Now that we”ve exhausted our attempt to politicize the rodeo, and the conversation has drifted more into PETA territory, I got to thinking about rodeos, per se.

I’ve only been to one rodeo, I saw a big one at the Cow Palace in San Francisco when I lived in California. Yes, it was my first rodeo. It was also my last. My impression of it was mostly positive.

Sure, a few of the rodeo events involved cruelty to animals, like stressing the bulls so they’ll be more challenging mounts. These events could be modified, or if necessary, removed altogether. We should not deliberately employ cruelty for our own entertainment. It is barbaric, the sort of thing we self-righteously condemn the Romans for, or the devotees of bullfighting and bear-baiting. But most of the competitive events at the rodeo involve normal tasks that are a part of the cattle business. Rodeos are composed of sports derived from the day-to-day activities of cowboys, the tasks and skills they employ on the job. Roping, cutting, etc are jobs real cowboys do every day, and they involve exquisite coordination between rider and mount. And they are a beautiful thing to watch, not to mention a part of our heritage North Americans can be justly proud of, and should celebrate and preserve.

I say ‘North American’ because the technology and culture for cattle ranching was invented by the Mexicans, perfected by the Yankees, and mastered by the Canadians. Other countries have range cattle, vaqueros in Spain, the cattlemen of the French Camargue, and of course, the gaucho culture of the Argentine Pampas. But the North American cattle culture is truly unique, and through Hollywood, is now familiar to the world.

This is not some phony sport pampered upper class thugs amuse themselves with in Ivy League colleges. This a true working man’s exhibition of the arts and skills he uses every day in his work. No one sails sailboats any more except for sport, either, but we honor and preserve those ancient working men’s skills too. It is part of our collective human experience on this planet, and we should be proud of it. To my proletarian soul, it is a noble thing.

I saw a lot to admire in my visit to the Cow Palace, but my favorite was the cutting horses. ‘Cutting’ involves removing one single animal from the herd so it can roped or branded. The rider must communicate to his mount (usually trained and bred specifically for this work) which beast he wants, and the horse must focus on that animal, turning and whirling to move him in the desired direction, separating it from the rest of the herd. The rider cannot use his hands, they are busy with the lariat so he controls the pony with his legs and voice commands. Once the dogie is lassoed, the cowboy must jump down and hobble it, while the horse, lariat tied to the saddle horn. keeps the rope taut to keep the animal off his feet and the rope out of the cowboy’s way. It is an absolutely lovely thing to watch.

I’m a sailor, not a cowboy, so if I got any of the details wrong, please forgive me. But I see the elegance and beauty to this, a sport, an art form, based on a man at work on the land. It is a good thing.