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.211 12).What all this means for the future of the CalgaryStampede is moot, of course, but I would suggest that cowboy/Westerniconography is sufficiently powerful (and malleable) to remain useful to theregion for many years to come.82.L.G.Thomas, in Slatta, Cowboys of the Americas, 51.With regard to theimportance of boosterism as a feature of western Canadian development,see Alan Artibise,  Boosterism and the Development of Prairie Cities,1871 1913, in The Prairie West, 2nd ed., eds.R.Douglas Francis andHoward Palmer (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1999), 515 43.83.Frank Davey,  Towards the Ends of Regionalism, in A Sense of Place:Re-evaluating Regionalism in Canadian and American Writing, ed.ChristianRiegel, Herb Wyile, et al.(Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1998), 7.84.Ibid., 4.85.Ibid., 14.CHAPTER 8A Spurring Soul: A Tenderfoot s Guide to the CalgaryStampede RodeoGlen Mikkelsen203204 A SPURRING SOUL: A TENDERFOOT S GUIDE TO THE CALGARY STAMPEDE RODEORodeo.Sure as bobcats are ornery, it s no tea party.Ask anycowboy who explodes out of a chute biting off a sunfishinchunk of fury& and then chews it.That, though, is hislife& skinned raw from the living flank of adventure.Hetakes it, tames it and loves it& from raking a saddle bronc totaking on a whole, snorting, pure-out mean ton of enragedbull.Every afternoon of Stampede  78, latigo-tough andarena-wise world champion cowboys compete for a bulgingtotal purse of more than $110,000.Watch  em cannonball out aboard twisting, walleyedstreaks of sheer hellhorse.See  em dig in to wrestle downsteers whose independence matches their muscle.Hang in asthey milk wild cows, race the clock in calf roping, gallop forthe finish line astride untamed mustangs in the wild horserace.And grip your seat as daredevil Indians tackle the brutepower of plains buffalo.Rodeo.Stampede style! The non-stopaction show that leaves hoofprints across hell.Go for it!1978 Calgary Stampede promotional brochureThe rodeo is to the Calgary Stampede what shadows are to GroundhogDay.Without the rodeo there is no Stampede.It was the rodeo that renewedthe Calgary Exhibition s vitality in 1923, and the rodeo has become thefoundation of the Stampede s attitude and its community.It holds the imagi-nation for the entire week.The rodeo sustains and nurtures the values of theCalgary Stampede, and it is where the Stampede s traditions are held holy.The Stampede rodeo is revered as a fabulously grand sensory pageant.Participants and spectators are surrounded by glorious western notions,including beautiful Stampede Princesses bedecked in shimmering sequinsatop flowing quarter horses; the taste of jalapeño-laden nachos and coldbeer; the smell of dust-laden air rife with manure, hay, and sweat; and theheaving grunts and bellows of kinetic men and beasts.The Stampede rodeois sensational and unpredictable, and it transcends conceptions with stirringand riveting western moments.GLEN MIKKELSEN 205Rodeo competitors face daily peril, and, in fact, the Calgary Stampederodeo calls upon divine safekeeping prior to each performance.Before thefirst chute is opened, competitors and fans are united in a communal expres-sion of faith as they stand with hats removed and heads bowed while theRodeo Cowboy s Prayer is recited.A Rodeo Cowboy s PrayerOur gracious and heavenly Father, we pause in the midstof this festive occasion, mindful and thoughtful of theguidance that you have given us.As cowboys, Lord, wedon t ask for any special favors, we ask only that you letus compete in this arena, as in life s arena.We don t askto never break a barrier, or to draw a round of steer that shard to throw, or a chute fighting horse, or a bull thatis impossible to ride.We only ask that you help us tocompete as honest as the horses we ride and in a manneras clean and pure as the wind that blows across this greatland of ours.So when we do make that last ride that is inevitable for usall to make, to that place up there, where the grass is greenand lush and stirrup high, and the water runs cool, clear,and deep  you ll tell us as we ride in that our entry feeshave been paid.1These things we ask.Amen.With the conclusion of the prayer, the spectacle begins in Canada s largestrodeo, one of the world s most famous.Arguably, it is the most spectacularoutdoor rodeo on the planet.But it is not only the size and show of the Calgary Stampede rodeo thatmakes it special.The Calgary Stampede is an iconic event within the rodeo cir-cuit, symbolizing western images and themes.The Stampede rodeo is not justsport; it is a tribute to the romanticized sentiments of western North America.The images evoked daily upon the infield s dirt capture people s fantasies ofthe West.Through its competitors and its stock, the Stampede rodeo is bothpropaganda and factual elicitations of the West s savageness.Man vs.beast,life vs.death, luck vs.destiny; each Stampede afternoon the yin and yang206 A SPURRING SOUL: A TENDERFOOT S GUIDE TO THE CALGARY STAMPEDE RODEOof the West s splendor is re-enacted and renewed [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]