HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO

The 'Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo', also called RodeoHouston, with attendance approaching over two and a half million visitors per year, is the world's largest livestock exhibition as well as the world's largest rodeo event, requiring the support of sixteen thousand volunteers.[1] The three-week long event is held at Reliant Park in Houston, Texas and features bull riding, livestock judging, concerts, a parade, a carnival, trail rides, barbecue and wine competitions, shopping, sales, and auctions.Traditional trail rides, which start in central Texas and end in Houston, precede the Rodeo events.[2]
The rodeo has drawn some of the world's biggest stars and music legends including Selena, Elvis Presley, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Barry Manilow, Willie Nelson, and Hannah Montana, The Cheetah Girls.
Interior of the Reliant Stadium at the 2006 HLSR


Contents
Concert Performers
2007 Entertainment Lineup
Go Texan Day
Rodeo Parade
Trail Rides
World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest
The Calf Scramble
Transportation
Attendance Records
Milestones
See also
Notes
External links

Concert Performers


There has been a wide variety of entertainers at The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Among previous performers were Stand-up comedy, Rock, Blues, Tejano, and even actors. There are also a variety of themes that cater to a variety of tastes, by bringing a variety of music genres that have proved very popular.
2007 Entertainment Lineup

2007 Music Performances
Date Artist Attendance
Feb. 27th George Strait 70,317
Feb. 28 Los Lonely Boys 42,816
Mar. 1st Reba McEntire 51,040
Mar. 2nd Natalie Cole 45,022
Mar. 3 Clay Walker 61,228
Mar. 4 Hannah Montana and The Cheetah Girls 73,295 '''(new record)'''
Mar. 5 Josh Turner 47,048
Mar. 6 Gretchen Wilson 45,815
Mar. 7 Sheryl Crow 49,383
Mar. 8 Alan Jackson 53,574
Mar. 9 Pat Green 57,010
Mar. 10 Martina McBride 58,467
Mar. 11 Pesado and Emilio 69,641
Mar. 12 Sugarland 51,298
Mar. 13 Toby Keith 61,396
Mar. 14 Rascal Flatts (Concert Cancelled,replaced with Clay Walker, Joe Nichols, and Jack Ingram) 70,568
Mar. 15 Beyoncé 72,057
Mar. 16 Dierks Bentley 55,114
Mar. 17 Brooks and Dunn 71,559
Mar. 18 ZZ Top and Xtreme Bulls 70,014

Go Texan Day


The Friday of the cookoff is also known as "Go Texan Day" where the entire population of Houston is encouraged to dress in the Western attire of jeans, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats. While the concept was discussed in 1938 by the General Manager of the Houston Chamber of Commerce, it wasn't until the 1950's that it finally was put into practice and in 1954 Archer Romero chaired the first Go Texan Committee and the encouraged what would later become a Houston Tradition during the rodeo.[3]

Rodeo Parade


In 1937, planning had begun for the first Rodeo Parade leading up to the 1938 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The first parade was headed by Mounted Police along with various dignitaries on the City, County, and State level who also rode horseback. In the parade there were two bands with a Drum and Bugle Corp.
In 1952 The Salt Grass Trail ride was the first trail ride that was formed by only a few men. The following year, the publicity from that ride attracted more people to join.
All of the Trail Riders converge on Memorial Park to camp out for the night before heading down Memorial Drive to where it Empties out onto Texas Ave to line up for the parade.
The parade has approximately 115 different groups joining in the festivities. There are 15 trail rides, 20 floats, 15 commercial wagons and stagecoaches, two or three huge balloons, and 10 to 15 university and high-school marching bands in addition to Show officials, other elected officials and dignitaries on horseback and in vehicles.[4][5]
Trail Rides

The Trail Rides are a long tradition with the rodeo and gather at The Memorial Park to camp for a rest and party before the big Annual Rodeo Parade through Downtown Houston.

★ 'Salt Grass Trail Ride' - 85-mile ride from Cat Spring, Texas was established in 1952

★ 'Sam Houston Trail Ride' - 66-mile ride from Montgomery, Texas was established in 1955

★ 'Old Spanish Trail Ride' - 216-mile ride from Logansport, Louisiana was established in 1956

★ 'Prairie View Trail Ride' - 102-mile ride from Sunnyside, Texas was established in 1957

★ 'Valley Lodge Trail Ride' - 72-mile ride from Brookshire, Texas was established in 1959

★ 'The Spanish Trail Ride' - 112-mile ride from Coldspring, Texas was established in 1961

★ 'Texas Independence Trail Ride' - 92-mile ride from Brazoria, Texas was established in 1961

★ 'Los Vaqueros Rio Grande Trail Ride' - 386-mile ride from Hidalgo, Texas was established in 1973

★ 'Southwestern Trail Ride' - 100-mile ride from Brazoria, Texas was established in 1974

★ 'Northeastern Trail Ride' - 108-mile ride from Beaumont, Texas was established in 1982

★ 'Texas Cattlemen’s Trail Ride' - 85-mile ride from Anderson, Texas was established in 1986

★ 'The Mission Trail Ride' - 210-mile ride from San Antonio, Texas was established in 1990

★ 'Southwest Trail Ride' - 120-mile ride from Rosenberg, Texas was established in 1993

World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest


Known as one of more popular events in Houston the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest is also simply known as "The Cookoff" . The Cookoff started in 1974 and has consistently drawn massive attendance numbers for the 3 day event drawing 190,913 visitors in 2007. It takes place on the southern parking lot of Reliant Stadium with over 250 teams participating every year and is generally considered a "Hot Ticket" to get into the variety of the tents as most are for members or invitation only. While the event is open to the general public, those that can get into the tents are generally allowed an unlimited amount of food and beverages. [6]
[7]
BBQ Attendance Figures
BBQ Contest Attendance 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Thursday 25,459 25,627 15,946 29,570 21,113 28,415 30,421
Friday 56,459 61,564 39,532 60,580 61,735 50,929 66,850
Saturday 78,813 84,237 89,098 93,189 57,188 67,481 93,642
Totals 161,219 171,428 144,576 183,339 140,036 146,825 190,913

The Calf Scramble


Since the addition of the event in 1942, it has been one of the more popular events during the actual rodeo. The event features 14 calves and 28 students who must try to capture one of the calves, put a harness on it and bring it back into the "winners square" in order to claim the win. One of the rules is that as long as a contestant is actually in the act of holding the calf (i.e. Holding it by the tail) to get the harness on, no other participant may interfere unless the calf wriggles itself free. It's at this point where the calf is fair game once again. The event is held nightly between major events in the Reliant Stadium.
Each of the students who catch a calf is awarded a $1,000 certificate to purchase a registered beef heifer. Raising and showing this heifer becomes a yearlong project as the scrambler sees to the grooming, feeding and care of the animal. The exhibitor returns to the Houston Livestock Show the following year for a special competition. Calf Scramble exhibitors also receive a $250 bonus when they return to compete with their heifer.[8]

Transportation


With a daily average attendance of the Rodeo of about 50,000 people [9], the city's transportation infrastructure is taxed as it must also compete with regular Houston Rush Hour on regular business days. There are a variety of ways into and out of the complex that include Park and Ride lots in certain parts of the city that are provided by the event as an express straight onto the property, Taxi, Self Parking, and METRORail.[10] The Coordinators of the event try to persuade attendees to use public transportation as the most convenient way to and from the Rodeo.

Attendance Records


Top Five Attendance Figures
Rank Year Artist Attendance
1 2007 Hannah Montana and The Cheetah Girls 73,295
2 2006 Brooks & Dunn 72,867
3 2005 Hilary Duff 72,843
4 2005 Alicia Keys 72,063
5 2007 Beyoncé 72,057
6 1993/1994 Selena Quintanilla Perez 67,077

Show Attendance History
Year General Attendance Rodeo Attendance
1982 1,095,155 646,735
1983 1,095,730 597,783
1984 1,014,550 592,403
1985 1,070,276 537,802
1986 1,120,796 547,763
1987 1,107,822 564,911
1988 1,194,179 640,117
1989 1,242,288 717,541
1990 1,323,865 784,483
1991 1,366,598 827,037
1992 1,501,818 928,304
1993 1,568,266 973,318
1994 1,616,113 985,871
1995 1,810,007 1,068,447
1996 1,830,265 1,061,344
1997 1,788,437 1,013,100
1998 1,769,359 923,313
1999 1,853,650 #1,101,507
2000 1,889,861 #1,101,478
2001 1,382,183 #1,031,570
2002 1,563,662 #1,091,955
2003 1,745,351
★ #1,215,913
2004
★ 1,890,174
#1,126,092
2005 1,740,095 1,127,239
2006 1,688,103 1,115,558
2007 1,806,129 1,176,436

(
★ ) denotes all-time attendance record
(#) denotes paid attendance figures beginning in 1999 (actual turnstile figures were reported through 1998).

Milestones


: 1931 : First established as 'The Houston Fat Stock Show and Livestock Exposition'.
: 1932 : First Show is held at the Democratic Convention Hall.
: 1938 : Moved to new location: Sam Houston Coliseum.
: 1942 : First star entertainer: Gene Autry, "the Singing Cowboy"; calf scramble event added to the Show's rodeo.
: 1952 : First trail ride (Salt Grass Trail Ride) commences from Brenham, Texas.
: 1957 : First major educational scholarship ($2,000) awarded to Ben Dickerson.
: 1961 : Name changes to 'Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo'.
: 1966 : New location: Astrodome complex; Astrohall built for Livestock Exposition.
: 1970 : Research program launched committing $100,000 annually in support of research studies at various universities and colleges in Texas
: 1974 : The first World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. Elvis Presley sets attendance record of 43,944. On his second show, on the same day, he breaks his own record drawing 44,175, for a one-day record 88,119
: 1975 : The Astroarena is completed.
: 1977 : Four-year scholarships increased from $4,000 to $6,000.
: 1983 : Four-year scholarships increased from $6,000 to $8,000.
: 1989 : Scholarship program expands to Houston metropolitan area.
: 1992 : Four-year scholarships upgraded from $8,000 to $10,000 retroactive to all students currently on scholarship.
: 1993 : Latin superstar Selena breaks attendance record at the Astrodome by drawing a crowd of over 67,000 fans. Held record for nine consecutive years.
: 1994 : Latin superstar Selena sets another attendance record at the Astrodome by drawing another crowd of over 67,000 fans.
: 1995 : Latin superstar Selena holds famed Astrodome concert with over 65,000 fans.
: 1997 : Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence is created as a 3-year pilot program with $4.6 million in funding; websites ''www.hlsr.com'' and ''www.rodeohouston.com'' introduced.
: 1998 : Number of 4-H and FFA scholarships increased to 60 per program, totaling 120 four-year $10,000 awards.
: 1999 : Number of 4-H and FFA scholarships increased to 70 per program, totaling 140 four-year $10,000 awards; Opportunity Scholarships awarded based on financial need and academic excellence.
: 2000 : Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence extended another 3 years with another $4.6 million; Reliant Energy acquires naming rights for the Astrodomain; renamed Reliant Park includes the Reliant Astrodome, Reliant Arena, Reliant Hall, Reliant Center and Reliant Stadium.
: 2001 : Largest presentation of scholarships to date, with 300 four-year $10,000 awards through the Metropolitan, Opportunity and School Art scholarship programs, totaling $3 million.
: 2002 : George Strait sets paid attendance record for any Rodeo event in the Reliant Astrodome with 68,266; Reliant Hall is demolished.
: 2003 : New location: Reliant Stadium and Reliant Center; paid attendance of 70,405 for Go Tejano Day; Carruth Plaza, a Western sculpture garden named in honor of past president and chairman, Allen H. "Buddy" Carruth, completed at Reliant Park.
: 2005 : Performance lineup included Brooks and Dunn, Maroon 5,Clay Walker, Duelo, El Grupo Mazz, and Jeff Foxworthy.
: 2006 : Brooks & Dunn break rodeo attendance record set by Hillary Duff in 2005 with 72,867 in attendance.
: 2007 : Hannah Montana and The Cheetah Girls set a new rodeo attendence record set by Brooks & Dunn in 2006 with 73,295 in attendence, selling out in just three minutes.

See also


Rodeo bareback rigging

Notes


1. http://www.hlsr.com/wh/wh_h.aspx
2. "The Salt Grass Trail Ride". ''texasbob.com'' January 01, 2007. Last accessed January 11, 2007.
3. HLSR's History Page
4. http://www.rodeohouston.com/hmagazine/99aug/com_parade.aspx
5. http://www99.rodeohouston.com/et/prr/prr_dpr.aspx
6. World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest
7. BBQ Teams
8. [Rodeo Houston Website]
9. HLSR Attandance Figures
10. HLSR Transportaion Options

External links



Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Homepage

Houston Livestock Show - Pro Rodeo Online

Houston Rodeo Photographs

Houston Livestock & Rodeo Photo Gallery
Category:Livestock

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