Rodeo
A competitive sport grown from ranch work, with riding and roping events, popular across the Americas and Australia.
Also: charreada, stampede
Rodeo, from the Spanish word for a round-up, grew out of the skills of cowboys and vaqueros. Standard events include bareback and saddle bronc riding on horses, bull riding, tie-down roping, team roping and steer wrestling, along with barrel racing, mostly for women. The Calgary Stampede in Canada, first held in 1912, and Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming are among the best known. Rodeo has its own forms in Mexico, where it is the charreada, and in Chile and Brazil, and it is popular in Australia. Rules on the treatment of animals are set by rodeo associations, and animal welfare groups continue to criticise some events.