I’ve blogged before about the Angola Prison Rodeo. Another interesting one is the Oklahoma State Penitentiary (McAlester, Oklahoma) which in 2006 started allowing women to compete for the first time.
Since 1940, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary has held an annual Prison Rodeo. It is the largest behind-the-walls prison rodeo in the country. The International Professional Rodeo Association manages the rodeo and stock and some of their professional cowboys compete. Through a partnership with the McAlester Chamber of Commerce & the Oklahoma Dept. of Corrections approximately 15,000 fans pack the arena to root for their favorite competitors. Besides the events there is music and a parade each evening.
Prison women were allowed to participate for the first time and in marquee events like bull riding and bronco busting, the girls proved every bit as tough as the boys. In a state with the highest female incarceration rate in the country, these women share common experiences such as broken homes, drug abuse and alienation from their children. It’s all about pride and showing that they are on the road to recovery.
This rodeo is not without controversy and animal rights organizations cite it as an example of a rodeo with significant animal abuse problems. That is the responsibility of the rodeo managers.
There is a HBO movie called Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo which you can learn about HERE.
(Thanks to my brother-in-law Mike Donnelly for suggesting this topic)
If you have problems seeing the video below click HERE.
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