| The Wildest Show Behind Bars!
Rodeo Reach Out!
March 2007 saw the 76th Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This is a yearly event is the world’s largest rodeo event with average attendances topping 2.5 million people.
The first event of the rodeo is the delicious tradition of the barbecue cook-off contest. One of the oldest teams in this competition is the Brisket Cases, sponsored by a number of companies in the Region including several in the water and waste water industry including Headworks Inc. We support the team in a variety of ways: the most enjoyable one being through loyal patronage in their tent each year! 100% of the proceeds raised by the Team goes towards scholarships for young people looking towards college.
This year they outdid themselves: with a combination of sponsorship money and a portion of every delegate registration fee, the team was able to provide youngsters with $25,000 in scholarship funds.
The prison rodeos were introduced in 1931 during the years of the Great Depression by Lee Simmons, General Manager of the Texas Prison System. It was envisioned as entertainment for prison staff and inmates alike, and was generally held at the baseball park within the prison walls.
Prison rodeos were quite the thing when they were first introduced in America; however, the last rodeo in a Texas prison was held at the end of October in 1986, after which time the gates were closed for good. The decision was made that due to costly renovations, it was time to call an end to the tradition. Resurrection of the event has been discussed; however, it will probably only remain a fond memory for those who were once upon a time involved in ’The wildest show behind bars’!
The Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo is the only one in the US still running to this day. A tradition since 1940, the McAlester Prison Rodeo allows the everyday man, woman and child a glimpse behind the walls of a maximum security correctional facility. The highlight of this rodeo, held each September over the Labor Day weekend, is watching the prisoners compete in an event called ‘Money the hard way’. This involves the competitors in the arena competing against the odds and each other in a dangerous race to snatch a $100 bill which is attached to the horns of a Brahma bull. Since the hardened criminals earn very little each month, this represents about 4 months hard labor and usually results in quite a spectacle on the field!
To learn more about the Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo, click here.
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