Rodeo

Susan Nance has produced one of the best analyses of rodeo since Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence's Rodeo: An Anthropologist Looks at the Wild and the Tame (1984). In 218 pages, Nance's Rodeo examines early twentieth-century steer-busting controversies; the evolution of bucking horses; late twentieth-century bull riding; debates about calf roping; and even “mutton busting,” wherein children ride sheep. Nance has no intention to write a comprehensive history. She set out to write from the perspective of animals, and did so admirably. Though rodeo animals cannot speak, their postures and actions can convey fear and pain. Despite those reactions, promoters claim that animals consent to perform. According to boosters, broncs and bulls are “athletes” who enjoy battles with humans. In reality, being ridden feels like an attack by a predator, resulting in bucking. Breeders also select “buckers” whose cortisol levels skyrocket when under stress. Rodeo is not a pastoral pursuit, despite its

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