Calgary is a conundrum. Cowtown. Does the city truly kow-tow to Cattle, Oil and Wheat and find its identity In a rodeo? Few cities are perceived as a persona tied to an annual bash. New Orleans springs to mind, but Mardi Gras has its roots in ritual. The Calgary Stampede is a wild west show in a west more erratic than untamed. Its star, the cowboy, retains considerable romance and power as a symbol of rugged individualism but seems increasingly out of sync with contemporary sensibilities, notably feminism.