How Safe is the Rodeo?

The question with any sport weather in high school or in college prep boarding schools is how safe is this sport to my child? The rodeo is rarely known for safety precautions, although they are very much in place. The image of a bucking bronco flipping your daughter into the stands is one that can stop any parent’s heart, but how accurate is this image?

Riding not Wrangling

Unlike the cowboy movies and TV shows, high school rodeos don’t include the act of trying to subdue a bucking animal. This automatically makes the sport infinitely safer than its mainstream contemporaries. The skills your daughter will need to demonstrate will require working with the animal as opposed to against it. This requires an immense amount of trust and cooperation, which is the first thing taught in the equestrian programs at college prep boarding schools.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As with any sport, the key to both safety and winning is constant practice at the skills required. Riders usually get up very early each morning before class to groom and feed their mounts, then after class go riding to build up endurance and stamina. If an animal is in any way hurt or is shown to be uncooperative, the animal and rider do not participate in the rodeo. Constant monitoring of both rider and horse is a top priority for any college prep boarding schools equestrian program.

Help in Plain Sight

Should the worst happen, an animal gets out of control or a rider falls, your child is not abandoned in the middle of the arena? Besides other participants, the rodeo is full of medical personnel, teachers, and of course rodeo clowns all on standby should the worst happen. Yes, that’s right: rodeo clowns. The clowns of the rodeo are not there just to add to the festivities. The bright colors are meant to distract animals away from injured riders, and while it’s rarer for an accident to happen in a college prep boarding schools rodeo, they are still ready to handle any situation that should come up.

Gear Isn’t Just for looks

You ever wonder why cowboys and rodeo participants wear a lot of leather. The idea isn’t to intimidate the cows by wearing the skins of their fallen compatriots, but to add an extra layer of skin to the performers so if and when they fall off their mounts they’re less likely to sustain a serious injury. It’s the same reason motorcyclists wear leather. Anything that adds extra protection between skin and ground and look that good is definitely worth it.

Joe Meyere is an academic writer for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. Information provided by Wasatch Academy. Follow on Twitter.