Most of the rodeo contestants in cowboy costumes on the weekend have regular jobs during the week.

These guys want to be stars, and abusing animals under the guise of sport is about the only chance they’ll have to get noticed by anyone. If you listen to the contestants as they are introduced, you’ll find a surprising number of them come from cities.

The professional rodeo contestants are just performers in a westernized circus. Neither the amateurs nor the professionals would last long on a real ranch, where there is real work to be done.