Man and animal (opening image) are almost indistinguishable in this rodeo event known as “bulldogging.” This cowboy jumped off his horse to grab the steer by the head and horns, aiming to force it to lie on its side with its legs stretched straight forward. The cowboy who accomplished this in the fewest seconds won.
One wonders where the ladies sat on that March day in 1937, when a row of men in hats watched the horses perform at this rodeo. The Coliseum, built in 1908 next to the Livestock Exchange Building, served as the venue for the annual Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show and Rodeo.
Contestant number 1 rode what the announcer called a “corkscrew bucking horse” during the March 1937 rodeo because of the animal's twisting and turning. Other contestants crouched by the wall inside the arena, ready to jump up and run if the disgruntled bronco came near.
Notice that the cowboy on the white bucking bronco is holding the rope around the horse with his right hand while his left hand is free. The more he waves it in the air and encourages the horse to keep bucking, the better his score will be. The man on horseback in the background is there to ride over quickly and help the rider dismount after eight seconds on the horse.
Tension mounts as Desolation, a famous rodeo horse, emerges from gate number 4 and begins his anticipated antics to rid himself of the unwanted cowboy on his back. Spectators get as close to the action as possible, including a small boy on his father's shoulders on the right.
The highlight of the school year for farm boys who were members of 4-H was March, when lambs were judged at the Fat Stock Show. In March 1939, these boys eagerly awaited the results, hoping their lamb would win. The 4-H Club movement grew out of pig, calf, lamb, and other clubs that developed during the second decade of the 20th century.
The sign on this horse-drawn carriage reads: “On the way to trade this carriage for an old used car at Ernest Allen's.” The longtime Fort Worth Chevrolet dealer promoted his business during the annual Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show and Rodeo parade in downtown Fort Worth. The photograph was taken in front of Haltom's Jewelers on Main Street.
Future Farmers of America clubs involve many rural young people in the 21st century, but they had even more members in 1941. At the time, they participated in the annual Fort Worth stock show parade to encourage residents to attend the show and rodeo. Of course, friends, parents, and grandparents came to see their children's calves, pigs, lambs, or other entries being judged.
Tired visitors take a short rest in front of the Cowtown Coliseum on the opening day of the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show and Rodeo, March 8, 1941. No one suspected at the time that only one more show would be held at the stockyards the following year before the organizers moved across town to the west side of Fort Worth, to the new Will Rogers Memorial Center.
