Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Spirit of the by A.E. Wasp The Wasp Spirit Animal. The wasp spirit animal may just be like any other insect around, but it is very symbolic. The significance of the wasp symbolism will be made known to you as soon as the wasp appears, and it will be a good and promising period for you. Common Wasp Spirit Animal Meanings. The wasp meaning prompts you to take a good look at your life and ask yourself whether you are involved in pursuits that are worthwhile. Are you fighting the good fight? It’s a wake-up call to do what’s best for you and to focus on what will bring you closer to spiritual enlightenment. Life is too short to be spent on pursuits that are not worth your time! Like the dragonfly , wasp symbolism also encourages you to cultivate humility. With all your success, always keep your feet on the ground. When the wasp spirit animal comes flying into your life, you are being reminded that wishing and dreaming about your desires will not make them come true. You need to act on them and keep working until you make them happen. Somehow like the tarantula symbolism , the wasp symbolism also tells you to not resist the changes that you are going through. Believe that everything happens for a reason, and you are going through them because they will bring you closer to your goals. In some cultures, the wasp meaning is a symbol of control over your life circumstances. It also signifies evolution, progress, development, and order. Does seeing a Wasp mean Love is coming? If you want love, know that it will not happen for you if you just sit around waiting for it to land on your lap. You need to put yourself out there and let love find you! You need to go out there and meet new people. You need to believe that love will find you sooner rather than later, and you don’t need to be someone else you’re not just to be attractive to people. Like the wasp, you have two colors that symbolize the two different sides of you. You have a colorful and exciting personality that people will find interesting, no matter how ordinary you think you are! When the wasp spirit animal comes buzzing in, it’s time to watch out for love because there are romantic prospects circling around you, just like with the swan spirit animal. If you have been stung before by love, don’t let this be the reason for you to completely turn your back on it! Do this if you see the Wasp Totem in Your Dreams… Your wasp totem will show up when you are ready to embrace your duality. You need to accept the fact that with good comes the bad, with birth comes death, and with pain comes healing. The wasp spirit animal is serious about the message that it brings you, but it also wants you to learn to laugh at life’s imperfections. Sometimes when your problems become too much, all you need to do is have a good laugh so that you will not lose your mind! Positive Traits of the Wasp Spirit Animal. When you have the wasp spirit animal in your life, you feel relaxed whether in a social setting or in your own company. You are an interesting character oozing with charm, so you make friends quite easily. There are so many things that you want to achieve for yourself, so you don’t let anything stand in your way. You are a forward thinker and you find it very easy to share your thoughts to anyone who would listen. Negative Traits of the Wasp Spirit Animal. Those who have the wasp totem have an easy detachment when it comes to love and romance. They do not believe or commit to serious and long-term relationships. You like to be free and independent. The meaning of the wasp for you convinces you that being in a serious relationship will take away your freedom and independence. The wasp symbolism also creates personality shifts in you that create chaos and misunderstanding in your relationships. This is because you display two different personalities that challenge communication, trust, intimacy, and commitment. Just when someone is about to get close to you, you change and become a totally different person. You like to do things your own way. You have a problem with authority and have a hard time dealing with authority figures. This comes from your desire to do anything you please, when you please. Call on your Wasp Spirit Animal when: You are feeling impatient about your goals and dreams. Big and beautiful dreams take time to come true, so don’t be in such a rush. Work hard at them and find ways to keep yourself inspired! You need to stand up to your opponents. There will always be people who would love to see you fail, and they will do everything they can to pull you down. Stay away from these sorts of people and just concentrate on yourself and the people who mean the most to you. You need to know what is going on around you. It’s very easy to get lost in your own world, oblivious to what is happening to the rest of the world. You need to step out of your safety bubble every now and then to give you a clear idea of what’s happening. 4 Unusual Facts About Wasp Symbolism. Wasp symbolism will certainly have some very particular factors to take into consideration should you invite this spirit animal into your life at some point. However, the only way in which you can ascertain as to whether or not this spirit animal is right for you is to look at the facts that surround it and what it means. By doing so, you will feel better as to whether or not you should press ahead with accepting changes in your life. 1. You need to look carefully at your life. The first thing to point out is that wasp symbolism is going to push you towards looking carefully at your life and where it is going. Are you happy with what is happening? Do you feel that you are fighting against the correct things? Are you even involved in things that are serving a purpose for you rather than what it is just giving to somebody else? Being frank and honest here will allow you to make changes that will certainly be for the better. 2. You need to focus on a spiritual enlightenment. The wasp spirit animal is also going to be pushing you towards the idea of spiritual enlightenment and the positives that come with being able to achieve that target. To do this, you are encouraged to solely focus on those things that will serve you well and are good for you. The argument is that life is not long enough for you to indulge in things that are not capable of benefiting you to the maximum amount. 3. You must have your feet firmly on the ground. Another key point is that wasp symbolism encourages you to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground at all times. This means that you need to practice humility as it is viewed as being a positive trait to have thanks to the way in which you will then be perceived in a better light. Also, it means you do not get carried away with success and you will be less likely to then make mistakes later on. 4. You cannot just wish or dream. Finally, there is the idea that you cannot simply wish and dream for something and it will then come true as life does not work in that way. The wasp spirit animal is seeking to push that idea to you in order to then encourage things to be done in the correct manner. By doing so, it will become easier to develop as a person since you have planned and then executed it to get to where you want to be. The wasp spirit animal is certainly way more powerful than most people are willing to give it credit for. It strives to get you to look inwards and seek to better yourself as a person but without being loud and obnoxious about it. Wasp symbolism is more about peace and an awareness of others than you may have expected, but then that is not exactly going to be a bad thing. My final thoughts on the Wasp Spirit Animal and its Symbolism. With the wasp totem, you are being encouraged to express yourself more openly and clearly. You should know exactly what you want to happen in your life and what you want to achieve. Unveiling the wasp symbolism will give you new insights and lessons into your life. It’s not the most popular or endearing animal totem, but you will find that the wasp totem is among the most highly regarded and well-respected symbols in so many cultures around the world. The meaning of the wasp simply wants you to expect the unexpected, and do your best to prepare yourself. Do not force things to happen the way you want because life does not work that way. You can expect to have new beginnings and new projects when you have the wasp symbolism in your life. It brings a new season, so be very excited! About the author. Imelda Green. Since 1982 Imelda Green has been the Psychic Medium and spiritual advisor of choice to the rich and famous. Imelda’s immense gifts have helped thousands of people over the years and each and every day Imelda and the team are flooded with emails and letters thanking them for their insight and advice regarding interpretation of angel numbers, spirit animals, dream meanings etc. Ride 'em, Cowboys and Cowgirls! Keep Old West Spirit Alive. Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus. And I'm Steve Ember. The spirit of the old American West can still be found at rodeos. Modern-day cowboys compete to stay on wild, jumping horses, or struggle to ride bulls that weigh up to a ton. Cowgirls also compete in rodeos. Rodeos used to be found mainly in small towns out in the country. But today Americans in big cities also get the chance to shout "ride 'em, !" The first major open-air rodeo of the season is called La Fiesta de los -- Spanish for the Celebration of the Cowboys. And the cowboys will be celebrating February eighteenth to the twenty-sixth in Tucson, Arizona. Current and former world champions of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association will take part. In all, about seven hundred competitors will demonstrate their skills. And if that is not enough, there is also the Tucson Rodeo Parade on February twenty-third. Organizers call it "the world's longest non-motorized parade." Who needs a motor when four legs and a horse will do? La Fiesta de los Vaqueros is one of hundreds of professional rodeos in the United States. Rodeos have long been a tradition in the West. But the sport is also popular in major cities in the Midwest like Chicago, Illinois, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In fact, rodeos can be found from coast to coast. Georgia and North Carolina are two Eastern states with rodeo programs for high school students. Some rodeos are held in big sports centers. And some are shown on television. A rodeo might also have related events. In December, the Minneapolis Invitational held parties to celebrate the New Year. Rodeos have gone from small, local events to big business. For example, the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo took place in January in Denver, Colorado. It gave away five hundred thousand dollars in prize money. American rodeos developed long ago from the skills that cowboys needed to work with cattle in the West. Cowboys had to know how to train wild horses. They had to be excellent riders. And they had to know how to use a rope to catch and tie a runaway cow. By eighteen fifty, cowboys were competing in roping and riding in New Mexico. But Pecos, Texas, is called the "Home of the World's First Rodeo." The event was held in eighteen eighty-three. It took place on July fourth, America's birthday. Other early rodeos took place in Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona. In nineteen twelve, some wealthy businessmen in Canada agreed to pay for a rodeo in the town of Calgary, in Alberta Province. That rodeo was called the . If offered cowboys prize money up to a thousand dollars. Today, rodeos include events like , calf and , , saddle bronc riding and bareback bronc riding. Bronc is short for bronco. A bronco is a wild horse, or a horse that still acts like one. A steer is a young male cow that has been neutered. Steer wrestling and bareback bronc riding developed as rodeo sports in the twentieth century. Saddle bronc riding, however, was a traditional cowboy skill. It developed because of the need to train a wild horse to accept a saddle and rider. The rider gets on a saddle bronc in a narrow space. But a good saddle bronc hates to be ridden. The horse will buck. It will jump up and down and kick its back legs high in the air. The horse wants to throw its rider. The door is raised, and the animal and rider burst out in front of the crowd. The cowboy rides the horse as if he is riding an earthquake. He is supposed to stay on the bronco for eight seconds. He also must show good form. Professional rodeo judges rate each rider. Half the rating depends on how violently the animal bucks. So cowboys hope they get a really lively one. Cowboys also compete to see who can ride a bull the longest. And they compete to see who can bring a cow under control the fastest. In one event, the cowboy throws a rope around the neck of a calf, and then has to tie three of the legs of the young cow. In another event, the cowboy jumps off his moving horse to take a full-grown cow by the head. The cowboy has to pull the animal to the ground. Cowgirls also compete in professional rodeos, but not to the extent they did a long time ago. In fact, men and women used to compete together in the same events. Now at mixed rodeos the women take part in timed events in . Barrels are big round containers. The cowgirls have to make sharp turns on their horses to race around three barrels. It takes a lot of skill. There are all-women rodeos. And these are getting more popular. All-women rodeos include the same events that cowboys excite the crowds with. Not everyone likes rodeos. In fact, some people hate the idea. Animal activists say rodeos are cruel to the animals. Rodeo defenders disagree with that. There is no question that rodeos can be dangerous for the humans involved. A top competitor can earn thousands of dollars for eight seconds of work. But those seconds are hard on the body. And rodeo performers do not earn the millions of dollars that some athletes do in other sports. Cowboys can suffer many injuries. Often, though, they simply get up and dust themselves off. Now, meet some top rodeo stars. Ryan Jarrett wears the gold belt buckle of the all-around world champion of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The champion has to win at least one hundred thousand dollars in a season. Last year, at the age of twenty-one, Ryan Jarrett became the second youngest person ever to earn that title. And he did it in only his second year of championship competition. The youngest was Ty Murray. He was twenty the first time he became all-around champion in nineteen eighty-nine. Trevor Brazile gave Ryan Jarrett strong competition for the title. Brazile is a three-time national champion. He often appears on television. He also helps advertise a number of products including cowboy hats. Ryan Jarrett is known for tie-down roping. He won more than eighty thousand dollars in one event. When he is not competing, he helps his father operate a farm in northwestern Georgia. Among professional cowgirls, Kelly Kaminski holds the current world title in barrel racing. Her horse is named Rocky. As they make the turns, trying to avoid the barrels, Rocky leans far to the side. He is so low to the ground, he looks almost like he is lying down. Kelly Kaminski, the two thousand five champion, also won the gold buckle the year before. She formerly taught young children to read. Some rodeo people lead two working lives. When Kappy Allen is not competing, she is a full-time lawyer in Austin, Texas. Kappy Allen won the world title of the Women's Professional Rodeo Association in two thousand. Perhaps the best-known cowgirl in America is Charmayne James. She won ten world championships, nineteen eighty-four through nineteen ninety- three. The first time, she was just fourteen years old. Charmayne James won an eleventh world championship in two thousand two. The following year, she announced her retirement. Now Charmayne James is raising and training barrel horses. She has taught barrel racing in the United States and internationally. Her horse Scamper has an interesting story. No one thought he could be ridden until Charmayne James came along. Scamper was named to the Professional Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in nineteen ninety-six. That made him the only barrel racing horse ever to win that honor. Another place to learn about rodeo's colorful past is the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Visitors do even not have to travel all the way to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to see it. Internet visitors just have to go to nationalcowboymuseum -- all one word -- dot o-r-g. Ours program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver was our producer. I'm Steve Ember. Rodeos Keep Old West Spirit Alive. Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus. And I’m Steve Ember. The spirit of the old American West can still be found at rodeos. Modern-day cowboys compete to stay on wild, jumping horses, or struggle to ride bulls that weigh up to a ton. Cowgirls also compete in rodeos. Rodeos used to be found mainly in small towns out in the country. But today Americans in big cities also get the chance to shout "ride 'em, cowboy!" The first major open-air rodeo of the season is called La Fiesta de los Vaqueros -- Spanish for the Celebration of the Cowboys. And the cowboys will be celebrating February eighteenth to the twenty-sixth in Tucson, Arizona. Current and former world champions of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association will take part. In all, about seven hundred competitors will demonstrate their skills. And if that is not enough, there is also the Tucson Rodeo Parade on February twenty-third. Organizers call it "the world's longest non-motorized parade." Who needs a motor when four legs and a horse will do? La Fiesta de los Vaqueros is one of hundreds of professional rodeos in the United States. Rodeos have long been a tradition in the West. But the sport is also popular in major cities in the Midwest like Chicago, Illinois, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In fact, rodeos can be found from coast to coast. Georgia and North Carolina are two Eastern states with rodeo programs for high school students. Some rodeos are held in big sports centers. And some are shown on television. A rodeo might also have related events. In December, the Minneapolis Invitational held parties to celebrate the New Year. Rodeos have gone from small, local events to big business. For example, the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo took place in January in Denver, Colorado. It gave away five hundred thousand dollars in prize money. American rodeos developed long ago from the skills that cowboys needed to work with cattle in the West. Cowboys had to know how to train wild horses. They had to be excellent riders. And they had to know how to use a rope to catch and tie a runaway cow. By eighteen fifty, cowboys were competing in roping and riding in New Mexico. But Pecos, Texas, is called the "Home of the World's First Rodeo." The event was held in eighteen eighty-three. It took place on July fourth, America's birthday. Other early rodeos took place in Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona. In nineteen twelve, some wealthy businessmen in Canada agreed to pay for a rodeo in the town of Calgary, in Alberta Province. That rodeo was called the Calgary Stampede. If offered cowboys prize money up to a thousand dollars. Today, rodeos include events like bull riding, calf and steer roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding and bareback bronc riding. Bronc is short for bronco. A bronco is a wild horse, or a horse that still acts like one. A steer is a young male cow that has been neutered. Steer wrestling and bareback bronc riding developed as rodeo sports in the twentieth century. Saddle bronc riding, however, was a traditional cowboy skill. It developed because of the need to train a wild horse to accept a saddle and rider. The rider gets on a saddle bronc in a narrow space. But a good saddle bronc hates to be ridden. The horse will buck. It will jump up and down and kick its back legs high in the air. The horse wants to throw its rider. The door is raised, and the animal and rider burst out in front of the crowd. The cowboy rides the horse as if he is riding an earthquake. He is supposed to stay on the bucking bronco for eight seconds. He also must show good form. Professional rodeo judges rate each rider. Half the rating depends on how violently the animal bucks. So cowboys hope they get a really lively one. Cowboys also compete to see who can ride a bull the longest. And they compete to see who can bring a cow under control the fastest. In one event, the cowboy throws a rope around the neck of a calf, and then has to tie three of the legs of the young cow. In another event, the cowboy jumps off his moving horse to take a full-grown cow by the head. The cowboy has to pull the animal to the ground. Cowgirls also compete in professional rodeos, but not to the extent they did a long time ago. In fact, men and women used to compete together in the same events. Now at mixed rodeos the women take part in timed events in barrel racing. Barrels are big round containers. The cowgirls have to make sharp turns on their horses to race around three barrels. It takes a lot of skill. There are all-women rodeos. And these are getting more popular. All-women rodeos include the same events that cowboys excite the crowds with. Not everyone likes rodeos. In fact, some people hate the idea. Animal activists say rodeos are cruel to the animals. Rodeo defenders disagree with that. There is no question that rodeos can be dangerous for the humans involved. A top competitor can earn thousands of dollars for eight seconds of work. But those seconds are hard on the body. And rodeo performers do not earn the millions of dollars that some athletes do in other sports. Cowboys can suffer many injuries. Often, though, they simply get up and dust themselves off. Now, meet some top rodeo stars. Ryan Jarrett wears the gold belt buckle of the all-around world champion of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The champion has to win at least one hundred thousand dollars in a season. Last year, at the age of twenty-one, Ryan Jarrett became the second youngest person ever to earn that title. And he did it in only his second year of championship competition. The youngest was Ty Murray. He was twenty the first time he became all-around champion in nineteen eighty-nine. Trevor Brazile gave Ryan Jarrett strong competition for the title. Brazile is a three-time national champion. He often appears on television. He also helps advertise a number of products including cowboy hats. Ryan Jarrett is known for tie-down roping. He won more than eighty thousand dollars in one event. When he is not competing, he helps his father operate a farm in northwestern Georgia. Among professional cowgirls, Kelly Kaminski holds the current world title in barrel racing. Her horse is named Rocky. As they make the turns, trying to avoid the barrels, Rocky leans far to the side. He is so low to the ground, he looks almost like he is lying down. Kelly Kaminski, the two thousand five champion, also won the gold buckle the year before. She formerly taught young children to read. Some rodeo people lead two working lives. When Kappy Allen is not competing, she is a full-time lawyer in Austin, Texas. Kappy Allen won the world title of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association in two thousand. Perhaps the best-known cowgirl in America is Charmayne James. She won ten world championships, nineteen eighty-four through nineteen ninety- three. The first time, she was just fourteen years old. Charmayne James won an eleventh world championship in two thousand two. The following year, she announced her retirement. Now Charmayne James is raising and training barrel horses. She has taught barrel racing in the United States and internationally. Her horse Scamper has an interesting story. No one thought he could be ridden until Charmayne James came along. Scamper was named to the Professional Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in nineteen ninety-six. That made him the only barrel racing horse ever to win that honor. Another place to learn about rodeo's colorful past is the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Visitors do even not have to travel all the way to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to see it. Internet visitors just have to go to nationalcowboymuseum -- all one word -- dot o-r-g. Ours program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver was our producer. I’m Steve Ember. Around Town: Interesting Facts Behind the Spooner Rodeo You Might Not Know. Every year since 1954 the Spooner Rodeo has packed in crowds of people, both locals and out-of- towners, everyone enjoying the contests that were originally started out west when our country was new and cattle were an integral part of a cowboy's life. This event is always held on the first full weekend in July, starting on Thursday and running through Saturday night; Three shows, seven main events, and there are some things that the public may not know about this long-running event. First of all, the Heart of the North Rodeo, better known as the Spooner Rodeo, is just one stop on a long series of stops for would-be money maker contestants. Each stop in the circuit affords the cowboy or gal, a certain amount of money, or purse. A dedicated and talented contestant could earn up to a half of a million dollars in one year traveling the circuit. Spooner paid out 108,000.00 dollars to their winners this year alone. The rodeo didn't start out as, but has become a charitable organization under the 501 (c)-4 heading, which means they need someone to donate to, some social welfare organization that is a not-for-profit organization which operates solely to promote social welfare. The committee chose the Washburn County Fair Grounds their beneficiary and have improved the space and the buildings they share with the fair by providing new bleachers and bathroom updates that cost a quarter of a million dollars, a storage building, a sound building, a small concession building, updates to the secretary's building, creating a 'medical' building on-site to house the chiropractors that tend the riders, especially the bareback riders, with adjustments before and after their performance, VIP sections and a remodel to the oldest bathroom., investing a half of a million dollars into this shared space since 1993. The rodeo runs as well as it does do to advanced planning. According to Dick Fankhauser, rodeo chairman, they've already got their print information done ready to be taken to the tourist's shows, their ads in magazines and they've got their clowns hired and their acts for next year. For an event to be successful year after year, it has to have consistently good leadership. That sounds like an understatement, but to put on an event this big each year, it takes planning, a whole lot of planning and this committee makes sure they are well ahead of their deadline dates, ahead by a year, that is. Something else you might not know about the rodeo is what they call slack. Because many more contestants sign up to compete than they can showcase during the three performances, there is a special slack section not necessarily for the public, where these contestants are able to perform their skills. This year alone there were 119 barrel racers that signed up when only 36 were needed for the three official performances. Everyone pays an entrance fee and these cowboys and gals are given an even chance to compete, but outside the rodeo venue. There are special off-site provisions made for them with their horses and trailers near by and these are the people the public never sees when they do their thing. Which works for those who just want to participate, place and leave. Another thing some people don't realize is that there are different performers each night. So if you're impressed with one or two of them on Thursday night, don't come to Friday's performance and expect to see them again, they're already off to another rodeo in another town. There is an ambulance on the grounds for each performance and if one is needed to transport someone to the hospital, a second ambulance has to be supplied before the rodeo can continue. For the last sixty-four years, from its very inception, the Spooner Rodeo has been associated with the Barnes PRCA Rodeo Company who has supplied the high-quality stock, Contract Acts, Rodeo Announcer and all necessary personnel for the rodeo. In 1975 the Professional Rodeo Cowboy's Association (PRCA) took on their new name and never looked back. The organization boasts over 7000 members and it sanctions over 600 rodeos a year and the Spooner Rodeo work hand-in-glove with the PRCA. This year was number 64 for the rodeo and it's due to its exceptional leaders, along with committee members who are dedicated to doing a superior job year after year. Ever since 1985, when Fankhauser was elected Chairman, having joined the rodeo to sell tickets in 1978, he's never looked back; that's 32 years of dedicated service. Originally the rodeo was an event sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, but it's created its own persona and it was in 1993 that it was Incorporated and became a Non-Profit / Charitable and IRS tax-exempt Organization. Dick Fankhauser was born a farm boy near Rice Lake He grew up riding horses and had his own horse until he sold it to buy his first car, a used 1955 Ford. It was at a Badger Boys convention where a State Trooper spoke that made Dick consider law enforcement. But first the Army. He was trained in cryptography repair and sent to Korea for twenty-one months. This is where he met his future wife, Kim Myong Sim or as they call her, Kim. When he got out of the service, he went back to get her. He came back to the US without her though due to endless paperwork that had to be done; she joined him eight months later. Their first child was born nine months and eight days later. Meanwhile he had joined the State Patrol, interviewing for the job the day she landed from Korea, and then they spend the next thirty and a half years being transferred from Tomah to New Richmond, then to Park Falls, Menomonie and finally to Spooner for the last twenty years of his service with the state. This last rodeo has been one of their best with a total ticket sales of $162,000.00 with approximately 16,500 fans attending the rodeo. Sixty-five percent of whom bought advanced tickets. This has become such a successful event that last year when the tickets went on sale October 2, there was over $5000 garnered in sales that same day. Because of the rodeo' great reputation, supporters like Tombstone Pizza, Superor Beverages LLC, and Jack Link's Protein Snacks Have been with the Spooner Rodeo for many years. Tombstone Pizza which has gone through a number of ownership changes over the years, the latest being the Nestle Company, has been a consistent supporter all these years. It's that kind of loyalty and dedication that makes the Spooner Rodeo such a success for not only the rodeo, but for the town in general and the surrounding area. Mutton Bustin, the exceptional rodeo, the Sunday church service on the grounds and the yearly royalty and the incredible rodeo parade and the bands on each night of the rodeo all combine to bring an amazing series of events to the area; long live the Spooner Rodeo and all those that serve to make her so great. Rodeo. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Rodeo , sport involving a series of riding and roping contests derived from the working skills of the American cowboy as developed during the second half of the 19th century to support the open-range cattle industry in North America. Although its development as a sport occurred mainly in northern Mexico, the United States, and western Canada, rodeo’s popularity is global. In particular, many similar events and competitions can be found in South America, including the of Venezuela and Colombia. The of Mexico is a similar competition that evolved from the haciendas of colonial Mexico; its rodeo-like events are typically not timed but judged in terms of artistic merit. Origins and history. Rodeos (from the Spanish rodear , “to encircle”) grew out of the work and play of 19th-century American cowboys and their Spanish-Mexican antecedents. They evolved from a time when cowboys would gather together during seasonal roundups or in the “cow towns” at the end of cattle- trails and vie for the unofficial title of best bucking-horse rider, roper, and so on. As the cowboys’ occupation was curtailed in scope by the railroads and by the fences that marked the end of the Open Range era, the contests became regular formal programs of entertainment. Many locales claim the distinction of being the first place to hold a rodeo in the United States—among them Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1872 and Winfield, Kansas, in 1882—but such early contests were merely exhibitions of riding and roping skills and not the highly organized shows that modern rodeo became. Starting in the 1880s, various Wild West shows presented “cowboy tournaments” around the United States, associating the demonstration of western open-range practices with sporting performance. Prescott, Arizona Territory, held the first annual rodeo on July 4, 1888. Organized by a town committee, it included public advertising, admission charges, and championship prizes, establishing the venue as a true competitive spectator sport. Prescott was followed by major annual rodeo venues such as Cheyenne (1897), the Pendleton (Oregon) Round-Up (1910), and the Calgary Stampede (1912). Under the management of promoters, contractors, and civic-minded local committees, rodeo emerged as a legitimate independent sport by 1910. It was among the most egalitarian of American sports in the early 20th century, often including Hispanic, African American, Native American, and female contestants in an era when race and gender discrimination were commonplace. For example, Mexican trick- and fancy-roper Vicente Oropeza and famed black bronc-rider and steer-wrestler Bill Pickett won acclaim in the arena, as did Native American bronc-riders Tom Three Persons and Jackson Sundown. A number of female competitors, such as Lucille Mulhall and Bertha Blancett, also won acclaim in the early days of rodeo, sometimes competing directly with men. In 1929 the Rodeo Association of America, an organization of rodeo managers and producers, was formed to regulate the sport. The contestants themselves took a hand in 1936 after a strike in Boston Garden and organized the Cowboy Turtles Association—“turtles” because they had been slow to act. That group was renamed the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) in 1945 and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) in 1975, and its rules became accepted by most rodeos. After World War II, rodeo experienced an explosion in venues, monetary rewards, spectator attendance, and national publicity. The sport’s competitor ranks grew through participation of athletes from the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), founded in 1948, and as a result of the annual (NFR), which was established in 1959 and became the richest and most prestigious rodeo in the world. At the turn of the 21st century, some 600 PRCA-sanctioned rodeos were held annually in some 40 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. The sport’s top-ranking, highly paid contenders compete to qualify for the National Finals and to win the title of world all-around champion cowboy, given to the PRCA participant earning the most prize money in a year. Rodeo structure. Contemporary rodeos typically present five main events. Two of these—saddle-bronc riding and —represent the practical range work of the 19th-century cowboy. Three other primary contests—bareback-bronc riding, steer wrestling, and bull riding—appeared as feats of cowboy daring during the first decades of the 20th century. Most prominent rodeos also include women’s barrel racing and team steer roping as regular program events. Steer roping, a traditional cowboy practice and a familiar rodeo event for several decades in the early 1900s, is today an infrequent competition because of considerations of animal welfare. The competitions typically are defined as “judged,” or “rough-stock,” events (saddle-bronc riding, bareback-bronc riding, and bull riding) and “timed” events (steer wrestling, calf roping, , barrel racing, and steer roping). In the former events, judges score the performance of contestants and animals alike for a potential total tally of 100 points per ride. In the latter events, competitors race against the clock through a series of go-rounds for the fastest (lowest) cumulative time. Most PRCA-sanctioned rodeos present in a specific order: leads off, followed by calf roping, saddle-bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, barrel racing, and, as the grand finale, bull riding. Rodeos for many years featured competitive events that are no longer a regular part of venue programming. Most prominent among those were trick and fancy roping and . Based on Wild West show antecedents, trick ropers and riders thrilled crowds at major rodeos for years, but they then dwindled from prominence as their skills were relegated to the status of contract performances in the early 1930s. Some rodeos still present those skills but as contract rather than as competitive events. Although women competed in many rough-stock events at mixed-gender rodeos well into the 1930s, today they pursue those contests in rodeos organized by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), founded in 1948. Barrel racing is the sole women’s event regularly practiced at most PRCA-sanctioned rodeos.