Rodeo Town USA
How has the rodeo changed over the years?
Cowboys and cowgirls come to Iowa to compete in a world-famous rodeo that draws thousands of spectators from across the country.
Transcript
[Abby Brown] Have you ever experienced the excitement of a rodeo? It's an event where cowboys and cowgirls perform and compete to show off their skills at roping, riding and wrestling. Here in the southwest corner of Iowa, a famous rodeo happens every year. But the cowboy and cowgirl culture and traditions are kept alive all year long in Rodeo Town, USA.
(Map marking Fremont County in the southwestern corner of Iowa.)
(A hanging banner reads “Sidney Iowa’s Championship Rodeo Since 1923. Where the Highway Ends and the West Begins.)
In 1923, two brothers, Henry and Earl Tackett, cowboys from Wyoming, arrived in Sidney, Iowa, to provide some wild entertainment. A rodeo.
The event was such a success that it continued to be held every year, growing and growing until it reached what it is today.
Every August, thousands of people flock to Iowa to take in several days of events like barrel racing, bull riding and team roping.
The Iowa Championship Rodeo Museum, located just a few blocks away from the Sidney Rodeo grounds, is a treasure chest of rodeo history.
Once upon a time, the announcer used a megaphone like this
(Abby is holding a metal object that is approximately three feet long. It is cone-shaped with a wide, flared opening at one end and a narrow mouthpiece at the other.)
and a bell like this
(Abby points to a rustic metal object that has a rounded, bulbous shape, with a wide mouth with a metal clapper inside.)
to signal the end of a ten second ride.
Now we have an electronic microphone. A rider has to ride the bull for only 8 seconds. And, of course, we have an electronic buzzer too.
Generations of people from Sidney and the surrounding area have taken part in rodeo activities over the last hundred years. Their efforts have made the Sidney Rodeo famous. The cowboy way of life here in Sidney is alive and well.
Every county in Iowa has rounded up some great stories to tell. Thanks for saddling up with me in Fremont County.
Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by The Coons Foundation, Pella and the Gilchrist Foundation.