once had to ride a bull, or jump off a
speeding horse on to the sharp horns of a renegade steer. If I did so,
it was purely an accident and not something I'd ever do on purpose while
sober.
Certainly
team roping is practiced on your average ranch and it's easy to imagine
how it was invented. Two cowpokes, Smarty Pants and Rum Dum, are
prowling the country when Smarty spotted a calf with screworms. They are
a long way from the nearest corral or squeeze chute, so Smarty says to
Rum Dum, "I got an idea. I'll throw this here rope and catch that calf
around the horns and you come along and scoop up his heels and we'll
stretch him out."
"Duh, okay. But what do we do then?"
"We'll
worry about that when the time comes." Surprisingly, Smarty made the
head catch, although it was illegal by today's standards, but Rummy, who
couldn't rope a fence post standing still, threw twelve empty loops
before Smarty got tired of chasing after the calf over hill and dale
with his arm extended, finally said forget it, and let go of his leather
lariat it took him one month and a cowhide to make.
As
a result, Smarty and Rummy spent all their spare time roping a dummy,
which sparked a multi-billion dollar roping industry. But when the ranch
owner found out his cowboys were roping the stock he fired them both
because he'd rather have you rope his kids than his cattle.
No comments:
Post a Comment