Rodeo 2: Wild West Show to Rodeo
The Wild West shows began to die out before World War I, though a couple of them lasted into the early 1930s. Some of the show promoters became rodeo promoters after the war and rodeo events often became attached to celebrations similar to the Prescott Frontier Days.
Among the better known of these events are Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming, the Pendleton Roundup in Oregon, and the Calgary Stampede in Alberta, Canada. Many frontier towns also began holding annual horse stock shows that frequently included cowboy competitions. The stock shows were often called rodeos, but the word "rodeo" wasn't applied to the cowboy competitions themselves until 1916 and didn't come into general use until after 1920.
There was little or no standardization in rodeo events and rules until 1929, when a group of promoters founded the Rodeo Association of America (RAA). Their main purpose was to work out a schedule so they wouldn't have to compete with one another, but they also established standard rules for the young sport.
The RAA required its members to publish prize money for each event at least 30 days before the rodeo took place. The events recognized by the RAA were bull riding, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, steer roping, steer decorating, steer wrestling, team roping and wild-cow milking. To be sanctioned, a rodeo had to offer at least four of those events.
The RAA began naming national champions annually in bull riding, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, steer roping, steer wrestling, and team roping. An all-around champion was also named. The championships were based on a point system. The bareback riding championships was added in 1932.
William T. Johnson of San Antonio, Texas, emerged as rodeo's foremost promoter. A millionaire rancher, Johnson produced his first rodeo in 1928 for the national American Legion convention in San Antonio. He lost $40,000. That only made him determined to keep at it until he made money instead of losing it. When he produced another rodeo for the 1929 Texas State Fair, he invited officials of the Madison Square Garden Rodeo to Dallas to see it. They were so impressed that they hired him to produce their annual rodeo, the biggest in the country.
In 1931, Johnson staged the first rodeo in Boston Garden. By 1934, he had established a circuit through major cities including Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Philadelphia as well as New York and Boston.