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104-630: Competitors compete for prize money and the title of All Around Cowboy and Cowgirl at each rodeo. The winners of each event receive trophy buckles designed by the hosting association. At season's end the contestants with the highest points in each event receive invitations to the World Gay Rodeo Finals presented by IGRA. The event was renamed in 2009 from the previous "International Gay Rodeo Finals" moniker it held from its onset in Hayward, California . The original intent of these rodeos

208-490: A ranch environment often learn to ride horses and perform basic ranch skills as soon as they are physically able, usually under adult supervision. Such youths, by their late teens, are often given responsibilities for "cowboy" work on the ranch. "Cowboy" was used during the American Revolution to describe American fighters who opposed the movement for independence. Claudius Smith , an outlaw identified with

312-459: A behemoth government catering to lazy ex-slaves. By the 1860s, cattle drives were a feature of the plains landscape, and Democrats had made cowboys a symbol of rugged individual independence, something they insisted Republicans were destroying. The traditions of the working cowboy were further etched into the minds of the general public with the development of Wild West shows in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which showcased and romanticized

416-583: A case for systemic and ongoing cruelty, which can spur animal cruelty convictions, corporate animal welfare policies, and new legislation. In 2008, animal rights advocates organized a grassroots campaign across California to pass Proposition 2, a state ballot initiative requiring that egg-laying hens, pregnant pigs, and calves raised for veal be given enough room to lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs, and turn around. MFA released investigative footage from inside two of California's largest egg farms, Gemperle Enterprises and Norco Ranch, just two weeks before

520-563: A cattle shipping facility was built west of farm country around the railhead at Abilene, Kansas , and became a center of cattle shipping, loading over 36,000 head of cattle that year. The route from Texas to Abilene became known as the Chisholm Trail , after Jesse Chisholm , who marked out the route. It ran through present-day Oklahoma , which then was Indian Territory . Later, other trails forked off to different railheads, including those at Dodge City and Wichita, Kansas . By 1877,

624-667: A connection between the popularized Western code and the stereotypical rowdy cowboy image to that of the "subculture of violence" of drovers in Old West Texas that was influenced itself by the Southern code duello . Likewise, cowboys in movies were often shown fighting with American Indians . Most armed conflicts occurred between Native people and cavalry units of the U.S. Army . Relations between cowboys and Native Americans were varied but were generally unfriendly. Native people usually allowed cattle herds to pass through for

728-438: A far-reaching animal welfare policy. Following progress with Nestlé, MFA targeted Leprino Foods , Great Lakes Cheese, and Saputo . After MFA investigations uncovered abuse in each of their supply chains, the companies released their own animal welfare policies. After six MFA investigations into Walmart 's pork supply chain, three years of campaigning, and pressure from Bob Barker , James Cromwell , Ryan Gosling , and

832-475: A few regional differences in equipment and riding style still remain, and some individuals choose to deliberately preserve the more time-consuming but highly skilled techniques of the pure vaquero or "buckaroo" tradition. The popular "horse whisperer" style of natural horsemanship was originally developed by practitioners who were predominantly from California and the Northwestern states, clearly combining

936-464: A herd could maintain a healthy weight moving about 15 miles (25 km) per day. Such a pace meant that it would take as long as two months to travel from a home ranch to a railhead. The Chisholm trail, for example, was 1,000 miles (1,600 km) miles long. On average, a single herd of cattle on a drive numbered about 3,000 head. To herd the cattle, a crew of at least 10 cowboys was needed, with three horses per cowboy. Cowboys worked in shifts to watch

1040-518: A lifetime. In the United States, a few women also took on the tasks of ranching and learned the necessary skills, though the "cowgirl" (discussed below) did not become widely recognized or acknowledged until the close of the 19th century. On western ranches today, the working cowboy is usually an adult. Responsibility for herding cattle or other livestock is no longer considered suitable for children or early adolescents. Boys and girls growing up in

1144-585: A lot of homophobia. As progressive as we think the world's gotten, there's so much we have to conquer." On November 9, 2014, CNN aired an episode of This Is Life with Lisa Ling that covered the Zia Regional Rodeo in Santa Fe, New Mexico , including profiles of several cowboys and cowgirls that are active on the IGRA circuit. A list of presidents and royalty elected at annual conventions since IGRA

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1248-410: A multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler , specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos . Cowgirls , first defined as such in

1352-556: A number of uniquely American horse breeds developed in North and South America through selective breeding and by natural selection of animals that escaped to the wild. The mustang and other colonial horse breeds are now called "wild", but in reality are feral horses —descendants of domesticated animals. Though popularly considered American , the traditional cowboy began with the Spanish tradition, which evolved further in what today

1456-579: A person on foot could manage gave rise to the development of the horseback-mounted vaquero . Various aspects of the Spanish equestrian tradition can be traced back to Islamic rule in Spain , including Moorish elements such as the use of Oriental-type horses , the la jineta riding style characterized by a shorter stirrup , solid-treed saddle and use of spurs , the heavy noseband or hackamore , (Arabic šakīma , Spanish jaquima ) and other horse-related equipment and techniques. Certain aspects of

1560-408: A process called horse breaking , or " bronco -busting", usually performed by cowboys who specialized as horse trainers . In some cases, extremely brutal methods were used to tame horses, and such animals tended to never be completely reliable. Other cowboys recognized their need to treat animals in a more humane fashion and modified their horse training methods, often re-learning techniques used by

1664-403: A roundup. Each cowboy would require three to four fresh horses in the course of a day's work. Horses themselves were also rounded up. It was common practice in the west for young foals to be born of tame mares , but allowed to grow up "wild" in a semi-feral state on the open range. There were also "wild" herds, often known as mustangs . Both types were rounded up, and the mature animals tamed,

1768-694: A slew of other celebrities, in May 2015 Walmart banned gestation crates , battery cages , and veal crates from its U.S. supply chains. The retail giant also pledged to end mutilations without painkillers, such as tail docking, castration, and dehorning. Following MFA's exposés and campaigns, top U.S. grocers Publix , Kroger , Albertsons , and SUPERVALU , along with the Retail Council of Canada , also pledged to ban intensive confinement of hens from their egg supply chains. In early 2016, MFA launched The Good Food Institute . The organization's mission

1872-701: A toll of ten cents a head but raided cattle drives and ranches in times of active white-Native conflict or food shortages. In the 1860s, for example, the Comanche created problems in Western Texas. Similar attacks also occurred with the Apache , Cheyenne and Ute Indians. Cowboys were armed against both predators and human thieves, and often used their guns to drive away people of any race who attempted to rustle cattle. In reality, working ranch hands past and present had very little time for anything other than

1976-620: A tradition of self-dependence and individualism , with great value put on personal honesty, exemplified in songs and poetry . The cowboy often worked in an all-male environment, particularly on cattle drives , and in the frontier west, men often significantly outnumbered women. Some men were attracted to the frontier by other men. At times, in a region where men outnumbered women, even social events normally attended by both sexes were at times all male, and men could be found partnering up with one another for dances. Homosexual acts between young, unmarried men occurred, but cowboys culture itself

2080-574: Is Mexico and the Southwestern United States into the vaquero of northern Mexico and the charro of the Jalisco and Michoacán regions. While most hacendados (ranch owners) were ethnically Spanish criollos , many early vaqueros were Native Americans trained to work for the Spanish missions in caring for the mission herds. Vaqueros went north with livestock. In 1598, Don Juan de Oñate sent an expedition across

2184-455: Is also part of the rodeo circuit. Because cowboys ranked low in the social structure of the period, there are no firm figures on the actual proportion of various races. One writer states that cowboys were "of two classes—those recruited from Texas and other States on the eastern slope; and Mexicans, from the south-western region". Census records suggest that about 15% of all cowboys were of African-American ancestry—ranging from about 25% on

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2288-488: Is to create "a healthy, humane, and sustainable food supply." The Good Food Institute provides strategic support to companies, promotes plant-based products, supports entrepreneurs, and educates grant-making institutions, corporations, and governmental bodies about plant-based and clean meat. In June 2016, Perdue , one of the largest chicken producers in the world, announced a precedent-setting commitment to improving animal welfare after MFA investigated two contract farms in

2392-641: The Associated Press , NBC , and USA Today reported on the investigations, which revealed workers violently stomping on turkeys, dragging them by their wings and necks, slamming them into transport crates, and leaving many to suffer from untreated injuries and infections. Prompted by hidden-camera footage, law enforcement in North Carolina conducted a two-day raid at one of the facilities. Five Butterball employees were arrested and charged with criminal cruelty to animals. The prosecutions led to

2496-514: The Calgary Stampede and Cheyenne Frontier Days . Rodeo competition for women changed in the 1920s as the result of several factors. After 1925, when Eastern promoters started staging indoor rodeos in places like Madison Square Garden , women were generally excluded from the men's events and many of the women's events were dropped. Also, many in the public had difficulties with seeing women seriously injured or killed, and in particular,

2600-549: The Civil War , Charles Goodnight modified the traditional English sidesaddle, creating a western-styled design. The traditional charras of Mexico preserve a similar tradition and ride sidesaddles today in charreada exhibitions on both sides of the border. It was not until the advent of Wild West shows that " cowgirls " came into their own. These adult women were skilled performers, demonstrating riding, expert marksmanship and trick roping that entertained audiences around

2704-589: The Great Plains and Rocky Mountains , "buckaroo" is used primarily in the Great Basin and California , and "cowpuncher" mostly in Texas and surrounding states. Equestrianism required skills and an investment in horses and equipment rarely available to or entrusted to a child, though in some cultures boys rode a donkey while going to and from pasture. In antiquity , herding of sheep, cattle and goats

2808-470: The Great Plains and the San Joaquin Valley of California, and later in the Great Basin , from the 18th century to the early 20th century. Large numbers of cattle lived in a semi-feral or a completely feral state on the open range and were left to graze, mostly untended, for much of the year. In many cases, different ranchers formed "associations" and grazed their cattle together on

2912-663: The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the resulting Earp Vendetta Ride . The origins of the cowboy tradition come from Spain , beginning with the hacienda system of medieval Spain . This style of cattle ranching spread throughout much of the Iberian peninsula , and later was imported to the Americas . Both regions possessed a dry climate with sparse grass, thus large herds of cattle required vast amounts of land to obtain sufficient forage . The need to cover distances greater than

3016-692: The Loyalist cause, was called the "Cow-boy of the Ramapos" due to his penchant for stealing oxen, cattle and horses from colonists and giving them to the British. In the same period, a number of guerrilla bands operated in Westchester County , which marked the dividing line between the British and American forces. These groups were made up of local farmhands who would ambush convoys and carry out raids on both sides. There were two separate groups:

3120-535: The Mexican–American War in 1848, New England merchants who traveled by ship to California encountered both hacendados and vaqueros , trading manufactured goods for the hides and tallow produced from vast cattle ranches . American traders along what later became known as the Santa Fe Trail had similar contacts with vaquero life. Starting with these early encounters, the lifestyle and language of

3224-559: The Olympics , and Western riding events such as cutting , reining and endurance riding . Today's working cowgirls generally use clothing, tools and equipment indistinguishable from those of men, other than in color and design, usually preferring a flashier look in competition. Sidesaddles are only seen in exhibitions and a limited number of specialty horse-show classes. A modern working cowgirl wears jeans, close-fitting shirts, boots, hat and when needed, chaps and gloves. If working on

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3328-479: The Rio Grande into New Mexico, bringing along 7000 head of cattle. From this beginning, vaqueros drove cattle from New Mexico and later Texas to Mexico City. Mexican traditions spread both South and North, influencing equestrian traditions from Argentina to Canada. As English -speaking traders and settlers expanded westward , English and Spanish traditions, language and culture merged to some degree. Before

3432-601: The Southwestern United States . In turn, the land and people of the Americas also saw dramatic changes due to Spanish influence. The arrival of horses was particularly significant, as equines had been extinct in the Americas since the end of the prehistoric ice age . Horses quickly multiplied in America and became crucial to the success of the Spanish and later settlers from other nations. The earliest horses were originally of Andalusian , Barb and Arabian ancestry, but

3536-535: The vaquero began a transformation which merged with English cultural traditions and produced what became known in American culture as the "cowboy". The arrival of English-speaking settlers in Texas began in 1821. Rip Ford described the country between Laredo and Corpus Christi as inhabited by "countless droves of mustangs and ... wild cattle ... abandoned by Mexicans when they were ordered to evacuate

3640-573: The vaqueros , particularly those of the Californio tradition. Horses trained in a gentler fashion were more reliable and useful for a wider variety of tasks. Informal competition arose between cowboys seeking to test their cattle and horse-handling skills against one another, and thus, from the necessary tasks of the working cowboy, the sport of rodeo developed. Prior to the mid-19th century, most ranchers primarily raised cattle for their own needs and to sell surplus meat and hides locally. There

3744-638: The "Father of Gay Rodeo." Ragsdale came up with the idea of a holding a rodeo to raise money for the local Thanksgiving Day food drive for senior citizens. Over 125 people took part in the first rodeo, and the winners were crowned King of the Cowboys, Queen of the Cowgirls, and Miss Dusty Spurs ( drag queen ). The National Reno Gay Rodeo title was officially created in 1977, when he founded the Comstock Gay Rodeo Association. Following

3848-534: The "skinners" fought for the pro-independence side, while the "cowboys" supported the British. In the Tombstone, Arizona , area during the 1880s, the term "cowboy" or "cow-boy" was used pejoratively to describe men who had been implicated in various crimes. One loosely organized band was dubbed " The Cowboys ", and profited from smuggling cattle, alcohol, and tobacco across the U.S.–Mexico border. The San Francisco Examiner wrote in an editorial, "Cowboys [are]

3952-743: The Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association from Canada joined. In September 1985 with 10 years of rodeo history behind it, groups of men gathered in Denver, Colorado to formulate the history of Gay Rodeo. The five founding states of the International Gay Rodeo Association were Colorado, Texas, California, and Arizona. These four associations seated the Oklahoma Gay Rodeo Association at its first convention held in

4056-525: The Americas . Over the centuries, differences in terrain and climate, and the influence of cattle-handling traditions from multiple cultures, created several distinct styles of equipment, clothing and animal handling. As the ever-practical cowboy adapted to the modern world, his equipment and techniques also adapted, though many classic traditions are preserved. The English word cowboy has an origin from several earlier terms that referred to both age and to cattle or cattle-tending work. The English word cowboy

4160-617: The Arabic tradition, such as the hackamore, can in turn be traced to roots in ancient Persia . During the 16th century, the Conquistadors and other Spanish settlers brought their cattle-raising traditions as well as both horses and domesticated cattle to the Americas , starting with their arrival in what today is Mexico and Florida . The traditions of Spain were transformed by the geographic, environmental and cultural circumstances of New Spain , which later became Mexico and

4264-612: The English word "cowherd" was used to describe a cattle herder (similar to "shepherd", a sheep herder), and often referred to a pre-adolescent or early adolescent boy, who usually worked on foot. This word is very old in the English language, originating prior to the year 1000. By 1849 "cowboy" had developed its modern sense as an adult cattle handler of the American West. Variations on the word appeared later. "Cowhand" appeared in 1852, and "cowpoke" in 1881, originally restricted to

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4368-715: The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and LGBT Compassion criticize Gay Rodeo for perceived cruelty to animals. In response to increased publicity given to critics of Gay Rodeo, IGRA published a press release stating that their animals are well-treated and handled in accordance with established ethical guidelines. Rodeos under the IGRA umbrella are organized into four divisions (see map here ) and more than two dozen regional associations: The following rodeo associations were once affiliated with IGRA but became inactive, and dissolved or reorganized: Most associations host at least one annual rodeo. All associations must follow

4472-585: The Imperial courts' lead Ragsdale added the "Mr., Ms., and Miss National Reno Gay Rodeo" titles to aid in the fund raising that was to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. These titles still exist today but have been recognized as Mr., Ms., Miss., and MsTer International Gay Rodeo Association since the IGRA replaced the old National Reno format. By 1984, the ninth and final National Reno Gay Rodeo brought out over 10,000 people to

4576-451: The Lives of Farm Animals , published in 2017, that he founded MFA after a biology teacher at his rural Ohio high school brought dead piglets to class to be dissected. One piglet was still alive, so a student who worked on the teacher's farm grabbed the piglet and slammed her headfirst against the floor. The incident was controversial in the community, yet a judge ruled that the student's action

4680-510: The Middle East, cranes are used to hoist sick and injured animals out by their limbs. At the slaughterhouses, they are often slashed with knives and left to bleed to death, limbs are hacked off and throats stabbed. In 2019, Leah Garces founded Transfarmation to support farmers to transition from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operationss to plant-focused farms. In August 2024, a hog farming family from Iowa transitioning to mushroom farming

4784-508: The Mr. (male that presents as male), Ms. (female that presents as female), Miss (male that presents as female), and MsTer (female that presents as male) International Gay Rodeo Association sashes. A change to royalty competition rules in 2015 requires a contestant to compete in four of five categories. The five areas of competition are: Animal rights organizations such as Mercy for Animals , Showing Animals Respect & Kindness (SHARK), People for

4888-582: The Spanish-descended people who had settled in the parts of Mexico that later became Texas and California. In the modern world, remnants of two major and distinct cowboy traditions remain, known today as the " Texas " tradition and the "Spanish", "Vaquero", or " California " tradition. Less well-known but equally distinct traditions also developed in Hawaii and Florida . Today, the various regional cowboy traditions have merged to some extent, though

4992-536: The U.S. supplying the company. The policy was to reduce suffering for nearly 680 million birds annually. In the same year, MFA also set up operations in Brazil, Mexico, India, and Asia. An MFA investigator recorded footage from inside nine government-run slaughterhouses in Mexico. Pigs were dragged by their limbs to the killing floor and stabbed repeatedly. A tied-up cow suffered blows from a sledgehammer . A cornered pig

5096-600: The West were acknowledged in law; the Western states led the United States in granting women the right to vote, beginning with Wyoming in 1869. Early photographers such as Evelyn Cameron documented the life of working ranch women during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While impractical for everyday work, the sidesaddle was a tool that afforded women the ability to ride horses in public settings instead of being left on foot or confined to horse-drawn vehicles . Following

5200-633: The arrival of railroads and an increased demand for beef in the wake of the American Civil War , older traditions combined with the need to drive cattle from the ranches where they were raised to the nearest railheads , often hundreds of miles away. Black cowboys in the American West accounted for up to 25 percent of workers in the range-cattle industry from the 1860s to 1880s, estimated to be between 6,000 and 9,000 workers. Typically former slaves or children of former slaves, many black men had skills in cattle handling and headed West at

5304-602: The attitudes and philosophy of the California vaquero with the equipment and outward look of the Texas cowboy. Mercy for Animals Mercy For Animals ( MFA ) is an international nonprofit animal protection organization founded in 1999 by Milo Runkle. MFA's mission is to "prevent cruelty to farmed animals and promote compassionate food choices and policies." Milo Runkle wrote in Mercy For Animals: One Man's Quest to Inspire Compassion and Improve

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5408-587: The back of the head." Back in the U.S., MFA was also part of a coalition of organizations that worked to pass the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act in Massachusetts. The measure, passed in 2016, outlaws some of the cruelest farming practices and bans the sale of eggs, pork, and veal from animals raised in intensive confinement. After the 2016 investigations, MFA worked with members of Mexico's congress to introduce federal legislation that would end

5512-722: The bones snapped. After the investigation's release, the Ohio Farm Bureau finally agreed to meet with the groups and enacted farmed animal welfare reforms. Propelled by progress in the United States, MFA expanded to Canada in 2012. MFA's first exposé of the Canadian pork industry prompted the country's eight largest grocers to phase gestation crates out of their supply chains. A whistleblower documented workers firing metal bolts into pigs' heads—leaving many pigs unconscious for minutes—and cutting off piglets' testicles without painkillers. Some workers slammed piglets headfirst into

5616-407: The cattle 24 hours a day, herding them in the proper direction in the daytime and watching them at night to prevent stampedes and deter theft. The crew also included a cook, who drove a chuck wagon , usually pulled by oxen , and a horse wrangler to take charge of the remuda , or herd of spare horses. The wrangler on a cattle drive was often a very young cowboy or one of lower social status, but

5720-538: The cattle trails of the Old West. Women performed considerable ranch work, and in some cases (especially when the men went to war or on embarked on long cattle drives) ran them. There is little doubt that women, particularly the wives and daughters of men who owned small ranches and could not afford to hire large numbers of outside laborers, worked side-by-side with men and thus needed to ride horses and perform related tasks. The largely undocumented contributions of women to

5824-459: The closest point that railroad tracks reached, which at that time was in Sedalia, Missouri. Farmers in eastern Kansas, afraid that Longhorns would transmit cattle fever to local animals as well as trample crops, formed groups that threatened to beat or shoot cattlemen found on their lands. Therefore, the 1866 drive failed to reach the railroad, and the cattle herds were sold for low prices. In 1867,

5928-493: The constant hard work involved in maintaining a ranch. The history of women in the West, and women who worked on cattle ranches in particular, is not as well documented as is that of men. Institutions such as the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in modern years have attempted to gather and document the contributions of women. There are few records mentioning girls or women working to drive cattle up

6032-444: The cook was a particularly well-respected member of the crew, as not only was he in charge of the food, he also was in charge of medical supplies and had a working knowledge of practical medicine. Barbed wire , an innovation of the 1880s, allowed cattle to be confined to designated areas to prevent overgrazing of the range. In Texas and surrounding areas, increased population required ranchers to fence off their individual lands. In

6136-597: The country between the Nueces and the Rio Grande by General Valentin Canalizo  ... the horses and cattle abandoned invited the raids the Texians made upon this territory." California, on the other hand, did not see a large influx of settlers from the United States until after the Mexican–American War . In slightly different ways, both areas contributed to the evolution of the iconic American cowboy. Particularly with

6240-434: The death of Bonnie McCarroll at the 1929 Pendleton Round-Up led to the elimination of women's bronc riding from rodeo competition. In today's rodeos, men and women compete equally together only in the event of team roping , although women could now enter other open events. In all-women rodeos, women compete in bronc riding , bull riding and all other traditional rodeo events. In open rodeos, cowgirls primarily compete in

6344-576: The end of the Civil War. By the 1880s, the expansion of the cattle industry resulted in a need for additional open range. Thus many ranchers expanded into the northwest, where there were still large tracts of unsettled grassland. Texas cattle were herded north, into the Rocky Mountain west and the Dakotas. The cowboy adapted much of his gear to the colder conditions, and westward movement of

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6448-441: The entertainment industry, the growth of rodeo brought about the rodeo cowgirl. In the early Wild West shows and rodeos, women competed in all events, sometimes against other women, sometimes with the men. Cowgirls such as Fannie Sperry Steele rode the same "rough stock" and assumed the same risks as the men (and all while wearing a heavy split skirt that was more encumbering than men's trousers) and competed at major rodeos such as

6552-469: The expansion of the meat packing industry , the demand for beef increased significantly. By 1866, cattle could be sold to northern markets for as much as $ 40 per head, making it potentially profitable for cattle, particularly from Texas, to be herded long distances to market. The first large-scale effort to drive cattle from Texas to the nearest railhead for shipment to Chicago occurred in 1866, when many Texas ranchers banded together to drive their cattle to

6656-472: The first-ever felony conviction for cruelty to factory-farmed poultry in U.S. history. The following year, MFA investigated a dairy factory farm in Wisconsin that supplied Nestlé's DiGiorno Pizza brand. Undercover footage revealed cows beaten, stabbed, and dragged by tractors. After the video received widespread media attention, Nestlé, the largest food company in the world, met with MFA and implemented

6760-433: The footage to discredit a new Animal Care Certified label which advertised that hens were raised humanely. MFA asked prosecutors to investigate and file charges against these farms, but no charges were filed. Current MFA investigators obtain employment at factory farms and slaughterhouses to document conditions. Being in the facilities for extended periods of time allows the investigators to record repeated abuse and make

6864-399: The ground to kill them. Pregnant pigs were kept in crates so small the animals could not turn around. Canada's popular W5 news program aired the footage nationwide. Canada's pork industry also committed to a national phaseout of gestation crates, and pork producers agreed to stop mutilating piglets without pain relief. Footage taken by MFA at two Alberta suppliers to Burnbrae Farms , at

6968-487: The herd required the highest level of skill and rode specially trained " cutting " horses, trained to follow the movements of cattle, capable of stopping and turning faster than other horses. Once cattle were sorted, most cowboys were required to rope young calves and restrain them to be branded and (in the case of most bull calves) castrated . Occasionally it was also necessary to restrain older cattle for branding or other treatment. A large number of horses were needed for

7072-473: The individuals who prodded cattle with long poles to load them onto railroad cars for shipping. Names for a cowboy in American English include buckaroo , cowpoke , cowhand , and cowpuncher . Another English word for a cowboy, buckaroo , is an anglicization of vaquero ( Spanish pronunciation: [baˈkeɾo] ). Today, "cowboy" is a term common throughout the west and particularly in

7176-414: The industry also led to intermingling of regional traditions from California to Texas, often with the cowboy taking the most useful elements of each. Mustang-runners or Mesteñeros were cowboys and vaqueros who caught, broke and drove mustangs to market in Mexico, and later American territories of what is now Northern Mexico , Texas , New Mexico and California . They caught the mustangs that roamed

7280-603: The investigative videos have surpassed 22 million. A 2018 undercover investigation into California's driftnet fishing industry showed dolphins entangled and drowned in driftnets, endangered species killed, and sharks cut apart and stabbed while still alive and conscious. Undercover footage influenced federal legislation aimed at banning driftnets. A 2020 investigation focusing on the live export industry in Brazil revealed animals being confined in large ships in cramped conditions for weeks on end, often lying in and covered in their own feces. After arriving at their destination in

7384-465: The largest financial penalty ever levied against a U.S. factory farm. In 2010, several organizations, including MFA, launched a campaign to enact legislation in Ohio that would protect farmed animals. The Ohio Farm Bureau refused to meet with the coalition until an MFA investigation at an Ohio dairy farm showed workers stabbing cows with pitchforks, beating them with crowbars, and twisting their tails until

7488-496: The largest of the cattle-shipping boom towns, Dodge City, Kansas, shipped out 500,000 head of cattle. Cattle drives had to strike a balance between speed and the weight of the cattle. While cattle could be driven as far as 25 miles (40 km) in a single day, they would lose so much weight that they would be hard to sell when they reached the end of the trail. Usually they were taken shorter distances each day, allowed periods to rest and graze both at midday and at night. On average,

7592-642: The largest supermarket in Brazil, to eliminating small cages for hens. After MFA campaigns or discussions with MFA, dozens of other major brands in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil,  including Burger King , General Mills , Jack in the Box , Pollo Pepe, Les Croissants, Loz Car, Grupo Alimentos Vitales de México, Habib's , and Grupo Halipar (Brazil) pledged to change how they treat animals. In recent years, MFA has also pioneered investigations of factory farms and slaughterhouses using unmanned aerial vehicles . MFA drones have exposed 35 factory farms, and views of

7696-534: The late 1860s, following the American Civil War and the expansion of the cattle industry, former soldiers from both the Union and Confederacy came west, seeking work, as did large numbers of restless white men in general. A significant number of African-American freedmen also were drawn to cowboy life, in part because there was not quite as much racial discrimination in the West as in other areas of American society at

7800-410: The late 19th century, had a less-well documented historical role, but in the modern world work at identical tasks and have obtained considerable respect for their achievements. Cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly South America and Australia , perform work similar to the cowboy. The cowboy has deep historic roots tracing back to Spain and the earliest European settlers of

7904-863: The library collection of the Autry National Center in Griffith Park , Los Angeles , which also houses the Museum of the American West . The first gay rodeo was held as a charity fundraising event at the Washoe County Fairgrounds in Reno, Nevada on October 2, 1976. The organizer, Phil Ragsdale, a member of the Imperial Court System , was the Court Emperor of Reno. In time, he came to be regarded as

8008-507: The life of both cowboys and Native Americans . Beginning in the 1920s and continuing to the present day, Western films popularized the cowboy lifestyle but also formed persistent stereotypes . In some cases, the cowboy and the violent gunslinger are often associated with one another. On the other hand, some actors who portrayed cowboys promoted other values, such as the "cowboy code" of Gene Autry , that encouraged honorable behavior, respect and patriotism. Historian Robert K. DeArment draws

8112-458: The most reckless class of outlaws in that wild country ... infinitely worse than the ordinary robber." It became an insult in the area to call someone a "cowboy", as it suggested he was a horse thief, robber, or outlaw. Cattlemen were generally called herders or ranchers. Other synonyms for cowboy were ranch hand, range hand or trail hand, although duties and pay were not entirely identical. The Cowboys' activities were ultimately curtailed by

8216-570: The north, overgrazing stressed the open range, leading to insufficient winter forage for the cattle and starvation, particularly during the harsh winter of 1886–1887, when hundreds of thousands of cattle died across the Northwest, leading to collapse of the cattle industry. By the 1890s, barbed-wire fencing was also standard in the northern plains, railroads had expanded to cover most of the nation, and meat packing plants were built closer to major ranching areas, making long cattle drives from Texas to

8320-487: The old Confederacy, imagined the West as a land untouched by Republican politicians they hated. They developed an image of the cowboys as men who worked hard, played hard, lived by a code of honor, protected themselves, and asked nothing of the government. In the hands of Democratic newspaper editors, the realities of cowboy life -- the poverty, the danger, the debilitating hours -- became romantic. Cowboys embodied virtues Democrats believed Republicans were destroying by creating

8424-496: The pay was poor. The average cowboy earned approximately a dollar a day, plus food, and, when near the home ranch, a bed in the bunkhouse , usually a barracks -like building with a single open room. Over time, the cowboys of the American West developed a personal culture of their own, a blend of frontier and Victorian values that even retained vestiges of chivalry . Such hazardous work in isolated conditions also bred

8528-594: The railheads in Kansas unnecessary. Hence, the age of the open range was gone and large cattle drives were over. Smaller cattle drives continued at least into the 1940s, as ranchers, prior to the development of the modern cattle truck , still needed to herd cattle to local railheads for transport to stockyards and packing plants . Meanwhile, ranches multiplied all over the developing West, keeping cowboy employment high, if still low-paid, but also somewhat more settled. American cowboys were drawn from multiple sources. By

8632-480: The ranch, they perform the same chores as cowboys and dress to suit the situation. Geography, climate and cultural traditions caused differences to develop in cattle-handling methods and equipment from one part of the United States to another. The period between 1840 and 1870 marked a mingling of cultures when English and French-descended people began to settle west of the Mississippi River and encountered

8736-709: The rodeo grounds. The demise of the National Reno Rodeos is credited by the IRS as a dispute between the Gay Rodeo and the Washoe County Fairgrounds and the Sands Hotel. The rodeo books were also alleged to have been seized by the IRS. History has recorded 14 gay rodeos (9 Reno rodeos, 3 Colorado rodeos, 1 Texas rodeo, and 1 California rodeo) prior to the formation of the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA). The IGRA became truly international in 1993 when

8840-560: The rules of conduct as outlined in the IGRA Rodeo Rule Book, the first edition of which was published in 1985. These rules are often updated and ratified at season's end when delegates from each association gather at the IGRA annual convention. The purpose of the convention is to elect new officers, create new rules and bylaws, and seat new associations. Each of the thirteen events has a set of rules that must be followed in order for contestants to score points and to qualify for

8944-472: The same range. In order to determine the ownership of individual animals, they were marked with a distinctive brand , applied with a hot iron, usually while the cattle were still calves . In order to find young calves for branding, and to sort out mature animals intended for sale, ranchers would hold a roundup , usually in the spring. A roundup required a number of specialized skills on the part of both cowboys and horses. Individuals who separated cattle from

9048-503: The same year. The new Association elected Wayne Jakino from Colorado as its first President. In 1987, IGRA's first International Finals Rodeo was held in Hayward, California. The name was changed to the World Gay Rodeo Finals in 2009. The 2014 documentary film Queens & Cowboys follows the story of cowboy Wade Earp and others who compete in the IGRA. Earp discusses how he does not compete in rodeos outside IGRA because, "There's still

9152-561: The state. Ohio's largest television news station at the time aired the footage, promoting the segment as "The Video the Egg Industry Doesn't Want You to See". In 2002, MFA investigators recorded footage from inside another Ohio factory farm, Weaver Bros. Egg Farm. About five hours of video showed thousands of hens in cages, birds trapped between cage wire unable to access food or water, and dead animals rotting next to other birds still laying eggs for human consumption. MFA used

9256-480: The time an egg supplier to McDonald's Canada , prompted nearly 120,000 Canadians to call on McDonald's to ban cages for egg-laying hens in the company's supply chain. Following the exposé and public outcry, McDonald's announced a policy to eliminate cages for hens from its North American supplier farms. Nearly the entire Canadian food industry followed suit. In the U.S., MFA conducted investigations inside turkey factory farms supplying Butterball. Media outlets CNN ,

9360-481: The time. A significant number of Mexicans and American Indians already living in the region also worked as cowboys. Later, particularly after 1890, when American policy promoted "assimilation" of Indian people, some Indian boarding schools also taught ranching skills. Today, some Native Americans in the western United States own cattle and small ranches, and many are still employed as cowboys, especially on ranches located near Indian reservations . The "Indian Cowboy"

9464-481: The timed riding events such as barrel racing , and most professional rodeos do not offer as many women's events as they do men's events. Boys and girls are more apt to compete against one another in all events in high-school rodeos as well as O-Mok-See competition, where boys can be seen in events traditionally associated with women riders, such as barrel racing. Outside of the rodeo world, women compete equally with men in nearly all other equestrian events, including

9568-494: The trail drives out of Texas, to very few in the northwest. Similarly, cowboys of Mexican descent also averaged about 15% of the total, but were more common in Texas and the southwest. Some estimates suggest that in the late 19th century, one out of every three cowboys was a Mexican vaquero, and 20% may have been African-American. Other estimates place the number of African-American cowboys as high as 25 percent. Regardless of ethnicity, most cowboys came from lower social classes and

9672-589: The vote. Prop 2 passed and is still considered one of the most significant pieces of farmed animal protection legislation ever enacted in the United States. A year later, MFA investigators in Maine uncovered workers and managers at an egg factory farm killing birds by grabbing them by the neck and swinging them in the air. MFA turned the video footage over to state police, who in turn raided the facility. The facility owner pled guilty to 10 counts of animal cruelty and agreed to pay more than $ 130,000 in fines and restitution,

9776-472: The world. Women such as Annie Oakley became household names. By 1900, skirts split for riding astride became popular and allowed women to compete with men without scandalizing Victorian-era audiences by wearing men's clothing or bloomers . In the films that followed beginning in the early 20th century, the role of the cowgirl was expanded in popular culture and film set designers developed attractive clothing suitable for riding Western saddles. Independently of

9880-399: The worst slaughter methods shown in the undercover video. The bill passed through two committees and the representative branch of Mexico's congress, with nearly unanimous support. As of October 2018, the bill was waiting on a senate vote. MFA has conducted multiple exposés inside factory farms in Brazil. In 2018, MFA staff in Brazil helped secure a historic commitment from Carrefour ,

9984-581: The year end finals. Unlike in traditional rodeos, contestants are allowed to compete in all events regardless of sex. Buckles are awarded to the top male and female competitors in each event, as well as buckles for Rookie of the Year and for All-Around Cowboy and All-Around Cowgirl. Articles and interviews: Cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America , traditionally on horseback , and often performs

10088-480: Was also a limited market for hides, horns, hooves, and tallow in assorted manufacturing processes. While Texas contained vast herds of stray, free-ranging cattle available for free to anyone who could round them up, prior to 1865, there was little demand for beef. At the end of the American Civil War , Philip Danforth Armour opened a meat packing plant in Chicago , which became known as Armour and Company . With

10192-436: Was and remains deeply homophobic. Though anti-sodomy laws were common in the Old West, they often were only selectively enforced. Heather Cox Richardson argues for a political dimension to the original cowboy image in the 1870s and 1880s: The timing of the cattle industry's growth meant that cowboy imagery grew to have extraordinary power. Entangled in the vicious politics of the postwar years, Democrats, especially those in

10296-514: Was derived from vaquero , a Spanish word for an individual who managed cattle while mounted on horseback. Vaquero was derived from vaca , meaning "cow", which came from the Latin word vacca . "Cowboy" was first used in print by Jonathan Swift in 1725, and was used in the British Isles from 1820 to 1850 to describe young boys who tended the family or community cows. Originally though,

10400-570: Was founded in 1985: Lorry King 1st RU- Chris Tobin CGRA 2nd RU- Tony Schwartz NSGRA 1st RU Christi Mikels 1st RU- Marie Antoinette DuBarryNMGRA 2nd RU- Phat Patty NGRA Like all traditional rodeos, IGRA rodeos also sponsor an annual royalty competition to determine the twelve individuals who will comprise the IGRA Royalty Team. Each fall the various associations send either their state winners or their first runners-up to compete for

10504-428: Was fundraising, and while highly competitive and structured rodeos still serve the primary purpose of being fundraisers. The money raised at the rodeo is donated to the designated charities of each association. In total IGRA and all the associated associations have donated to furthering the individual causes of all charities that are benefactors of rodeo funds. In 2010, the IGRA archives dating from 1975 were deposited in

10608-485: Was legal because it was "standard agricultural practice". Milo wrote that the injustice weighed heavily on him and led him to create an organization with a mission to protect farmed animals. MFA conducted its first investigations in 2001. Investigators entered two Ohio egg factory farms at night five times over several weeks. They collected hours of video footage, gave water to dehydrated hens, and rescued other suffering birds. These open rescues made headlines around

10712-434: Was often the job of minors, and still is a task for young people in various Developing World cultures. Because of the time and physical ability needed to develop necessary skills, both historic and modern cowboys often began as an adolescent. Historically, cowboys earned wages as soon as they developed sufficient skill to be hired (often as young as 12 or 13). If not crippled by injury, cowboys may handle cattle or horses for

10816-426: Was stabbed in the side with a large knife. The investigation drew attention from major Mexican media outlets Reforma , El Universal , and Proceso . Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez narrated an MFA video about the cruelty. In an online petition, Eugenio wrote, "I watched the video in horror as animals were tied up, shocked for no reason, brutally and repeatedly bludgeoned with sledgehammers, and then stabbed in

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