City: Albuquerque, NM

Category: Spectator Sports

Telephone: (505) 222-9700

Address: 300 San Pedro NE

Description: The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association shows the audience how the West was won in the eight-night rodeo at the New Mexico State Fair in September. The show stars world champions and the best cowboys in America, for events like saddle bronc riding, with its roots in the tradition of Old West ranch hands who used to compete to see who rode untrained horses with the best style. Competitors give the horse an advantage by beginning their ride with their feet over the horse’s shoulders. Tie-down roping also goes back to the days when sick calves were roped down for medical treatment and requires teamwork between cowboy and horse. Barrel racing is a dash against the clock to ride a tight cloverleaf pattern around three barrels without overturning them. Winners and losers can be decided by a hundredth of a second, so the race is fierce and the tension high as barrels wobble, but will they fall? Other events might include steer wrestling, team roping, bull riding, and bareback bronc riding. The rodeos are followed by a concert.