Twin Lakes March 2017

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Southwestern Trail Ride - 100-mile (160 km) ride from
Brazoria, Texas, established in 1974
Northeastern Trail Ride - 108-mile (174 km) ride from
Beaumont, Texas, established in 1982 Texas Cattlemen’s Trail
Ride - 85-mile (137 km) ride from
Anderson, Texas, established in 1986
The Mission Trail Ride - 210-mile (340 km) ride from
San Antonio, Texas, established in 1990
Southwest Trail Ride - 120-mile (190 km) ride from
Rosenberg, Texas, established in 1993
WORLD’S CHAMPIONSHIP BAR-B-QUE CONTEST
The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, also simply known
as “The Cookoff,” started in 1974 and has consistently drawn massive
attendance numbers for the three-day event, drawing a record
264,132 visitors in 2013. It takes place on the southern parking lot
of NRG Stadium, with over 350 teams participating every year and is
generally considered a “Hot Ticket,” as most are for members or by
invitation only. While the event is open to the general public, those
that can get into the tents are generally allowed an unlimited amount
of food and beverages.
THE CALF SCRAMBLE
Since the addition of the event in 1942, it has been one of the more
popular events during the actual rodeo. The event features 14 calves
and 28 students who must try to capture one of the calves, put a halter
Twin Lakes News | March 2017
on it and bring it back into the “winners square” in order to claim the
win. One of the rules is that as long as a contestant is actually in the
act of holding the calf (i.e. Holding it by the tail) to get the halter on,
no other participant may interfere unless the calf wriggles itself free.
It’s at this point where the calf is fair game once again. The event is
held nightly between major events in the Reliant Stadium. Each of the
students who catch a calf is awarded a $1,250 certificate to purchase
a registered beef heifer. Raising and showing this heifer becomes a
yearlong project as the scrambler sees to the grooming, feeding and
care of the animal. The exhibitor returns to the Houston Livestock
Show the following year for a special competition. Calf Scramble
exhibitors receive a $250 bonus when they return to compete with
their heifer, totaling their $1,500 certificate.
A similar events for youngsters is Mutton Bustin’, for 5 and 6-year-olds,
who try to ride on top of a sheep for eight seconds.
Rodeo Houston also features the traditional rodeo events of bull
riding, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, team roping, steer wrestling,
calf roping, barrel racing (women only) and chuck wagon racing.
TRANSPORTATION
With between 60,000 and 150,000 people attending the rodeo each
day, every year, the city’s transportation infrastructure is taxed as
it must also compete with regular Houston Rush Hour on regular
business days. There are a variety of ways into and out of the complex
that include Park and Ride lots in certain parts of the city that
are provided by the event as an express straight onto the property,
Taxi, Self Parking, and METRORail. The Coordinators of the event
try to persuade attendees to use public transportation as the most
convenient way to and from the Rodeo.
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