I was seven years old when I began to rodeo, my mom and dad bought me a pony and I believed it was going to just be a backyard horse, then I began to ride everyday and it became part of my everyday life. The first rodeo I participated in was in Salem, Indiana with the Southern Indiana Junior Rodeo Association (SIJRA). I ran my first set of barrels in 15.7 seconds. After my run, there was man who spoke to me and he wanted me to rodeo for him. My freshman year I began training everyday. I would get up at four am ride for about two hours, go to school, come home ride until dark and three weekends out of the month I would travel to different rodeos around the tri-state area. I trained day in and day out because I was set on making it to the High …show more content…
The article The Rodeo Cowboy Cultural Icon, Athlete, or Entrepreneur?, talks towards the theme of the commercializing parts of the rodeo business. I will have to agree that rodeo is more well known now then it ever has been. However with that being said, the measure of exposure that is put towards rodeo and games, for example, compared to basketball is drastically different. Rodeo commercializers are to a great degree brilliant with regards to the promoting and business sides of this industry. Simply pause a minute to consider the various sponsorships that the NFR has, for example, Lucas Oil Products Inc., Yeti, Wrangler, Justin Boots, and so forth. Another interesting topic that Allen Haney writes about is that there is so much fan disfavor in normal sports, but when you look at rodeo there is a more pure and family orientated feeling in that sports compared to baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. I find it absolutely astonishing how so many people can believe that cowboys and even cowgirls aren’t business smart, that all they know how to do is rope a cow or turn a barrel (Haney). The study that was done to complete this article states that the reasoning for this such unfavorable discomfort throughout the sports and their fans is due to the coaches, or players and their actions. In rodeo environment, yes you can see that there is a competitive side, but rodeo is about showing off your skills and a chance to say you are the best. It’s more for survival than to say you can play a game. Haney states that the purpose of this study was to answer this one question “Is the American rodeo cowboy a cultural icon, athlete, or entrepreneur?” According to the research found and put into this article the answer is a simple yes, American cowboys are all of the above. They are cultural icons, they are athletes, and they are