Levi T. Conry, researcher and author.

The Black Hills Roundup started 79 years ago when 15,000 people gathered in a Belle Fourche field to help raise funds for the 1918 war. This was an astonishing number of people to show up considering the population of Belle Fourche was 1,410. Even though World War I ended the next year, the success of the first year prompted them to try it again and again.

The first Roundup was more a contest of real ranch skills than anything we see at rodeos today. There were no chutes or stands; the arena had barely enough fence to keep the wild broncs contained. The cowboys competed anyway. The rules were simple: choose your bronc, ear him down, climb aboard, nod your face and start the race. It took two or three cowboys to ``ear a horse.`` One cowboy would grab the horse by the head and bite the horse's ear to control him. While the horse was distracted the other two would saddle him and the rider would climb aboard. Injuries to horse and riders were common in this process. Today`s method is safer for the cowboy and the horse. Today a horse is ran into a chute that is just big enough for him to stand. The cowboy works from above the horse where he has more control and ability to calm the horse and prevent the horse from hurting himself and others. The equipment has also changed for the comfort of the horse and the safety and advantage of the cowboy.

Saddle bronc riding was just one of the events at the first Roundup. Some of the other events were wagon races, men and ladies horse races, men and ladies relay races, bulldogging, steer roping, calf roping, cow pony races and the ladies bucking contest. Almost all of the events in the early 20's were both men and ladies events. The events consisted of whatever the group that organized the rodeo decided to do. At that time there wasn't a standard number or type of events for a rodeo. In the PRCA (Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association) there is only one ladies event, barrel racing. Now there is a WPRA (Womens Pro Rodeo Association) that has all of the events except saddle bronc riding. The events were also somewhat different. Today there are seven events: bareback riding, calf roping, team roping, saddle bronc riding, bulldogging, barrel racing, and bull riding. Today these are the standard events that are at every rodeo. With some similarities and basically the same idea, rodeo events differ in many ways. The saddle bronc riding (rodeo's classic event) is still different today than it was 70 years ago. In the 20's the horse was eared down and the cowboy climbed aboard. Today the horse and the cowboy are given more of a fair start. The bulldogging is also basically the same yet it is slightly different. Once the cowboy is off from his horse and on the steer, he does not have to bring the steer to a complete stop as he did a time ago. The calf roping and steer roping are also basically the same. In the calf roping the calf is let out of the chute and a mounted roper chases the calf. The roper ropes the calf and then he ties the calf with a small piece of rope. The calf must stay tied for 6 seconds or the roper is disqualified.

Rodeo has lost many of its racing events, such as horse racing, wagon racing and so on. These events are still practiced, yet they are not participated in at every rodeo, usually they are seperate from the rodeo. Horse racing is a very big business but it is very seldom related to rodeo today. Even though they are not as popular, people still race chuck wagons. Ladies would compete in the same events as the men yet they had some differences. In the ladies bucking horse contest, the ladies were required to shackle their saddles (tie their stirrups together underneath the horse). They did this because they thought it would be safer and easier for the ladies, yet it wasn't. So even though many of the events have changed or been modified the cowboys still have the same intentions. They all want to test their skills against the animals and each other.

When people today think of a rodeo they think of bull riding and the clown acts, which is not far from what people thought of rodeo 70 years ago. The difference is the actors. In the Black Hills Roundup in the early 20's they had more entertainment or play day events than we do today. Many of these events or shows were organized by the Bit and Spur Saddle Club which was very active in the Roundup. One the events would be the Hide Race. A mounted rider would start at one end of the arena pulling a cow hide. They would race to the other end of the arena to their awaiting passenger who would jump on the hide. Then the horseman would race to the other end of the arena at full speed. Another show was the quadrille. This was a drill style pattern done by mounted riders. The pattern was very similar to that of a square dancing pattern. They would even have an announcer serve as a square dance caller calling ``meet your partner dosey-do``. In the 30's they also had kids calf riding. One rancher would bring in 10 or 12 calves for the kids to ride. The kids would get $1 a piece to get on the calves. Fidelia (Gilger) and Rosemary (Seymore) Tope were trick riders in the rodeo during the 30's. Fidelia and Rosemary Tope had always dreamed of trick riding as little girls. Because their parents were both very active in rodeo they got to live their dream. Fidelias' mother knew a man in Missouri at the Beach Saddlery store who could make a trick riding saddle. A trick riding saddle has many differences from a regular stock saddle. It has a series of handles on it that are also used as foot holds when needed. She contacted that person and had a saddle made for her daughters. Fidelia and Rosemary had to train themselves and their own horses with little help. They attended a rodeo in Newcastle where they met Juanita and Weaver Grey. Weaver was an excellent trick roper and Juanita was a trick rider. Juanita was a big help in training the girls about hand holds and other things the girls did not know. One of the moves or tricks the girls would perform is called a layout. A layout is a simple move done by trick riders. First you set your horse to the correct pace and direction. Next both feet are slipped in loops or holds on the same side of the saddle. Once your feet are securely in the loops you lean away from the horse, parallel to the ground. The horse has to lean away from you to keep from being pulled over. Chariot racing was also a crowd favorite in the 50's and 60's. A chariot is a two wheeled cart made to hold one person and it is pulled by one horse. Mary Bush recalls how her husband Lyle prepared for the race. Two to three days before the rodeo Lyle would hook up a horse he had picked up at a sale or through a trade because he thought it was fast. Usually after a two or three day drive from their ranch in the Arpan flats (approx. 15 miles from Belle Fourche), the horse would be ready to race in the rodeo. In the 40`s, 50`s and early 60`s Pete Rosander and his son Dick would drive a small bunch of buffalo from their ranch north of Belle Fourche to the Roundup grounds in Belle Fourche. During the rodeo they would dress up as Indians and recruit a few of the Indians that were at the rodeo to chase the buffalo in a stampede. The buffalo would run right in front of the crowd in the track and it would appear to be a buffalo stampede. Some of the shows today are the Buffalo act done by Jerry Wayne Olson. He rides his buffalo around the arena doing tricks. He will stand all four feet of the buffalo on a 12" pedestal and as a finale he rides him up a ramp to the top of his trailer and drive out of the arena. Jay Olson (Jerry Wayne`s son) also has a show that he does with his mom. He does tricks with a whip such as slashing a piece of rolled up paper inch by inch while his mom holds it in her mouth. This is a true family of entertainers. These were just a few events or shows that I was able to learn about that were in the Black Hills Roundup over the years. With all of these changes in the Black Hills Roundup I feel that it has improved over the years. Many of the people I have talked to feel that the rodeo is missing the local competitors which is true, but rodeo is changing with the times.