YOU USUALLY CAN'T SEE THEM....BUT THEY'RE HERE

It's easy to focus on the cowboys making the rides and throwing the ropes, but none of it would happen with­out the invaluable help of rodeo's contract personnel.

These hard-working, dedicated people are the back­bone of any rodeo production. They are the stock contractors who provide the bucking animals, the clowns who generate the laughs between events, the bullfighters who rescue fallen bull riders, the secretaries who keep track of the money and put out a variety of fires, and many others.

Some of these folks are easy to recognize, such as the clowns, bull fighters and rodeo announcers. But others are rather obscure. PRCA pickup men are rarely noticed because they are so adept at their job of helping bucking horse cowboys dismount. The chute boss keeps the rodeo stock flowing through the chutes in order, but he is virtually invisible. And the flankman, who prepares the animals for competition, is often a key player whose existence goes unknown to spectators.

There is much more happening at a rodeo than meets the eye. It's fun to observe all of these elements mixing together to create this exciting form of entertainment.