Cody, Wyoming is considered the Rodeo Capital of the World. The Cody Night Rodeo features cowboys, rodeo clowns, cowgirls, parades and rodeo entertainers. In 2009 Cody held its 91st rodeo with the contests and drama that used to be part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Top cowboys from across the nation come to compete at the Cody Night Rodeo. The top purse at the Cody Night Rodeo is called "Cowboy Christmas'' because it is one of the biggest purses in all of rodeo. They also enjoy riding on the best rodeo stock.
The Cody Night Rodeo begins on June 1st every year and runs through August 31st with performances nightly. The gates open at 7:00 pm and the rodeo starts at 8:00 pm. General admission is charged to get into the night rodeo and prices for the night rodeo start at $8.00 and go up to $18.00. The arena also hosts the Cody Stampede Rodeo during the first four days of July. Ticket prices for this rodeo begin at $16.00 up to $24.00. An extreme bull performance is scheduled for July 5th in the afternoon and the price for this rodeo is twenty five dollars.
Events of the Cody Night Rodeo include bareback riding, tie down roping, team roping, bull riding, steer wrestling, saddle bronco riding and barrel racing. Bareback riding is where the cowboy holds onto a rigging made of leather with just one hand, and other than touching this rigging the cowboy can't touch anything else for 8 long seconds.
Tie down roping is when the cowboy throws the lasso to catch the calf. His horse must be trained to come to a stop once this has happened. Once the cowboy has caught the calf he dismounts and throws the calf then he ties three legs together all within 35 seconds. The calf must remain tied on a slack rope for 6 more seconds.
The team roping has two cowboys, one as the head roper that has to catch the steer with a rope. They can rope it around the horns or one horn and the head or the neck. Then the second cowboy called the heeler has to bind both hind legs. A good time is considered less than 7 seconds.
Bull riding is the most popular of all the events and is the most dangerous. This event is judged on control and the cowboys get extra points if they use their spurs. A flat braid of rope is looped around the bull's chest while the cowboy holds on with one hand. This is an 8 second ride demanding physical and mental skills.
Steer Wrestling is the fastest event in the rodeo. It is almost 100 years old and the cowboy uses brute strength and leverage to throw the steer to the ground. When the steer busts out of the chute there are two cowboys that follow the steer path. The bulldogger slips from the saddle to grasp the steer by the horns and get him to the ground with all 4 feet upward. Saddle bronco riding is an 8 second event with the cowboy riding bareback. Cowgirls participate in the barrel racing and the best time around the barrels wins.
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