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Rodeo has changed in many ways, from the early
days of the sport until today.
If you asked a contestant from the past what is
the biggest change in rodeo they would answer, without
hesitation, the amount of the prize money that can be
won today. In
their wildest dreams Yakima Canutt, Casey Tibbs or
Hugh Bennett would have never believed you could win
the money these rodeo competitors in 2005 are capable
of winning. Other
changes have taken place as well.
Rodeo is a year-round contest today.
In the early half of the nineteenth century it
was seasonal, due to the fact that indoor arenas were
not available and the northern part of our country was
buried in snow for the first part of every year.
Travel in
rodeo’s ‘infant period’ were meager.
If you traveled from rodeo to rodeo and needed
to take your horse, the train was the only means,
unless you rode
your mount from town to town.
The alternative was to borrow a local horse,
which many competitors had to do.
It wasn’t until the 1920s a homemade trailer
was built in which to haul a mount.
Today there are sleek, aluminum trailers that
house plush accommodations for the horse, and even
allow the cowboys and cowgirls to bunk in the front
with all the luxuries of home.
Rodeo ‘movers and shakers’ have
performances finely tuned and spectators are in their
seats and out in two hours.
Oh yes, rodeo has changed drastically in so
many ways.
BUT . . . . . one thing is missing in many of
rodeos today –
the contract act.
Wonderfully trained horses and dogs and array
of other animals which perform such amazing tricks..
What spectacular trick roping and trick riding
there is to be performed.
In the past the performers wore colorful
costumes and struck beautiful poses that were
remembered long after a spectator left the rodeo.
What happened to this very important part of a
rodeo performance?
The answer I have been told is that in most
rodeos there is not enough money or time in a
performance today for these contract acts.
How sad! Pitiful!
I believe that at every rodeo there are always
people in the audience who are not familiar with the
rules and regulations of rodeo, but are there to be
entertained. Granted,
they will be interested in the bronc riding, calf
roping and steer wrestling, and, of course, the bull
riding, will get their adrenalin flowing.
BUT, they don’t realize that when the
yellow flag is thrown by the judge that determines
that a bronc rider gets no time it is because he
didn’t ‘mark out’ his bronc.
They don’t know that if a calf roper or steer
wrestler breaks the barrier they are penalized ten
seconds. What’s
the barrier? There
is a lot to learn when attending your first few
rodeos. But
to watch a trick roper, trick rider or whip cracker
show his talents, in between, competitions, it is
nothing but pure entertainment.
Everyone can enjoy the performance of a
well-practiced, talented contract performer.
Due to the elimination of time and money many
of these talents have had to resorted to fairs, and
other shows, but not rodeos.
However, thanks to the Wild West Arts Club,
with over 600 members, the arts of the arena are still
alive and well. Their
annual convention will be held in
Claremore
,
Oklahoma
, at the Will Rogers Memorial April 16, 17 & 18.
It will attract lots of trick ropers, whip
crackers, gun spinners, knife throwers, etc., and they
will perform and compete with other talented artists
from not only across the United States, but Germany,
the Czech Republic and Australia, as well.
The public is invited.
For more information please contact
1-800-858-5568, mail to:
3945 W. Reno Ave
,
Las Vegas
,
NV
89118
or e-mail: wwac.com
Gene McLaughlin is a trick roper I met and
interviewed a few months ago at a celebrity roping and
here is what I learned:
“I’m six bits,” said the small-framed
youthful looking Gene.
When I didn’t respond he laughingly said,
“I’m seventy-five years old.
I’m six bits and I’ve been ropin’ for
seventy-two years!”
Gene McLaughlin is a very young seventy-five
year old man. He
is in excellent shape, still
ropes daily, still performs his trick roping and can
even do it on ice, when required to do so, still works
in movies as a stunt man racing cars, and likes to
play billiards. He
lives in
Moorpark
,
California
with his wife, Betty, and his son and family live on
the same piece of land.
Gene was born to a motorcycle policeman and
wife in
Chester
,
PA.
Although
his dad was a cop he enjoyed trick roping and taught
his young sons, Gene, age three, and Don, age five,
how to trick rope.
He took them to nearby bars and clubs and they
would perform for coins that were thrown on the floor
in front of them.
The first time that happened Gene stopped
roping when he saw the coins being thrown and began to
pick them up. He
learned very quickly, if he kept roping, the coins
would continue to be thrown.
From 1934 through 1947, Gene and Don performed
at the huge Madison Square Garden Rodeo.
Gene was so small and the dirt so deep in the
arena at first a cowboy would carry him out in to the
middle of the arena to perform, then carry him back,
because it took him so long, with his short legs to
get to his destination.
He also remembered trick roping one time and
his pants fell down around his ankles.
“Young boys don’t have any hips and I was
so little there wasn’t anything to hold the pants
up,” told Gene.
The act was such a novelty they had quite a
large following. But
Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia was required to sign a permit
every week allowing the young boys to work during
their stay in
New York City
due to the new law about child labor practices.
When asked how the cowboys treated them, Gene
remembered, “It was great!
They even let us play craps with them behind
the chutes. I
think we learned to count from dice, and we even won
money once in a while!”
It wasn’t long before people were hiring the
youngsters to perform. They were hired by wild west
shows, rodeos, theatres and all sorts of entertainment
venues. Gene said, “I could be in school ready to
take a test and my dad would come and get Don and me
and off we’d go.
School had to wait.
My dad thought performing was best for us”
Their dad was as good at booking them as they
were at roping. They
were also admired by everyone they came in contact
with, including their competitors, other trick ropers
because they were true professionals, even though they
were young boys. “We
had a great life”, admitted Gene.
By 1947, Don quit trick roping and started
roping competitively and became World Champion Calf
Roper 1951 through 1954 and then again in 1957 and
World Champion Steer Roper in 1960, 1963 and 1970.
Gene continued to trick rope.
When Gene was in the military service he met
his wife-to-be, Betty, in
El Paso
. For the
next couple of years whenever he traveled anywhere the
road ‘went through El Paso’ no matter where the
destination. After
Gene was discharged, they married, in between trick
roping jobs. They
moved to
San Antonio
, and while there Gene saw an ice skating program.
He immediately began practicing his tricks on
ice. Not
simple tricks but his entire repertoire.
Eventually he had a small portable ice rink
made, which can provide ice in three hours.
Gene can perform at any location on his
mini-rink.
Eventually Gene, Betty and children moved to
California
and Gene became a stunt man and extra.
Although he has retired he still does
occasional stunt work.
He not only performed in movies, but also
taught many others to trick rope.
Keith Carradine, who had the lead in the Will
Rogers Follies on Broadway was taught by Gene, as well
as Larry Gatlin, who took his place, as well as
others.
It was Gene’s desire to find a place in
California
, near enough to his movie work, to have a few acres.
Eventually Gene bought an avocado farm and had
40 acres of avocado trees removed so a roping arena
could be built. Today
he and son, Cliff, enjoy practicing in their own
roping arena and both live on the property.
Gene, however, travels often as he competes in
the Senior National Rodeo Association and has
qualified for the Finals for the past twenty-some
years. He
won the roping championship in 1986, and was inducted
in to the Senior Pro Rodeo Association’s Hall of
Fame in 2003. Gene
McLaughlin is truly an outstanding example of someone
who lived their life in rodeo and represents the sport
as well today as he did as an extra-ordinary trick
roping youngster.
He may be six-bits, but he certainly is worth a
lot more than that!
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