Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo Demetrius W. Pearson Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo. By Richard C. Rattenbury. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2010. 416 pages, $65.00. Arena Legacy offers a rich historical account of the evolution of contemporary rodeo and its legendary pioneers. The etiological delineation of rodeo and its competitive events, through a brief account of the rules and guidelines, provides researchers and rodeo devotees alike with a better understanding of the sport’s nuances. Sectioned in an easy-to-follow manner, this reference-style book enables the reader to enter this authentic “prole” sport and its culture without physically attending a competition or museum. Although Arena Legacy does not serve as a critical history of the sport or its shortcomings over the years, it does provide a “thumb-nail” sketch of the discriminatory practices toward minority cowboys and their inability to achieve acclaim in the arena. For example, a quotation from the book highlights the plight of African American bull rider Jesse Stahl, who rarely received a score befitting his performance: “He was a great bull rider … but he is most remembered for winning first, but getting third” (76). Color barriers, prohibitive entry, and biased judging were noted but not elaborated on for a more thorough understanding of the debilitating aspects of racial discrimination. Published qualitative research anchored by personal interviews and written accounts attest to the many obstacles experienced by minority rodeo contestants. Among the challenges were transportation and lodging, racial slurs, “back-entrance” restaurants, segregated participatory arrangements, and promoters unwilling to pay for placing in events. In spite of the aforementioned abbreviated discussion, Arena Legacy provides an extensive historical overview of rodeo culture and its impact on American society. As alluded to in the book, rodeo has emerged from cowboy fun on the prairie to a multimillion-dollar arena sport. Yet it was once perceived as parochial, western-state, ranch-related entertainment. Today, rodeo has arguably influenced all aspects of society. Its impact, as presented, has been manifested through western apparel, museum and hall-of-fame archives (i.e., sculptures, paintings, and miscellaneous artifacts), film and theatrical depictions, cowboy-athlete industry development (e.g., the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association), war-era promotions and entertainment, as well as philanthropic endeavors. An example (albeit omitted from this text) is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the longest running and most lucrative rodeo competition prior to the season-ending National Finals Rodeo. [End Page 207] In conclusion, it must be stated that what has been written and visually reproduced in this historical representation of contemporary rodeo mirrors much of what I researched over a decade ago through numerous scholarly journals, books, periodicals, and personal accounts. Having access to the wealth of information contained in this reference book would have saved me considerable time and effort. The resources and images of archived artifacts employed to produce this work are noteworthy on several accounts and warrant consideration by scholars and rodeo enthusiasts interested in the evolution of North American rodeo. Demetrius W. Pearson University of Houston, Texas Copyright © 2011 Western Literature Association