There is a very unique rodeo held every April and October at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana. On the Mississippi river and 130 miles northwest of New Orleans, the prison holds 5,200 inmates. The blues musician Leadbelly was once an inmate here.
It started in 1965 as purely a casual event with inmates as the rodeo participants. Two years later the public was allowed to view the rodeo and it was so successful that in 1969 a 4,500 seat stadium was built. Today there is a 10,000 seat stadium. Income is donated to the Inmate Welfare Fund which provides for prison educational and recreational supplies. In addition to the rodeo itself there are concession areas, arts and crafts booths (some of which are made by inmates) and entertainers. Even a horse sale.
This is a professionally run rodeo with mainline stock contractors and judges as well as professional rodeo clowns. Besides the standard rodeo events, however, the Angola Prison Rodeo offers some unique events:
– Bust Out. All six chutes open simultaneously, releasing six angry bulls, with temporarily attached inmate cowboys. The last man to remain on the bull wins the event.
– Buddy Pick-Up. This event requires one man on a horse (riding bareback) to navigate the length of the arena, pick up another inmate who is standing on a barrel, and race back to the finish line.
– Wild Cow Milking. Teams of inmate cowboys chase the animals around the arena trying to extract a little milk. The first team to bring milk to the judge wins the prize
– Convict Power. Four inmate cowboys sit at a table in the middle of the arena playing a friendly game of poker. Suddenly, a wild bull is released with the sole purpose of unseating the poker players. The last man remaining seated is the winner.
– Guts & Glory. A chit (poker chip) is tied to the meanest, toughest Brahma bull available. The object here is to get close enough to the bull in order to snatch the chit. This is the last event of the day, and perhaps the most exciting.
You can get more information at their website Angolarodeo.com.
If you have problems seeing the video below click HERE
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