Ep. 125 - Echoes of Rodeo: Great Whites, Great Cattle & Great Cowboys

Welcome to Part I of our Western History deep dives with our resident That Western Life historian Katie Surritt and co-host Katie Schrock. Make sure to tune in bi-monthly for all things western lifestyle on the That Western Life Podcast.

Summary: Starting with the first arrival of cattle to the Hawaiian Islands, the That Western Life team take a deep dive into the history of the Paniolo and the Hawaiian ranching and rodeo culture. From feral, dangerous cattle, to their own style of shipping and being crowned the 1908 World Champion Steer Ropers, Paniolos have changed many of how we see America. Rodeo did that.

In this episode:

• Hawaii's Introdcution to cattle and horses
  • The first calf born on the island was recorded to have been fed fish (don't worry, the British were equally as horrified)
  • A kapu or Royal Edict was put on the cattle to protect harm or death from befalling them and were called the "King's Cattle"
  • Within 10 years, 20,000 head of feral cattle, the ancestors of the same breed of black coated longhorns set against grizzley bears in Alta, California, for sport were running feral killing people, ruining homes, and destroying agricluture.
• Bullock Hunters brought to the islands to control the populations
  • King Kamehameha III employs vaqueros to teach the native Hawaiians how to use horses and to manage the cattle.
  • Hawaiian horsemen and cattlemen name themselves "paniolo"
• Paniolos create their own cowboy culture
  • Including equipement, tack and their own breed of shipping and tail horses
  • A unique situation, the paniolos had to drag cattle into the ocean to be handed off to boats that would take the cattle to the ships waiting out at sea
  • Make sure you listen to find out about how the sharks played into this portion!
• From Island Cowboys to Cheyenne Frontiers Day Rodeo Competitors
  • How three paniolos changed history competing for world titles
• Rodeo today
  • Their own unique events such as wahine wahine mugging
  • How you can watch

Past That Western Life podcasts referenced in this episode for further information:

• Hawaiian Cowboy Cody Cabral
• Coastal Cowboy & Wrangler
• Rebranding the American Cow Boy
  • Our previous history podcast deep dive about African American cowboys.

This podcast episode is hosted by:

• Katie Schrock; Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok
• Katie Surrit; Instagram

This podcast is produced by Emilee Cole of Western Insights Media. Shownotes written by Katie Schrock of Western Insights Media.

Interested in having a topic explored? Shoot us or one of our co-hosts a direct message on any social media platform! We'd love to hear from you! You can reach That Western Life on Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram!