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The Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show and Rodeo is an annual event in Mercedes, Texas. The show has been on for 81 years making this year's as year 84.
In 1939, the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show and Agricultural Exposition, the forerunner of today's show, was organized as a project of the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce. The first Show was held in 1940 on the grounds of a local livestock sales yard with makeshift pens and lean-to sheds. The show continued to be held on this same property until 1949, when it moved to its present location at 1000 North Texas in Mercedes, with the exception of 1943 to 1945.
In 1947, the Show was incorporated and chartered as a nonprofit, educational organization with a Board of Directors representing all of the four southernmost counties in Texas. Up until 1955, all livestock was shown primarily in tents. By 1979 all exhibits, which were once housed in some 12 tents, were in permanent buildings located on slightly more than 100 acres (0.40 km2).
Volunteers from all walks of life (bankers, lawyers, accountants, farmers, and ranchers) and a dedicated Board of Directors, give endless hours of their time to make the show a success. Without them, it would be impossible to produce the show, as the costs would be excessive. It is estimated that more than $25 million has been paid to FFA and 4-H exhibitors during the years the show has been in existence. The Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show has continued to grow each year, and now ranks as one of the top 10 in the state. People from all over Texas eagerly anticipate the event and come to enjoy the many activities, which include a parade, rodeo, carnival rides, competitive livestock events, and the many, many attractions that are scheduled daily.
2020 saw the Show go on despite the COVID-19 pandemic, though attendees did wear masks, as did all workers & performers.
Rodeo is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States, western Canada, and northern Mexico. Today, it is a sporting event that involves horses and other livestock, designed to test the skill and speed of the cowboys and cowgirls. American-style professional rodeos generally comprise the following events: tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, Steer roping, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, bull riding and barrel racing. The events are divided into two basic categories: the rough stock events and the timed events. Depending on sanctioning organization and region, other events such as breakaway roping, goat tying, and pole bending may also be a part of some rodeos. The "world's first public cowboy contest" was held on July 4, 1883, in Pecos, Texas, between cattle driver Trav Windham and roper Morg Livingston.
Los Fresnos is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,542 at the 2010 census, up from 4,512 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas.
Vernal, the county seat and largest city in Uintah County, is in northeastern Utah, approximately 175 miles (280 km) east of Salt Lake City and 20 miles (32 km) west of the Colorado border. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,079. The population has since grown to 10,432 as of the 2022 population estimate.
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing, and First Nations exhibitions. In 2008, the Calgary Stampede was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler, specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos. Cowgirls, first defined as such in the late 19th century, had a less-well documented historical role, but in the modern world work at identical tasks and have obtained considerable respect for their achievements. Cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly South America and stockmen and jackaroos in Australia, perform work similar to the cowboy.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003, with the exception of 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was previously held in the Astrodome. It is considered to be the city's "signature event", much like New Orleans's Mardi Gras, Dallas's Texas State Fair, San Diego's Comic-Con and New York City's New Year's Eve at Times Square.
NRG Park, formerly Reliant Park and Astrodomain, is a complex in Houston, named after the energy company NRG Energy. It is located on Kirby Drive at the South Loop West Freeway (I-610). This complex of buildings encompasses 350 acres (1.4 km2) of land and consists of four venues: NRG Stadium, NRG Center, NRG Arena and the NRG Astrodome.
Francis Benjamin Johnson Jr. was an American film and television actor, stuntman, and world-champion rodeo cowboy. Johnson brought authenticity to many roles in Westerns with his droll manner and expert horsemanship.
The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo is a livestock show and rodeo held in San Antonio, Texas annually during the month of February. It is part of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) schedule. For 14 consecutive years it was awarded the PRCA Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year. Along with the rodeo, the event also includes live entertainment from major recording artists, family-friendly exhibits, a carnival, and shopping. It is estimated that 1.3 million people attended the 2022 event. Along with Fiesta San Antonio, the rodeo is considered a top event for the city.
The American Royal is a livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and barbecue competition held each year in September – November at various sites in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The Future Farmers of America was founded during the annual Royal. The Kansas City Royals professional baseball team derived its name from the Royal.
The culture of Texas is often considered one of the major cultures influencing the greater American culture. Texas is one of the most populous and heavily populated American states in its urban centers and has seen tremendous waves of migration out of the American North and West, in contrast to its eastern neighbors in the Deep South. But it retains the regionalisms and distinct cultural identities of German Texan, Tejanos, Cajuns, Irish, African American, and White Southern enclaves established before the republic era and admission to statehood.
History of rodeo tracks the lineage of modern Western rodeo.
The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is the oldest continuously running livestock show and rodeo. It has been held annually in Fort Worth, Texas since 1896, traditionally in mid-January through early February. A non-profit organization, the Stock Show has provided millions of dollars in grants and scholarships in its tenure and continues to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to assist the future leaders of agriculture and livestock management.
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is located at 2800 S. Bentsen Palm Drive south of the city of Mission in Hidalgo County in the U.S. state of Texas. It serves as the headquarters for the World Birding Center.
Northern International Livestock Exposition (NILE) originated as an idea from the livestock committee of the Billings Chamber of Commerce in 1966. In 1967 the Public Auction Yards hosted an event to showcase the region’s vast livestock industry. By the fall of 1968, a full-fledged livestock show with 250 exhibitors and 600 entries was underway. The first NILE consisted of livestock shows, horse shows, and rodeo and today those traditions continue as the NILE Stock Show and ProRodeo has become one of the largest agricultural events of the Northwest.
The Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) was a professional rodeo organization founded in 2015. Its only season was in 2016, and it ceased operations the following year.
Ty Erickson is an American professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in steer wrestling. He competes in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit. He is the 2011 PRCA Steer Wrestling Rookie of the Year and is the PRCA 2019 Steer Wrestling World Champion.
Wanda Harper Bush was an American professional rodeo cowgirl. She competed in the Girl's Rodeo Association (GRA), now known as the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), and won two barrel racing world championships, in 1952 and 1953. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1978 and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2017. The August 2017 induction ceremony was ProRodeo's 38th annual event, and marked the first time in the event's history that the class of inductees included barrel racers from the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA).
Fallon Taylor is an American professional rodeo cowgirl who specializes in barrel racing. She is the 2014 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) Barrel Racing World Champion. She qualified for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) seven times between 1995–1998 and 2013–2015. She made her first NFR debut when she was 13 years old in 1995. Her horse BabyFlo was named the Women's Professional Rodeo Association/American Quarter Horse Association WPRA/AQHA Barrel Racing Horse of the Year in 2013.
