The Angola Prison Rodeo, staged at the

Louisiana State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

, is the longest running prison rodeo in the United States. It is held on one weekend in April and on every Sunday in October. On each occasion, thousands of visitors enter the prison complex.Time in Prison
"

Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections The Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPS&C) (French: ) is a state law enforcement agency responsible for the incarceration of inmates and management of facilities at state prisons within the state of Louisiana. The agency is headquart ...

. 34/40. Retrieved on September 23, 2010. Various prisoner organizations sell food at concession stands. Many of the prisoners use family

recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe. His ...

s to craft the concession stand food. Prison guards conduct the financial transactions at the Angola Rodeo.* The Kitchen Sisters.
Broncos and Boudin: The Angola Prison Rodeo
" ''

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

''. April 17, 2008. Retrieved on March 12, 2011. As part of the prison rodeo,McGaughy, Lauren.
Despite controversy, Angola Prison Rodeo lends inmates sense of freedom
" ''

The Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...

''. April 20, 2013. Updated April 21, 2013. Retrieved on October 8, 2013. there is a biannual Arts and Crafts Festival. Prisoners make handmade work. Melissa Schrift, author of ''Angola Prison Art: Captivity, Creativity, and Consumerism'', wrote that "In addition to introducing innovations into vernacular prison art forms, Angola inmates find enormous value in creating works that embody or mimic the everyday images and goods so readily available in the outside world." The rodeo raises funds for religious educational programs for prisoners. As of 2013 each spring rodeo raises $450,000. The rodeo's slogan is "the wildest show in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

History

The idea of the rodeo was born in 1964. The Rodeo, a collaboration between prisoners and prison employees, began in 1965.Angola Prison Rodeo in Louisiana
" ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

''. Retrieved on October 22, 2010. Cathy Fontenot, the Assistant Warden, said that originally prisoners and staff backed

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...

s into a field "and would go out there and play around on horses." Both horses and cattle are bred and raised at the prison. The horses are used by trustees to supervise field work, and the cattle are raised for sale as beef. In 1967 LSP opened the Rodeo to outside spectators. Over the years, LSP erected bleachers and adopted the rules of the

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States and Canada, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National F ...

. In addition the administration added an Arts and Crafts festival, and added stock animals and rodeo clowns. The current 10,000-person stadium opened in 2000. Inmate

Jack Favor Jack Graves Favor, also known as Cadillac Jack Favor, (November 30, 1911 – December 27, 1988) was an American rodeo performer. Biography Early life Favor was born on a ranch in Eula, Texas. He attended and graduated from Abilene Hig ...

, a former rodeo star from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, worked to establish the rodeo. He was

wrongly convicted A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...

of two murders in

Bossier Parish Bossier Parish ( ; french: Paroisse de Bossier) is a parish located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 116,979, and 128,746 in 2020. The parish seat is Benton. The principal city is ...

and sentenced to life at Angola. He sought to instill self-discipline in the prisoners and formed a chapter of the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was found ...

. Prison authorities permitted Favor to travel across the state to promote the event. Favor earmarked funds raised through the rodeo to finance emergency trips for inmates, under guard. The rodeo is still operating and is the oldest prison rodeo in the United States; the

Texas Prison Rodeo The Texas Prison Rodeo was a rodeo and an annual celebration event for inmates in the Texas Prison System, held in a stadium in Huntsville, Texas.LSU Reveille published a piece calling the rodeo "reminiscent of the

Roman gladiators A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

(read: glorified slaves)" and "barbaric at best." Several events are specifically designed to endanger the lives of participating inmates, like the especially dangerous convict poker, where a bull is released with the sole purpose of unseating poker players, and the players must resist the urge to run away in order to win. Some measures, like helmets, mouth guards, and vests, have been put in place to prevent serious injury. But injuries are still common, in part due to the fact that inmates receive no training before they participate. While the event is voluntary and many inmates speak its praises, the chance to win cash prizes of up to $500 (in the case of the Guts & Glory event) is a strong economic incentive for inmates to put themselves in harm's way, especially since inmates' wages usually earn them between $0.02 and $0.75 an hour. Critics say the prize money compromises the voluntary nature of the event.

Finances

In 2017, the Angola rodeo's bank records for the last 10 years were audited following an earlier audit that showed mishandling. An earlier audit found that $6.2 million in revenue from the rodeo in 2014 and 2015 was being kept in a private checking account instead of the Louisiana Department of Treasury. After this discovery, investigators realized that the rodeo's revenue had never been monitored by the state government since it began. The audit also discovered that funds had been improperly used to order a prison bus, and that $28,000 in concession sales between 2010 and 2015 had gone missing.

Events

# Grand Entry - Angola Rough Riders enter the arena at full gallop and colors are presented. # 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. # Bareback Riding - Riders are expected to keep one hand in the air, and must stay on the horse for eight seconds to qualify. # Wild Horse Race - Six untrained horses are simultaneously released into the arena with short ropes dragging behind them. Three-man teams attempt to grab the ropes and hold the horse long enough for a team member to mount. The first team to cross the finish line while still on top of the horse is the winner. #

Barrel Racing Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur a ...

- This is the only event in which inmates do not participate. Sanctioned by the

, contestants race their horse in a pattern among three barrels. The fastest time wins. # Bull-Dogging - The animal is placed in a chute, with two cowboys positioned just outside the chute. Their job is to wrestle the animal to the ground as quickly as possible. # 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. #

Bull Riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To recei ...

- This dangerous event is what the fans come to see. Inmates try to stay on top of a 2,000-pound Brahma bull. To be eligible for the coveted "All-Around Cowboy" title, a contestant must successfully complete the ride (6 seconds). The

rules govern this event. # Convict Poker - Four inmate cowboys sit at a table in the middle of the arena playing a game of poker. A 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 a

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

bull. The object here is to get close enough to the bull to snatch the chip.

Additional points of interest

* The Angola Prison Rodeo also includes an Arts and Crafts show, complete with concessions; all are produced by inmates. * Writer/Director Jeff Smith entered the 2008 Jackson Hole Film Festival with his film ''Six Seconds of Freedom'' about the rodeo." * Simeon Soffer directed the documentary ''Wildest Show in the South: the Angola Prison Rodeo'', which won the 2000

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

's Distinguished Achievement Award and was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. * The $450,000-a-day revenue brought in by the rodeo "pays for Baptist seminary classes at the prison, funerals for inmates, educational programs and maintenance of the prison's six chapels." * In 2010 the Angola Prison Horse Sale was held along with the rodeo. It is the sale of horses bred and trained at the prison by inmates.About
, ''Angola Prison Horse Sale'', retrieved May 29, 2012

References

*Schrift, Melissa. "Angola Prison Art: Captivity, Creativity, and Consumerism," ''

The Journal of American Folklore The ''Journal of American Folklore'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Folklore Society. Since 2003, this has been done on its behalf by the University of Illinois Press. The journal has been published since the society' ...

''. Vol. 119, No. 473, Summer, 2006. pp. 257–274. 10.1353/jaf.2006.0035
Available at

Jstor JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...

Available at

Project MUSE Project MUSE, a non-profit collaboration between libraries and publishers, is an online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and electronic books. Project MUSE contains digital humanities and social science content from over 250 university ...

Notes

External links

{{Portal, United States
Annual Rodeo , Louisiana - Angola Prison Rodeo

Curious Fact of the Week: Angola Prison Rodeo

The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo
* https://archive.today/20130118181209/http://jacksonhole.bside.com/2008/films/sixsecondsoffreedom_jacksonhole2008 1965 establishments in Louisiana Louisiana State Penitentiary Recurring sporting events established in 1965 Rodeos