Rodeo life: Bucking the norm

The smell of manure, beer and sweat hung in the hot, dry air as the cowboys flocked to the table in the center of several trailers. They loaded up their plates with chili and chips and then eased into plastic chairs recounting an evening of rodeo.

One asks where the man sitting next to him is headed as he waves away a persistent fly.

"Casper," he said between bites. "Need a lift?"

"Sure," the other replied. And with that, he nearly empties a bottle of water, washing away both the disappointment and the dust.

With the passage of time, the advent of technology and the infusion of money into sports, a lot about rodeo has changed.

Rodeo grew out of a ranching lifestyle but has enjoyed growing support that includes soldout arenas of more than 100,000 fans and hundreds of hours broadcast on cable television. Even marginally successful cowboys land sponsorships that offer them a constant in a sport that guarantees nothing.

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association oversaw nearly 700 rodeos in 47 states and Canada in 2002. Those rodeos paid out more than $4 million in prize money, according to the association. Additionally, there are hundreds of other small-town rodeos that offer a few hundred dollars to winners here and there. An ambitious fellow can net an extra $10,000 to $15,000 working both types of events.

It seems the sport is enjoying a resurgence of popularity and profitability as it lures athletes who didn't grow up around horses or come from long lines of cowhands, and it's appealing to people who've never had anything to do with steers or bulls.

Still, there is something old world, even archaic, about rodeo, and those who compete for that prize money say it's a reminder of an era that mostly has passed. Cowboys say the heart of rodeo, however, has changed very little.

There's still "the cowboy way" — polite, hard-working and playing with pain — and there is still the love of the animals that join them in the arenas. Those cowboys and cowgirls say there is no better way to make a living, but all acknowledge it doesn't come easily, nor comfortably.

Bullrider Zack Brown watches the woman giggle as she cuts the cowboy's hair just a few feet away. He runs his hands through his scruffy mane.

"Do you have any money?" he asks his traveling buddy, Ryan Brown, to whom he is not related despite their shared surname.