ProRodeo Sports News - February 3, 2023

EDITOR’S LETTER TRACY RENCK

Rodeo, not breakdancing, deserves to be an Olympic sport

E xcuse me for being late to the game, but back in October it was announced that breaking – breakdancing – was chosen to be featured on the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic program as a new sport, along with surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing. Surfing in the Olympics is not a stretch. Skateboarding look no further than the massively popular X Games. Sport climbing is an iffy choice to say the least. But breakdancing? Come on! I have no problem with dancers. They are fit, athletic and they put in the work to be the best at their craft. However, they should not be Olympic competitors. Back in 1985, Alfonso Ribeiro, aka Carlton Banks on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, did an advertisement for his breakdancing kit “Breakin’ and Poppin’.” No offense to Ribeiro, he may be a decent actor, a solid break dancer, but an Olympian – no way. More to the point when I was in middle school there was a group of boys – none who would ever be confused for Olympians – who were part of Freed Middle School’s “Ground Control” breakdancing group. There’s no question the Olympics have had some odd sports be part of the games like pigeon shooting, pistol duelling and walking. It begs the question, though, ‘Why not bring back rodeo to the Olympics?’ This isn’t a far-fetched concept. Rodeo played to sold out crowds at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta. “Competing at the Olympics in 1988 was one of the neatest

experiences of my career,” said the late Lewis Feild, a ProRodeo Hall of Famer. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Individually, Feild won two medals at the Calgary Olympic Rodeo – winning a silver medal in saddle bronc riding, a bronze medal in bareback riding. The USA Rodeo team also won the gold medal over Canada. Fast-forward to 2002, and 70 of the best rodeo cowboys and cowgirls from the United States and Canada competed at the 2002Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was dubbed the United States vs. Canada in seven rodeo events, bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, calf roping, barrel racing and bull riding. TeamUSA beat TeamCanada 1,363 points to 737 in the 2002 Olympic Command Performance Rodeo. Gold medal winners for the United States were bareback rider Lan LaJeunesse, steer wrestler Rope Myers, calf roper Jerome Schneeberger, barrel racer Molly Powell, and bull rider Blue Stone. In 1988 and 2002, rodeo basked in the glow of the Olympic Spirit. Give the sport – which is now better than ever with

Tracy Renck is the editor of the ProRodeo

Sports News . He previously served more than seven years as a media coordinator at the PRCA. He has three decades of experience in sports journalism with the last several consumed by ProRodeo.

superstars like StetsonWright, Caleb Smidt and Tyler Waguespack – another chance to go on display and be celebrated at the Olympics. Rodeo could be in the Winter Olympics again or the Summer Olympics. It doesn’t matter. The sport of rodeo deserves to be in the Olympics – especially more than breakdancing.

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ProRodeo Sports News 2/3/2023

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