Rodeos

Tazlima said:

I'm trying to write a scene involving a 12 year old girl who is going to compete in the barrel race at a local rodeo. A lot of craziness ensues which requires knowledge of the behind-the-scenes logistics of rodeos which I sorely lack (at the moment, I'm picturing a large affair, a rodeo/stock show/carnival combo). I have many questions.

1) Are there age restrictions on competitive barrel racing? Yes, although depends somewhat on the size of the rodeo and local. She'd probably be in 'junior.'

2) She arrives early in the day with her horse in a trailer. Where will the horse wait until competition time? Does the rodeo provide temporary stable space? Usually horses are tied to the trailer. Stable space costs money and most people avoid it. Most horses will stand quietly tied to a trailer with hay to munch on.

3) If the rodeo provides stabling, is it a restricted area or can members of the public come see the animals before performance? Depends.

4) If access to holding areas is restricted, how do people prove that they're allowed to be there? Do they have name tags or special bracelets or something? Usually an ID tag of some sort. Maybe a pass.

5) Would the rider normally stay with her animal during the wait or would she go wander around and see the sights, then return when it's time to compete? Depends upon the rider and horse. Some you can leave alone, some you can't.

6) Are the animals usually brought in the day of the rodeo/stock show or are they transported ahead of time so that by the time the public arrives, they're all settled in? Depends upon the distance that they're traveling. But out west, trips of 500 miles in a day are considered normal.

7) Is there a specific loading/unloading area for people who are transporting animals? If there is, would entry through this area allow you to bypass the ticket booth and get into the rodeo for free? Depends.

8) It's my understanding that in modern rodeos, broncos are bred for bucking and have to be OK with basic handling (i.e. being led with a halter, loading/unloading into a trailer, etc). They just don't like to carry riders. Do rodeos ever use genuinely wild animals in bronco riding (ones who have never interacted with humans and have only recently been captured)? Broncs buck because of the bucking strap. Many broncs can be good saddle horses without the bucking strap. Wild horses (mustangs) are owned by the Bureau of Land Management and are never, ever used in rodeos. Most would not provide a decent bucking horse.

9) Under what circumstances might rodeo officials agree to a performance of that sort (for instance if the horse in question was locally famous)? What is the title of the person who would make such a decision? Depends upon how long they want to go to Federal prison. It's against the law, big time.

11) How would the handlers transport and house a wild horse without injuring it, particularly if it has a really nasty temperament and will attack anyone who approaches? Wild horses do not usually have nasty temperaments. I own a mustang. One of the sweetest horses I have ever owned. But until trained, you use chutes and experience. No wild horse will attack a human unless that's the only way out for the horse. And in that case, the horse will just run the human over and leave.

12) If they wouldn't use such an animal as a bucking horse, is there some other scenario/competition where a wild horse would be a main event? I've read up on wild horse races, but I'd prefer a scene where there is just the one horse in the arena rather than several at once (the animal is the MC of this scene). It's fine if there are multiple humans involved in the event. There are events for untrained horses (they are not wild horses) like trying to ride one or milk a mare. I'm not sure of any event where wild horses would be singled out.

13) If a large, reputable rodeo would reject such an event, what about a smaller, local venue? Doubtful.

I appreciate all help, and if there's other information that might be useful or pertinent, I'm all ears. My knowledge level is minimal enough that I may well be asking the wrong questions without realizing it.

Click to expand...

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

The horses used in "wild horse races" are just horses that haven't been broke to ride. Could be from the big ranches that raise professional broncs, or could be from the little farm next door.

Even if a horse did run you over, they would most likely do their best not to step on you.

I saw a rider go down during a chuckwagon race. He fell off right in front of a team of six horses running at full speed, and they nearly wrecked trying to avoid stomping on him.

Everyone's given good advice so far. Like jclarkdawe, I've also worked closely with mustangs and they're the sweetest things. All horses have different personalities, so yes, there might be one problem horse taken from the wild but overall, mustangs are hardy, intelligent, and have strong survival skills. They want to thrive in their environment.

Just wanted to add to the mustang competition part. I watched a DVD of Clinton Anderson, Chris Cox and another famous horsemen (was it Parelli?) at this competition that I'm trying to remember the name of.

There were three horse trainers. Each trainer got assigned a wild mustang, never before handled. They had three days to train the mustang as best they could, and at the end of the three days, they each ran their mustang through an obstacle coarse and showed them off to judges. One of them was crowned the winner and the mustangs were auctioned off for major money. It was an incredible competition.

I believe it was Road to the Horse, although I could be wrong. Might've been Mustang Makeover. BLM is raising awareness about mustangs. They're trying to sell them because there's an overpopulation of wild horses. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more awareness/competition events about wild mustangs because they're trying to sell them. It's a better alternative than culling.

ETA: The trainers they invited to this competition are world class. They wouldn't have a 12 year old working with unhanded horses. Not sure exactly how your 12 year old and the mustang are involved, but just thought I should point that out.

Rank horses (the term for the type of horse you're talking about) are made by man, not nature. A wild horse, or an untrained horse with minimal contact with humans, will have certain ingrained behaviors, but viciousness towards humans is not one of them.

Horses that are vicious towards humans are the result of two different types of issues. The first is where the horse becomes the leader and doesn't know that the human is supposed to be in charge. Within limitations, this type of behavior will quickly change with a more dominating human. I've owned some wonderful horses that fell into this category.

The second is when a horse is abused and put into a position where its only option is to attack. Do this to the horse long enough and seriously enough, and your chances of turning the horse's behavior around is somewhere between slim, and impossible.

Horses are incredibly tolerant beings. Their goal is life is to live with their surroundings and be happy. They love the status quo. Most like to trust the boss of their herd. It's actually a very simple world view.

Bad horses are made by man.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Tazlima said:

I'm trying to write a scene involving a 12 year old girl who is going to compete in the barrel race at a local rodeo. A lot of craziness ensues which requires knowledge of the behind-the-scenes logistics of rodeos which I sorely lack (at the moment, I'm picturing a large affair, a rodeo/stock show/carnival combo). I have many questions.Hi Tazlima! My family rodeos, and I barrel race I'll try to answer your questions.

1) Are there age restrictions on competitive barrel racing?
Depends on what sort of rodeo. If it's a pro rodeo, you have to be 18 to get your permit (and then card)... so you must be at least 18 for the pros. If it's an open, non pro rodeo, usually anyone can enter.
2) She arrives early in the day with her horse in a trailer. Where will the horse wait until competition time? Does the rodeo provide temporary stable space? Usually tied to the trailer. The horses will snooze until warm up time.

3) If the rodeo provides stabling, is it a restricted area or can members of the public come see the animals before performance? Pro rodeos are pretty good about keeping the general public away from contestants and animals.

4) If access to holding areas is restricted, how do people prove that they're allowed to be there? Do they have name tags or special bracelets or something? At pro rodeos, you'll either have to show your card, or your back number will get you wherever you want to be.

5) Would the rider normally stay with her animal during the wait or would she go wander around and see the sights, then return when it's time to compete? We'll set out lawn chairs at the trailer and sit and talk with friends and/or family until warm up time. Beer is always available.

6) Are the animals usually brought in the day of the rodeo/stock show or are they transported ahead of time so that by the time the public arrives, they're all settled in? Depends, but we seem to always be rolling in late

7) Is there a specific loading/unloading area for people who are transporting animals? If there is, would entry through this area allow you to bypass the ticket booth and get into the rodeo for free? Contestants hauling horses will park in contestant parking. Contestants and stock contractors never pay to get into a rodeo.

8) It's my understanding that in modern rodeos, broncos are bred for bucking and have to be OK with basic handling (i.e. being led with a halter, loading/unloading into a trailer, etc). They just don't like to carry riders. Do rodeos ever use genuinely wild animals in bronco riding (ones who have never interacted with humans and have only recently been captured)? No. The goal is not to kill bronc riders.

9) Under what circumstances might rodeo officials agree to a performance of that sort (for instance if the horse in question was locally famous)? What is the title of the person who would make such a decision?
Never seen it happen.
11) How would the handlers transport and house a wild horse without injuring it, particularly if it has a really nasty temperament and will attack anyone who approaches? Stock contractors wouldn't deal with an animal like that.

12) If they wouldn't use such an animal as a bucking horse, is there some other scenario/competition where a wild horse would be a main event? I've read up on wild horse races, but I'd prefer a scene where there is just the one horse in the arena rather than several at once (the animal is the MC of this scene). It's fine if there are multiple humans involved in the event. Wild horse race is the only thing that comes to mind...

13) If a large, reputable rodeo would reject such an event, what about a smaller, local venue? Nope.

I appreciate all help, and if there's other information that might be useful or pertinent, I'm all ears. My knowledge level is minimal enough that I may well be asking the wrong questions without realizing it.

Click to expand...

Hope that helps!

Tazlima said:

FWIW, I did know that most horses aren't vicious in the way I described and I plan to mention that fact, as I have no desire to perpetuate negative stereotypes of wild horses (I would love to adopt a wild mustang someday, when I get out of the city again).

The aggressive nature of the critter in question arises from very particular circumstances and the bafflement of the trainers at the complete failure of traditional gentling methods is incorporated into the story.

Click to expand...

There are horses in the world that are dangerous. Sometimes they just have a screw loose. Browse through the "off course" section of The Chronicle of the Horse forums (or do a keyword search.) There are several threads on dangerous horses.

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum.php

A scenario for developing a dangerous horse could start with an orphaned, bottle-fed colt, never gelded, raised by idiots.

We have a burro, we adopted a jenny through the BLM and she was pregnant. She was tough, but never dangerous. Her son, the one we have now, thinks he's a horse.

One thing I don't think has been mentioned is that when an experienced horse sees the barrels they freak. If you go to a barrel show, you'll see that the riders come up near the gate in small groups. They often turn the horses facing away from the barrels until their number is called to keep them calm.

jclarkdawe said:

I own a mustang. One of the sweetest horses I have ever owned.

Click to expand...

Blinkk said:

I've also worked closely with mustangs and they're the sweetest things.

Click to expand...

I have one! There's a picture of her ears in my profile. And all I have to say about her is !

hillcountryannie said:

One thing I don't think has been mentioned is that when an experienced horse sees the barrels they freak. If you go to a barrel show, you'll see that the riders come up near the gate in small groups. They often turn the horses facing away from the barrels until their number is called to keep them calm.

Click to expand...

This will depend on the horse and the rider, and the arena. If an arena has a decent alley, you're generally going to be running as soon as or before you can see that first barrel. *Some* horses are calm enough to walk down that alleyway. These horses are few and far between

If there isn't an alleyway, you'll start when entering the arena, and that's when you'll notice some of the horses coming in turned around. A finished barrel horse knows its job, is usually super hot and keyed up to run... like a loaded spring. A rider will wait to turn that horse until she knows she's lined up and ready to go.

Tazlima said:

I'm trying to write a scene involving a 12 year old girl who is going to compete in the barrel race at a local rodeo. A lot of craziness ensues which requires knowledge of the behind-the-scenes logistics of rodeos which I sorely lack (at the moment, I'm picturing a large affair, a rodeo/stock show/carnival combo). I have many questions.

1) Are there age restrictions on competitive barrel racing?

Click to expand...

Yes, but 12 is possible, and even likely. Probably not at a large rodeo.

2) She arrives early in the day with her horse in a trailer. Where will the horse wait until competition time? Does the rodeo provide temporary stable space?

Click to expand...

there are usually stalls at the larger rodeos, at smaller rodeos there are places to tie them up.

3) If the rodeo provides stabling, is it a restricted area or can members of the public come see the animals before performance?

Click to expand...

At the large Denver stock show, people with grounds passes can come through the stables. At smaller rodeos, it varies enough that you can do whatever your plot needs here.

4) If access to holding areas is restricted, how do people prove that they're allowed to be there? Do they have name tags or special bracelets or something?

Click to expand...

Name tag or the competitor number that would be pinned on your back when competing

5) Would the rider normally stay with her animal during the wait or would she go wander around and see the sights, then return when it's time to compete?

Click to expand...

I was always too nervous; I had a tendency to overthink things. Shoulda gone and seen the sights.

6) Are the animals usually brought in the day of the rodeo/stock show or are they transported ahead of time so that by the time the public arrives, they're all settled in?

Click to expand...

At the smaller rodeos, the arrival time would probably be morning. Long enough to let your horse get the kinks out, eat, drink, and take a dump or two. Rodeo would probably be in the afternoon or evening. Or both!

7) Is there a specific loading/unloading area for people who are transporting animals? If there is, would entry through this area allow you to bypass the ticket booth and get into the rodeo for free?

Click to expand...

Yes, and a place with really long parking spaces to park your trailer. Your entry is guaranteed by your entry fee. You're part of the entertainment.

8) It's my understanding that in modern rodeos, broncos are bred for bucking and have to be OK with basic handling (i.e. being led with a halter, loading/unloading into a trailer, etc). They just don't like to carry riders. Do rodeos ever use genuinely wild animals in bronco riding (ones who have never interacted with humans and have only recently been captured)?

Click to expand...

No. The bucking horses need to be tractable enough to be transported around the country. There are specialists in the bucking-horse contracting area. One is (or was anyway) Mike Cervi. They are not wild horses at all, they are athletes!

9) Under what circumstances might rodeo officials agree to a performance of that sort (for instance if the horse in question was locally famous)? What is the title of the person who would make such a decision?

Click to expand...

There are locally famous bucking horses and they are prized, because you get more points riding a horse that is really trying to throw you. But the horses are not really wild.

11) How would the handlers transport and house a wild horse without injuring it, particularly if it has a really nasty temperament and will attack anyone who approaches?

Click to expand...

See this is the problem, a horse that hasn't been handled is dangerous to itself and other horses, more than people. Bucking stock consists of horses that are actually kind of valuable and the stock contractor wouldn't risk them.

12) If they wouldn't use such an animal as a bucking horse, is there some other scenario/competition where a wild horse would be a main event? I've read up on wild horse races, but I'd prefer a scene where there is just the one horse in the arena rather than several at once (the animal is the MC of this scene). It's fine if there are multiple humans involved in the event.

Click to expand...

I have seen it happen twice that a bucking horse has managed to climb and/or jump out of the holding pen before the rider got on. In both cases the horse pranced around the ring for a bit, looking really pleased with itself, and then was waved out of the ring to great applause. But these were accidents and don't usually happen. The wild horse race that you will see at some rodeos is just unbroken horses.

13) If a large, reputable rodeo would reject such an event, what about a smaller, local venue?

Click to expand...

Well...I don't know if this fits the bill, but there are trainers who do clinics and they often work with problem horses, and that would happen in front of all the paid participants. It wouldn't be like a rodeo. It would be more like Cesar Millan, with horses (the original Horse Whisperer did these things). This would not be a wild horse but could be a horse that had been badly traumatized by bad handling. But they aren't open to the general public, only to other workshop participants, i.e., other people with problem horses. One guy doing these (at one time, no idea if he's still active) was John Lyons.

I appreciate all help, and if there's other information that might be useful or pertinent, I'm all ears. My knowledge level is minimal enough that I may well be asking the wrong questions without realizing it.

Click to expand...

Well, it sounds like what you want is an out-of-control horse, and there have certainly been some of those in fiction and in movies, so there is a believability built in. I used to do rodeos and barrel racing in my youth, and I don't think I ever ran into a mean horse on the level of attacking someone. I did run into horses that didn't mind running you under some low branches or right next to a barbed-wire fence but they weren't doing it out of malice. There are also excitable types that will shy at some of the strangest things and a lot of barrel race horses are high-strung and can be unpredictable when not handled properly.

Also, somebody said that barrel horses "freak" when they see the barrels. In my experience it's less of a freak than a "let's go now I'm ready" thing. It is very important for the rider to stay calm and controlled because horses read your mind, if you expect them to freak, they'll freak.

hillcountryannie said:

One thing I don't think has been mentioned is that when an experienced horse sees the barrels they freak. If you go to a barrel show, you'll see that the riders come up near the gate in small groups. They often turn the horses facing away from the barrels until their number is called to keep them calm.

Click to expand...

They don't exactly freak -- they're taught to go when they see the barrels, and that's what they're going to do. A good barrel horse is having a blast, and is just as excited as the rider.

When John Wayne was in Westerns, his horses learned to gallop as soon as the director shouted, "Action." That way they avoided having Wayne spur them into action, which he'd do a split second after the director called for action.

Horses do very well with repetition. They learn very quickly what is expected of them.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Some "freak" out. I liken it to a person who loves a sport but goes a little nuts before the game. Horses spin, they rear, and make a big fuss, but once you manage to get them in the arena, they can be amazing barrel horses. I had the rare barrel horse and as long as I was leading another horse into the arena (which we did a lot!), she was fine. But if she went in alone, oh boy, she knew it was time to go and then there was no slowing her down (partly because I had a very light bit with no stopping power).


Also, if the rodeo is a two day event (which happens a lot with junior or high school rodeo), a lot of us had panels attached to our trailer so that when we got there, we could set up a little pin for the horse. Of course, you have hay and grain for them and a water bucket. And btw, my horse was so picky about water, that I had to bring Gatorade packets to all away rodeos and mix it with her water or she wouldn't drink it, and it had to be red Gatorade. Little stinker. I miss her.

I meant freak as in get excited/get happy. As in a good thing. I think I've spend too much time teaching high schoolers. Haha.

About the age restriction, check out this video of a 4 year-old barrel rider at the Brazoria County Fair Youth Summer Series Rodeo in Texas. Adorable! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auQH5MO4w_g
This particular youth rodeo allows children under 6 to compete as long as they are in registered in school.

jeseymour said:

There are horses in the world that are dangerous. Sometimes they just have a screw loose. Browse through the "off course" section of The Chronicle of the Horse forums (or do a keyword search.) There are several threads on dangerous horses.

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum.php

A scenario for developing a dangerous horse could start with an orphaned, bottle-fed colt, never gelded, raised by idiots.

We have a burro, we adopted a jenny through the BLM and she was pregnant. She was tough, but never dangerous. Her son, the one we have now, thinks he's a horse.

Click to expand...

I agree with the 'some have screw loose' most horses like people if they have been treated well by them, but some are just mean despite being treated nicely and never have been mistreated. I had a horse once that went out of her way just to bite me, charge me, run me over, when you were on her she was worse. She met her fate one day when we took the rest of the herd out on a ride and left her behind. she jumped the fence intent on following us and landed in a ditch and broke her leg- we had no choice but to put her down. very sad. I always wondered why she was the way she was.