Cowboy Park: Steer-Roping Contests on the Border

(Texas Tech University Press) During the formative years of rodeo that preceded the first Calgary Stampede in 1912, Cowboy Park promoted the sport of steer roping and provided a training ground for up-and-coming champions. Baxter illustrates how this arena, established in 1907 in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, kept the sport alive at a time when Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona had all outlawed steer-roping contests. Those who trained at Cowboy Park swept the first prizes in Calgary and continued to dominate for years. John Baxter is the author of Dividing New Mexico’s Waters, 1700-1912 and Las Carneradas: Sheep Trade in New Mexico, 1700-1860.