Fort Worth – Rodeo. It’s part of who we are as Texans. The official sport of the Lone Star State, the very first rodeo was held in 1883 in Pecos. It’s the one that started it all but today, rodeo has really grown. The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is considered the granddaddy of all Texas rodeos as it was first held in 1896 and it’s been continuously running ever since! “Rodeos just got a special part,” said Matt Brockman. “It’s a special part of who we are and what we do.”
Matt Brockman has been a part of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo since 2008. “This is Cowtown,” said Brockman. “Some say it’s the city of Cowboys and culture. Some say it’s the modern West. Some say it’s where the West begins.”
Now Fort Worth might be famous for its stockyards and yes, you can still see a herd of longhorns make their way down East Exchange Avenue just about every day of the year. But the reason the rodeo is here has everything to do with this history of the stock yards. “The trail-driving era had come to an end,” said Brockman. “The Fort Worth Stockyards, though, had been established and was a major location where cattle were driven to and sold, but there was no place to harvest them, to process them. They were loaded into rail cars and shipped off to Chicago and Kansas City, and the organizers of the stockyard said, ‘We need to do something to attract the attention of these meat packers in Chicago to bring plants to Fort Worth.’ They went out onto the banks of Marine Creek right next to the stockyards building, the exchange building and tethered a bunch of cattle out there for a day or two and had a competition and awarded some prizes, hoping that word would get to Chicago, and I guess it was a success. They did it the next year and the year after that, and in 1903, Armour Company and Swift Company both established and built plants there, adjacent to the stockyards, and we were off and running by that point.”
In 1908, the stock show moved to the newly constructed North Side Coliseum and history was made. “The world’s original indoor rodeo in 1918, and we’ve been having professional rodeo ever since,” said Brockman.
Today, you’ll find the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo at the Will Rogers Memorial Center where you can stroll Simmons Bank Plaza and get the perfect view of downtown Fort Worth. “What city has got a public events place like this that they can come year-round and experience what makes Fort Worth so unique and special?” asked Brockman.
The rodeo itself is held in Dickies Arena, a 14,000 seat stadium that opened in 2019. It pays homage to the history of the stock show and rodeo by having the exact same attributes as the former arena. “The footprint of that actual competitive arena is the same footprint that we had in the Will Rogers Coliseum,” said Brockman. “The bucking chutes are the same. It’s the same exact diameter, even down to the dirt. We got the dirt from the same place, so the dirt’s just like it is in Will Rogers. The color schemes, the layout of the arena, the dimensions, it fits Will Rogers Coliseum to a tee.”
The history preserved by the new arena makes it beloved by long time fans and participants in the rodeo. “If you went to the old building, it was so historic and it was so special, and they’ve carried it over,” said Matt Reeves, who has been rodeoing for 20 years. “The arena is the same. Man, if you want an extremely great fan experience, they have it.”
The 2020 American Steer Wrestling Champion has had a lot of success over the years, especially in Fort Worth. “Running steers for good money and having an opportunity to win at rodeos like this is always a rush,” said Reeves. “If this doesn’t get you excited, you’re going to have to find something else to do.”
On the stock show side of things, you’ve got students like Emerson Dean from Decatur. “I could not imagine doing anything else with my life right now,” said Dean. “I’ve been showing since I was in fourth grade, so about nine years.”
She is one of hundreds of 4H and FFA members from 239 out of Texas’ 254 counties that are represented at this stock show. All of the members care for their animals throughout the year in order to earn scholarships for school. “This is my passion, so I find it more fun than stressful, but it’s a lot of work,” said Dean. “It’s amazing to keep collecting the scholarships and knowing that, again, my hard work is being paid off and someone truly sees how passionate and how hardworking I am.”
The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo has been allowing younger participants for decades, and the youth competitions are seen as one of the most important parts of the annual show. “We began holding youth competitions back in the 1920s, and what’s so unique about the stock show and what I’m so proud of about the stock show is, these young men and women, a lot of them come from rural areas, but a lot of these young men and women come from the suburbs,” said Brockman. “This place is a gateway. It’s an incubator for these young men and women to get exposed to the livestock industry and the food industry and prepare themselves for a potential career.”
Texans are known for their tough tenacity and the folks involved in farming, ranching, and rodeo always seem to have it. Seeing those skills being put to use in the arena makes coming to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo something worth saddling up for on The Texas Bucket List. “This event is truly, I believe, woven deeply into the cultural and social fabric of Fort Worth,” said Brockman. “It’s just what we do here.”