Cowboy Park: Steer-roping Contests on the BorderA century ago, when Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona outlawed steer roping contests, there was one place a southwestern roper could go to hone his skills: Cowboy Park, the arena established in 1907 in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. During the formative years of rodeo that preceded the first Calgary Stampede in 1912, Cowboy Park promoted the sport of steer roping and provided a ready training ground for up-and-coming champions. From its inception until growing political turmoil in Mexico brought the enterprise to a halt, Cowboy Park kept the sport alive and fostered celebrity--its "alumni" swept the first prizes in Calgary and continued to dominate for some years. This unique institution, despite its significant influence on the future of rodeo, has until now received scant attention. Through the history he has recovered and photographs--many published here for the first time--John Baxter documents and illuminates the era of Cowboy Park and the early champions who won their spurs there. "Rodeo fans will find some familiar names . . . and places here--Guy Weadick, Zack and Lucille Mulhall, Bill Pickett, Will Rogers, Fog Horn Clancy, Guy Allen, Dan Patch, and Calgary, Pendleton, and Cheyenne. But most of the names will be unfamiliar, all but forgotten in the annals of early rodeo. [Baxter's] penetrating and original research is underpinned by the use of nearly fifty different newspapers from around the country." --Richard W. Slatta, from the foreword |
Contents
CONTENTS | xi |
Introduction 3 | xxx |
The First Cowboy Contests | xxx |
Copyright | |
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arena Arizona Austin average Barksdale began Bert Weir Bill Bill Pickett Bob Crosby Border Heritage Center boys bronc riding bucking horses Calgary Calgary Stampede Carlsbad carnival cattle celebration champion championship Charlie Charlie Weir Cheyenne Chihuahua Clay McGonagill competition County Cowboy Park cowboy sports cowboy tournaments cowgirls crowd December Deming Dewey Echols Ellison Carroll exhibitions Fair fans Frank Bojorques Frontier Days George Weir grandstand Guy Weadick Henry Grammer ibid included Joe Gardner Juárez July Kelly Phillips lariat Lea County livestock longhorn March match Mexican Mexico Muskogee Nat Greer November October Oklahoma City park's Paso Herald Paso Public Library Paso's performance Phoenix Pomp James prize money races Rafael Fraustro ranch record riders riding and roping rodeo ropers Roping Contest round Roundup San Angelo San Antonio seconds southwestern Stampede steer roping steer-roping contests Terrazas Texas tion took vaquero Weir brothers Wild West show winner winning