Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > June > 20 > Entry
Rodeo Austin Round Up
To outsiders, the Rodeo Austin crowd is a tough social nut to crack.
Courtney Ellis (Miss Rodeo Austin), Devin Felger (Princess)
True believers are dedicated to preserving a particular slice of Western culture. A laudable goal, but a hard sell in cosmopolitan Austin, which has welded its Western heritage onto dozens of others, all of far from pure.
Shirley Pruitt, Stephen Kosub
Also, the Rodeo gang represents families and businesses that go back decades in a city where almost everyone else arrived more recently. Within its circles, Rodeo Austin embraces farming and ranching dynasties, as well as representatives from construction, sports, and dry goods.
Terry Stanley, Dan Stanley
In other words, rough-hands professions. And the Rodeo itself is such a massive undertaking, attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees and producing big scholarship dollars, not just in Ag fields.
Gilbert Turrieta, Lori Oakes, Katy Berdoll
So Rodeo Austin is a world unto itself. I’m grateful to Michele Golden for introducing me to its inner circle, and Jennie Richmond for keeping me abreast of the group’s news and events.
Dian Burgener, Jerry Burgener
Together, they’ve opened my eyes to a group of (mostly) guys — funny, thoughtful, hard-working, bursting with history — who’ve made me feel welcome at events such as the Round-Up, a barbecue, concert and informational get-together for the rodeo’s volunteers. Held at the rodeo’s sprawling campus near Walter E. Long Lake on Friday, it was a cheery, down-home affair, slow to start, probably because the College World Series game between the Longhorns and Sun Devils was delayed.
Note: What a game! I Tivoed it. I’ve watched many a CWS, but this is turning out to be the most exciting, from a Longhorn fan perspective.
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