EVENTS : Cowboy Way at the Valley Fair : Bronc and bull riders will perform tonight and Saturday at the L.A. Equestrian Center in Burbank.
Perhaps no other image is so quintessentially American as that of the cowboy. This weekend Valley res idents will be able to view these professional entertainers up close and personal at the San Fernando Valley Fair.
The Flying U Rodeo, which will perform tonight and Saturday in the Equidome at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn., or PRCA, based in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Thomas Joseph (T.J.) Walter, the association’s administrator, is a 12-time National Finals Rodeo contestant who got involved in the sport early on. “I was born and raised on a small farm in Iowa,” Walter says. “I went to a rodeo when I was 10 years old; I won a ribbon and I was hooked.”
Later, when Walter had the choice of a college scholarship in football, baseball or rodeo, he chose rodeo. And although he also played college football and baseball, he says rodeo requires as much athleticism as the other sports.
“You have to be in darn good shape,” Walter says. “Riding takes more athletic ability than baseball, probably more than football.”
The rodeo association sanctions more than 750 rodeos annually in the United States and Canada. Prize money in association rodeos has grown from about $9 million in 1980 to more than $23 million in 1994. Nationally ranked cowboys typically compete each year in about 100 to 125 rodeos.
But not all the cowboys are boys. Women rodeo performers have their own association, the Women’s Professional Rodeo Assn., which sponsors competitions in all the rodeo events for women only. At PRCA events, however, female rodeo performers compete in women-only barrel racing, and some compete with the men in team roping events. The rodeo in Burbank will feature about 40 women performers, including Kathy Salisbury, who is competing in the team roping event.
Rodeo competitions fall into two broad categories: “roughstock” events and timed events. Roughstock events, including saddle bronc riding, bareback riding and bull riding, are scored by judges. The contestant must ride for a minimum of eight seconds to receive a score and is permitted to use only one hand to hold onto the animal. He may not touch the animal, himself or any equipment with his free hand.
Timed events include calf roping, steer wrestling, team roping, steer roping and barrel racing. With the exception of bareback riding and bull riding, the rodeo events represent job skills that are still required today, Walter says.
“Those events still go on as a part of everyday life on ranches even as we speak,” Walter says.
Bull riding is sometimes considered the ultimate rodeo event, because of the danger to the cowboy. The rodeo cowboys learn to live with sprains and injuries. But what about the danger to the animals?
The PRCA, which was founded in 1936, first established rules for the humane treatment of animals in 1947. The group claims that of the more than 33,000 animals that performed in association rodeos in the 1993-94 season, only 16 were injured. The PRCA can levy fines against cowboys who use unnecessary roughness against the animals, and any contestant found mistreating an animal can be disqualified from competition.
Although some people think of Los Angeles as the entertainment capital of the world, to these cowboys it’s just another stop on the circuit.
“L.A. has about 10 rodeos per year,” Walter says. “But none of them is a major rodeo.” The National Rodeo Finals are held each year in Las Vegas. At that “Super Bowl” of rodeo, a cowboy can win up to $3 million in just nine days, Walter says.
Besides the rodeo, the fair will offer carnival rides and games, livestock auctions, arts and crafts, live entertainment, karaoke contests and dancing exhibitions. There will also be a NASA exhibit featuring a display of lunar soil.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
WHERE AND WHEN
What: San Fernando Valley Fair.
Location: Los Angeles Equestrian Center, 480 Riverside Drive, Burbank.
Hours: Fair continues from noon to 10 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Rodeo events will start at 7 tonight and Saturday.
Price: Fair admission is $5 general, free for children 11 and younger. No separate admission for the rodeo.
Call: (818) 373-4500.