Brief History of the Sport Part 1- The Early Years

The early years of rodeo can be traced back all the way to the ranches of the early 1700s when the Spanish ruled the west. Spanish cowboys, known as vaqueros, influenced the the American cowboy with their clothing, equipment, traditions, and even language. This in turn influenced the modern sport of rodeo. Duties on these early ranches included roping, riding, herding, branding, breaking horses, and more. (The same activities that are part of ranch life today, but with modern techniques.) It was these chores that evolved directly into rodeo events like tie-down roping, team roping, and bronc riding.

In the 1800s, the cattle business began to boom. Ranchers from the Southwest started organizing long cattle drives to bring cattle to stockyards like Kansas City, where trains would carry the cattle east. At the end of the long trails, the new American "cowboys" would hold informal competitions among themselves and other outfits to see which group had the best riders, ropers, and all-around cowboy. It was from these competitions that the sport of rodeo we know today was born.