10 Rodeo Superstitions
More Rodeo Superstitions
The superstitions just keep on coming, here are some more:It will be all you win. Rodeo life is really a tough life. Unlike other sports competitors, rodeo cowboys do not receive a salary. Success is tied to winning and winning alone. This hard reality makes cowboys and cowgirls try to give 100% each time they compete because without the entry fees you can not head down the road to the next show.
I think baseball has this superstition also. Eating this small and dried food can cause you to choke in the middle of your ride or run. That's how it was explained to me.
Paper cups have a tendency to spook horses as they blow (or are kicked) around. This can lead to some pretty bad results.
Now this is an interesting one. I have been researching this and strangely enough it goes back to the Middle-Ages. This is a direct link to the modern cowboy from the knight of Medieval Europe. Passed from Spanish knights called Caballeros, then to the Vaquero and on to the Cowboy. The theory goes that knights would mount from stands during jousts and would stick their feet in right side stirrups first due to the fact that the left side or sinister side was considered bad or evil. If this is the true reason for this belief, or something else is, it makes for a really interesting superstition.
The reason for this superstition escapes me as well. I would always eat something (to calm my nerves) but as for the hot dog part, who knows?
This superstition obviously has something to do with tempting your luck, but as for the details, I'm not sure.
These are just some of the many superstitions that are out there on the rodeo circuit. If you have any strange superstition that you practice, or know is being practiced by rodeo competitors then please let me know at rodeo.guide@about.com. Put 'superstitions' in the subject line.
Thanks!