Rodeo Cowboys Are Professionals

* Re “Activist Working to Rein In Devices Used in Rodeo Events,” Feb. 4:

I have been around rodeos for over 32 years. As a rodeo wife, mother, rodeo secretary and event timer, I have been behind the chutes at both professional and amateur rodeos and never in all this time have I seen the type of treatment Jane Garrison wishes to believe is regular behavior around rodeos.

Rodeo cowboys are professional and must always work within specific rules and regulations. The rules were put in place not as a handicap to the cowboy, but to have him practice his profession in a safe and humane manner. The tools of his trade are regulated and without respect for the animals involved, there will be no gain, fame or future for him. Like any professionals--doctors in their offices, teachers in the classroom, actors on stage and lawyers in a courtroom--cowboys and cowgirls in a rodeo arena must be proficient at their chosen profession. To accomplish this task, one must educate oneself through books, schooling, observation and hands-on practice. Some are more naturally talented at their professions than others; these individuals usually become specialists in their fields.

I do not expect Garrison to give up her heritage any more than I intend to give up mine. God put all creatures on this earth with a purpose. I find as much beauty and nobility in a bucking horse performance as I do in an Olympic champion performance. A job well done is a job well done.

ELLEN PATTON

San Juan Capistrano

* Justice got lynched at the San Juan Capistrano City Council meeting on Feb. 6, much like the five animals who died at the 1995 California Rodeo in Salinas.

Although Mayor Wyatt Hart’s office received 51 letters in support of a rodeo ordinance banning the use of electric prods, spurs and bucking straps (plus the abolition of tie-down calf roping), the desires of the citizenry were ignored.

Instead, the City Council unanimously approved, without discussion, a sham proposal written by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn. . . . the fox guarding the henhouse, as it were.

Adding to this travesty, of the 37 people who had signed up to speak for the allotted three minutes, few were allowed to speak. Each side was allowed only 15 minutes to present its case. No time was given for rebuttals.

What a sad day for the democratic process.

Perhaps a citywide initiative could provide some basic welfare for these abused animals. And all in the name of “sport,” God help us.

ERIC MILLS

Coordinator

Action for Animals

Oakland