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Southwest International Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade,
1950s.
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El Paso County Historical Society
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Southwestern International Livestock Show and Rodeo
Although many of the traditions and practices
originated in the Spanish and Mexican ranching systems, the Western
American rodeo has its origins in the cattle drives of the late 19th
century. Following the Civil War and the expansion of the railroads
west, long cattle drives took place to move livestock from the ranches
of Texas north to the railheads. Western townsmen began to invite
cowboys to demonstrate their skills during local celebrations. In 1872
the first known organized contest took place in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The
fencing of the frontier brought the era of the long cattle drives to
an end but the rodeo tradition survived and flourished.
El Paso, Texas held its first rodeo on February 13,
1896. The next day, an article appeared in the El Paso Herald
describing the modest event as a “cowboy show” that was “a novelty and
worth seeing.”
As ranching became an important part of West Texas and southern New
Mexico, cattlemen organized livestock shows and rodeos were
occasionally part of the festivities. The first time El Paso
businessmen and cattlemen joined together to host a exhibition and
rodeo was in January 1902 when the Texas Livestock Association held
its annual convention and carnival in the city.
In January 1903 a “roping event” and an “animal show” were held and
similar events took place the following year. By the 1910s occasional
stock shows and rodeos were held in the city. The cattle industry
experienced a great boost when in 1916 the Peyton Packing Plant was
built as a major meat processing center.
The origins of the present-day Southwestern
International Rodeo and Livestock Show date back to the late 1920s. On
April 27, 1929 the El Paso Commercial Club sponsored a “Ranchmen’s
Reunion and Rodeo” in El Paso. The event was so popular that later
that same year another one was held in September in conjunction with a
range stock show.
In 1930 the El Paso Optimist Club started a livestock show for young
members of the 4-H Club called the Southwest Baby Beef Show. The
Kiwanis Club later organized a swine division and the 20-30 Club
sponsored a sheep division. The annual event became known as the
Southwestern Baby Beef, Hog, and Sheep Show.
By 1934 the annual exhibition had become so large that the El Paso
Chamber of Commerce became the official sponsor and named the event
the Southwestern Livestock Show.
4-H Clubs and Future Farmers of America members were regular
participants. In February 1938 the El Paso Police Department sponsored
a rodeo the same week as the livestock show. In February 1939 the El
Paso County Sheriffs’ Posse Rodeo was held during the livestock show
and at the end of the week the Sheriffs’ Posse made an agreement with
the Chamber of Commerce to merge the two events the next year. In 1940
the first combined rodeo and stock show took place allowing for the
rodeo profits to be used to finance the livestock exhibition. The
event was re-named the Southwestern Livestock Show and Rodeo and in
1943 the Chamber assumed full control.
Facilities for the livestock show became a problem
as the annual event grew. In 1936 the city and county governments
joined together to construct a small building and some stalls at
Washington Park. The new facilities were far from adequate and in 1941
the R.E. McKee Company was contracted to construct a large exposition
facility.
The El Paso County Coliseum was opened in May 1942 and became the
show’s permanent home. By the 1950s major expansion of the coliseum
took place. New events such as a horse show and range bull show were
added and the Chamber helped get new barns and facilities built. A
rodeo parade became a standard part of the celebration with hundreds
of riders, the Sheriff’s Posse, rodeo clowns and high school bands.
The rodeo and livestock show thrived during the
1940s and 1950s. By the 1960s hundreds of El Pasoans and many local
businesses worked in organizing the annual event. Following the 35th
show in 1964 the livestock show and rodeo were incorporated as a
non-profit organization and officially re-named the Southwestern
International Livestock Show and Rodeo.
.
Richard W. Slatta, Cowboys of the Americas (New Haven, CN
1990), 128; (El Paso, TX) Times, Feb. 4, 1968; Nora E.
Ramirez, “The History of the Southwestern International Livestock
Show and Rodeo,” (M.A. thesis, Univ. Of Texas at El Paso, 1969), 62.
.
(El Paso, TX) Times, Aug. 30, 1939.
.
(El Paso, TX) El Paso Today 28 (Jan. 1976), 4.
.
Ramirez, “History of the Southwestern International,” 20.
.
(El Paso, TX) Times, Aug. 30, 1939.
.
Ramirez, “History of the Southwestern International,” 39; (El Paso,
TX) Sun Shopper, Jan. 30, 1969.
.
Ramirez, “History of the Southwestern International,” 39.
.
Ramirez, “History of the Southwestern International,” 65.
.
(El Paso, TX) Herald-Post, Mar. 14, 1936; Ramirez, “History
of the Southwestern International,” 54.
.
(El Paso, TX) Sun Shopper, Jan. 30, 1969.
.
(El Paso, TX) Herald-Post, Feb. 3, 1969.
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