Music [Narrator] The tale of the American cowboy is legendary.

Thousands of brave men enduring hardships to help tame the West.

But a lot has changed with the passage of time.

[Renee Verdino Stock Contractor] It's a dying breed.

There's few rugged cowboys.

Those that have to sleep in a bedroll because they needed to go find a momma and a calf that's out in the wilderness, you know, that didn't come home.

It's hard work.

Music [Narrator] Cowboy numbers may be on the decline, but the sport they love is thriving.

With that said, sit back, hang on to your hats and enjoy the ride because this is rodeo.

[Arena Announcer] Here we go.

Music [Rodeo Fan] Rodeo and cowboys and Western life is a culture.

I think it's the backbone of our country.

It was at one time at least.

[Narrator] And it remains appealing to young and old alike.

[Rodeo Fan] As soon as you step into the rodeo arena it█s just an extraordinary experience.

[Doug Beehler] And the entertainment value is tremendous.

[Narrator] Rodeoers also share the kind of bond you won't find in any other sport.

[Kris Beckstead] Rodeo is family.

The rodeo people are like a family.

We all know each other.

We know the cowboys.

It's an all-American sport.

[Narrator] That may be the case today.

But rodeo wasn't born in America.

Music Funding for Outdoor Idaho is made possible by the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, committed to fulfilling the Moore and Bettis family legacy of building the great state of Idaho.

By the Friends of Idaho Public Television, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Music [Narrator] Before there were American cowboys there were Mexican vaquerros, expert cattle wranglers trained by the Spanish.

Vaquerros held ranch hand competitions on haciendas.

They would eventually introduce Rodeo to America.

Music [Narrator] When Wild West shows sprang up the late 1800s.

rodeo█s popularity soared.

The most well-known show was Buffalo Bill's Wild West.

It toured the U.S. and Europe for three decades.

It was a blend of sharpshooting, reenactments, vaudeville and roundup and featured the likes of Annie Calamity Jane, Will Rogers and Sitting Bull, among others.

Today's rodeo athletes are essentially writing the next chapter in Buffalo Bill's playbook.

[JJ Harrison, PRCA Rodeo Clown] Buffalo Bill Cody started it, and we're just trying to keep that man's legacy alive.

[Narrator] JJ Harrison is one of the top rodeo clowns in the Professional Cowboys Association.

His life on the road today is worlds away from his previous life as a schoolteacher.

[JJ] I graduated from Washington State University in 1998 because my mom said you're going to get a real job.

You know, I've always been an adrenaline guy though, you know, and tried to be a smoke jumper and fight forest fires and ski instructor And I'm a pilot now.

And, you know, so I've just always kind of craved a little bit of adrenaline.

[JJ in Arena] The arena is ready for you if you're ready.

[JJ] Teaching is a great safe job.

But I just decided that I needed to make a switch.

And right about 2008 I decided to try and rodeo full time.

I was doing it kind of as a side gig.

Sixteen years later, I'm going from Florida to Hawaii every year and doing rodeos all across the country.

And so it's been a great ride.

There's been lots of ups, there's been a few downs, but for the most part, this is what I was born to do.

[JJ in Arena] Are you with me?

[Narrator] One of JJ█s favorite rodeos is in southern Idaho.

That famous Preston Night Rodeo is believed to be the first in the country to take place under the lights.

And while it's far from the largest rodeo he does, it seems to fit JJ Like a glove.

Or you might say, like an air suit.

[JJ in Arena] I'm giddy.

Look at how excited I am.

All right.

I have a talent.

I am the greatest air suit dancer of all time.

Do you want to see it, Preston?

Thank you.

Daryl, hold please.

Let me get into position.

Hit it.

Music Everybody dance now.

Everybody dance now.

Give me the music.

Thank you.

Thank you.

[Narrator] JJ is definitely a crowd pleasing funny man.

[Narrator] But he's also savvy when it comes to the business side of his industry.

[JJ in Arena] I have said it many times.

[JJ] Rodeo is a Wild West entertainment, but it's evolving.

You can't just do the Wild West show anymore.

You can't put a bunch of vehicles in a circle, turn the headlights on and buck some horses.

We're now competing with YouTube.

[Arena Announcer] See if can make it a third buckle.

[JJ] So how do you compete against that?

You've got to have an entertainment package that is lots of change, lots of energy, lots of focus and lots of excitement.

[Arena Annoucer] Come on, guys.

Got em█ by the horns.

Yes, there are your leaders.

4.8 [JJ in Arena] How old are you, sir?

87 years old.

Still coming to the rodeo.

[Narrator] A great venue can be key to a rodeo█s long term success.

Preston's arena was showing its age.

Instead of giving it a facelift, the rodeo committee decided to build a new one.

Thanks to generous donations and a bank loan, Preston now has one of the nicest rodeo arenas in Idaho.

Music [JJ] To see it completed, to see the entire thing built like this is awesome.

It's awesome for this community.

It's awesome for the rodeo.

And I think it's awesome for anybody who sets foot in it.

I mean, they added thousands of seats.

This elevates the rodeo.

This makes everything just a little bit better.

[Narrator] [NKris Beckstead and her family have been running That Famous Preston Night Rodeo for decades.

[Kris Beckstead] People probably think that's really weird that I come in, look at this arena and get tears in my eyes.

But if they knew what went into and getting it like this, I do get a little emotional about it.

This was a pretty massive project.

The whole arena cost just around 2 million.

[JJ] It went over budget a little bit because they added a few things.

But they wanted to do it right.

You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

They wanted this thing to have that same feeling you saw when you walked into it that, whoa, this is legit.

I tell you, if you if you don't have your tickets for next year's rodeo you better get them now, because there is no stopping this.

And in my experience, honestly, it█s going to be a sellout crowd from here on out.

Music Music Change [Narrator] The Snake River Stampede in Nampa.

Idaho's largest rodeo, and one of the top ten regular season pro rodeos in the country.

To say it's heavy on visuals would be an understatement.

Music The Stampede has been held inside the Ford Idaho Center since 1997.

It was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2014 and bills itself as the fastest show on earth.

Stampede announcer Boyd Polhamus says he learned years ago, it's all about audience engagement.

[Boyd Polhamus] That was taught to me by Shawn Davis who was the rodeo coach at the College of Southern Idaho.

And Shawn was a production king.

And he knew that fans don't want to wait to see something.

He knows they'll get bored.

And if they get bored, they might say, what else could have we done tonight?

Rodeo is so novel in the way that it operates.

I don't care if you're a country or a rock and roll or rap artist and you travel from town to town.

There's just nothing similar to it.

I think, from being a marketable entertainment venue for people in suburban America, it's affordable, it█s family friendly.

You can take your kids to it and trust that they're not going to hear something they shouldn't.

So many people grow up without being around livestock anymore.

It's almost like going to a zoo, but there's a competition too.

You know, where else can see a cowboy monkey?

[Boyd in Arena] Without further adieu, say hello to Whiplash, the Cowboy Monkey.

[Narrator] And where else can you see a drill team performance like the Snake River Stampeders?

[Johnny Cash Music] Ring of Fire [Narrator] The team was formed by Jimmie Hurley, the Stampede█s former executive secretary.

She was looking for an exciting open to the rodeo when it moved indoors in 97 after spending decades outside at the Green Queen.

Then a friend of hers gave her a suggestion she took to heart.

[Jimmie Hurley, Stampede Former Executive Secretary] It was pretty girls on fast horses.

And one night after I'd gone to bed it hit me.

Let's put lights on them and their horses and turn off the inside lights and see what happens.

[Narrator] The Stampeders is the only drill team to ever perform at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

[Jessica Ashcraft, Stampeder] Our team has gone on several different occasions.

I've got to go with them twice in 2014 and as well in 18.

And that is another just I mean, that is like the NFL of rodeo.

If the Stampeders drill team is Jimmie█s baby, the rodeo may be, metaphorically speaking, the love of her life.

[Boyd] She often would say to me, I don't understand how I can love something so much that can't love me back.

You know, meaning the Snake River Stampede And I just said, Jimmie, it does back.

They█re wearing red shirts.

The generation█s changed, and you know, it█s different people in red shirts, but everybody here, every fan here loves you back, because this wouldn't be here without you.

And it wouldn't.

Jimmie Hurley was the glue, the absolute glue of this place.

[Jimmie] I can't see myself not doing it.

I'm glad I had the chance.

[Narrator] The Caldwell Night Rodeo is Idaho█s second largest and one of the nation's top five large professional outdoor rodeos.

And while the Stampede is flashy Caldwell has a more traditional format.

[Nicole Cassity, Caldwell Night Rodeo] I think good rodeo is good for all rodeo.

And Stampede is very good at what they do and we█re very good at what we do.

They have much of a production.

We focus solely on rodeo and so very little, if any, production.

With that, we each have our own followings.

[Boyd] But they're buddies.

But the folks at Caldwell are going to sure believe that they've got the better rodeo.

Their announcers are better, their client is funnier, their stock is better.

And everybody over here is going to feel the same way.

Okay.

On our side of the fence.

But you know what?

They both do absolutely fabulous when it comes to selling tickets.

[Nicole] 2022 was a phenomenal year.

I think any outdoor or just entertainment event event blew up in size as a direct reflection of our valley.

Our valley's blown up in size.

And so, yes, we definitely broke records all nights of the rodeo.

[Auctioneer] Looking for a bid.

We█re at a thousand need, a bid Who bid of 1,100 now 12.

[Narrator] Both rodeos are excellent at community engagement.

The Stampede█s Pink on the Dirt luncheon has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to support the Stampede for the Cure.

[Auctioneer] We're at 19 over with Daryl's bidding, need a bid of 2000, going once, coming back at 2000, going looking for a bid of 2000.

All done all through to the lovely lady with the high cheekbones, the fantastic hair, the beautiful dress, the fantastic jewelry and sparkling personality.

Very generous, philanthropic lady.

[Arena Announcer] This is The Man Up Crusade.

You see cowboys and cowgirls wearing purple tonight as Sheriff Kieren Donahue Canyon County Sheriff rides around.

[Narrator] The Man Up Crusade is a nonprofit organization formed by Sheriff Donahue and his wife Jeannie to address domestic violence.

[Nicole] So we were the flagship for Man Up Crusade.

Sheriff Donahue brought it to us and said this is my idea.

Could Caldwell be the inaugural rodeo for that?

And we were happy to do so because the message is incredible.

[Kieren Donahue, Canyon County Sheriff] We're just saying, look, it exists.

We need to talk about it.

We need to stop it.

We need to have healthy relationships.

And we need to change the next generation of children, that next generation who could very well be the rodeo champion or the bull riding champion, the barrel racing champion.

We've got to save those children.

And it doesn't matter really what sport you're in.

But I can tell you this.

Rodeo is going to lead the way.

Music Music Change [Boyd] A lot of people, I guess, in today's world would think that were antiquated maybe you know, we're throwbacks in a world where there doesn't seem to be any absolutes anymore In the Western lifestyle there█s still absolutes.

In the Western lifestyle some of the things that are still absolute is to be kind, to be good, even to your competitor.

If you got to help the guy that's going to beat you, that█s what you do.

Why?

Because it's the right thing to do.

[JJ] Rodeo is the only sport where competitors work together to beat themselves.

You might have two bareback riders that are traveling together.

They're splitting the cost of fuel.

They're friends with each other.

They share expenses, hotel rooms, anything that comes up, they split it.

Then they get to the rodeo and they're competing against each other.

[Kris] And it's the same thing with the timed events.

These guys are loaning each other horses.

Somebody's horse, you know, is gimpy or something and can't come in and they█ll just, here, take my horse.

They all want rodeo to succeed.

So they all are there to help each other and to make everything you know work well for each other.

[JJ] I think you're going to see a lot more of that.

And you'll see contestants lean on each other and maintain that code of the West, if you will.

Music [Narrator] The War Bonnet Roundup in Idaho Falls is about as Western as you can get.

It dates back to 1911 and is Idaho's oldest professional rodeo.

The war Bonnet was voted the state's top medium sized rodeo in 2022 and features more than 450 cowboys and cowgirls.

When it was time to pick a rodeo queen, the War Bonnet Committee chose Janessa Gardner, a nursing student from Utah.

She's been queening, as they say, for half her life.

[Jenessa Gardner, War Bonnet Rod I was going to take a break from rodeo queening, and I was not really excited about that because I love rodeo.

It is another part of my life.

But War Bonnet actually reached out to me and said hey, we would love for you to try out We've heard about you and we would love you to represent our rodeo.

So I put in my job application and the processes are different for different rodeos, and this one is more of a job application.

I love the little kids in the crowd because I once was a girl that looked up to the Queen.

And now I get to live that dream and help the youth that want to come into rodeo.

To be able to be as enthusiastic as I am about this sport.

Music [Narrator The War Bonnet offered Janessa the kind of opportunity you wouldn't normally associate with a rodeo queen.

[Jenessa] I got the opportunity through the mini bulls to be able to ride a large bull.

They told me that this bull was very friendly but sometimes it has, like, a multi personality.

[Woman] There she goes.

[Jenessa] I don't think a lot of queens are as daring.

But I like to do the things that most people wouldn█t.

[Man in Chute] You got it.

[Man in Chute] Reach, reach.

Crowd Applause [Man in Chute] You can█t walk back all dainty like that.

Music [Narrator] A dainty persona, a radiant smile and the perfect wave.

These are the kind of images we normally associate with rodeo queens.

And then there's the beauty pageant side of things.

[Woman at Podium] Ladies and gentlemen, I am so proud to present you with our Miss Rodeo Idaho 2023, Lydia Miller.

Applause [Narrator] Lydia says being crowned Miss Rodeo Idaho is an honor she'll cherish forever.

[Young Rodeo Queen] I am so happy for you.

[Lydia Miller, Miss Rodeo Idaho] There's so much reward behind being a rodeo queen.

It gives us opportunities to become more, to do more, to give back to those in our community, to give back to those in our rodeo community as well.

And also, it just it brings job opportunities.

We're interviewing to be that representative of that rodeo, of that organization and educate people on our Western way of life.

[Doug Beehler, Miss Rodeo Americ When they get out in the real world, in the business world, they are top notch at the interview skills.

They are top notch at current events, and their knowledge.

And they learn that through the queening program and the farther they go into the program, the better they are.

They're very professional.

[Narrator] And like Lydia, multi-talented.

[Lydia] I started doing leather work in 2017.

It was actually right before Christmas.

My siblings and I kind of wanted to do something different for Christmas.

We wanted to make gifts for our family.

So my dad pulled out his old 4H leather tool kit and let us kind of play with it.

Five years later, I have my own small business with it and everything.

This is a pair of chinks that I made this year because I've always kind of wanted to have my own personalized pair.

So I was able to make them kind of in my own style, my own, my own way, and and incorporate some of my favorite things, like my favorite floral tooling and even included an elk in there because it█s kind of my favorite animal.

I do love Horses.

They█re my my next favorite.

It might be tied, but.

[Narrator] What about her favorite rodeo event?

[Lydia] Mutton Busting is my favorite rodeo event next to some of the rough stock, I have to say.

Music [Lydia] As a rodeo queen, one of my jobs is to help get them excited.

get them ready and get all the wiggles out before they get on the sheep.

It's just an amazing experience.

I love it.

Music [Jenessa] I think that those are good experiences for our children that want to be PRCA or just rodeo people, to be able to kind of get a taste for what our rodeo lifestyle is like.

Give them high fives and tell them good job or you'll get it next time.

[JJ] Hang on man, hang on.

Music [Kris] You know, you have to be under 50 pounds and under the age of six.

People say, Oh, yeah, they're, you know, the parents want them to do this.

but the kids really want you should see those little kids they do really want to do it.

Once they get in there, then sometimes they get a little bit scared and cling you know, on to the gate.

And it is a crowd pleaser.

It's just a really fun event.

I've noticed it being in most every rodeo now because there's not as much chance for anybody to get hurt.

It's a keeper.

Music Music Change [Arena Announcer] He█s riding him backwards.

[JJ] Inaudible [JJ] What a night in Lewiston, Idaho.

[JJ] You used to be able to go to a rodeo once a year in your hometown and you watched the fair and you looked at the big fat pig with the blue ribbon and you watched the rodeo.

And then what basically took place now is that the Cowboy Channel has got people following our athletes.

[Arena Annoucer] From Milford, Utah, This is Stetson Wright.

[JJ] People are now excited.

They may have heard of Stetson Wright.

But now they've watched him 14 times on the Cowboy Channel.

And that bridge from the contestant to the fan is not just through me anymore.

Now is through television.

So, you know, old Jeffrey down in Columbus, Ohio, can watch us on his smartphone.

[Arena Annoucer] Unbelievable.

It's an 87.5 score.

[Arena Annoucer] Next ride, with the Idaho State finals qualifier out of district 2.

Finished 11th in the world in the junior rodeo down in Las Vegas.

[Annoucer] It's rare to see a small town rodeo on TV.

But attending one in person like the Mackey Rodeo can be really fun.

[Sheriff Donahue] Mackey's always been considered Idaho's wildest rodeo.

And the setting is spectacular.

I mean, how can you beat that?

The highest mountain range in Idaho, Thebig Lost River Range.

I remember in Mackey, Idaho, when I was a kid, my oldest brother was bull riding.

We'd go to church and then we're headed to the rodeo.

And you did it as a family.

And you went and cheered on him as a family.

[Arena Announcer] Yeah.

Come on.

[Sheriff Donahue] Why do people love the American West?

Why did people love the American cowboy?

Why do they love rodeo?

It's because of places like Mackay.

And the people, the competitors who come there They embody that spirit.

They'll continue to embody that spirit.

And I just don't think you can beat that.

Oh, and it brings some of the best stock, quite frankly.

[Arena Announcer] Yeah.

[Gene King, Stock Contractor] 878.

With the exception of maybe two of the horses that are here, we've raised them since the day they were born.

You know, the ultimate goal is to be, be in Las Vegas in, in December.

And not all of them will make it there.

And a very small percentage will.

But that's the goal when we get done.

Music [Narrator] From rising stars to sold out venues, rodeo█s future is looking bright.

It's a sport awash pageantry and deeply rooted in the Western way of life.

And quite frankly, it's the kind of experience that will take your breath away.

[Kris] I do think rodeo is one of the greatest sports on the Earth.

I mean, it's a whole night of entertainment.

Fills everybody█s bill.

It's it's my very favorite.

Funding for Outdoor Idaho is made possible by the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, committed to fulfilling the Moore and Bettis family legacy of building the great state of Idaho, by the Friends of Idaho Public Television, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

To find more information about these shows, visit us at IdahoPTV.org.