Cowboy Callum Tahau, from Ohakune, competes in the open saddle bronc at the recent Waikato Rodeo. Photo / Mike Scott
Rodeos draw crowds across New Zealand each summer season but their future is uncertain as animal welfare concerns draw criticism and protest. Photo journalist Mike Scott spent a day at the rodeo.
After entering the gate, you certainly knew it was cowboy territory.
There were boots with spurs. Belts with giant silver buckles holding up faded denim jeans. Collared shirts, and of course, cowboy hats.
It was the uniform of competitors, organisers, and volunteers - women and men, boys and girls.
It made it unmistakable that you were at the rodeo.
There was a final accessory to this outfit and that was the swagger. Everyone with a cowboy hat and boots had it.
So much confidence and cool under the scorching February sun.
This was the first Waikato Rodeo held in a couple of years. The event in 2023 was a victim of Cyclone Gabrielle and 2022 yet another of Covid’s.
So, 2024 at the Kihikihi Domain, just south of Te Awamutu, was a return of sorts and under all those wide-brimmed hats were smiles and greetings and catch-ups.
It was a social event as much as it was a competition.
Lance Limmer, 73, knows this. He has been coming to the Waikato Rodeo for 60-odd years ever since his father took him when he was 10.
In those days it was held a bit further out of town on Tiki Road and raised money for the local school, he reminisced.
Limmer reckons a great thing about the Waikato Rodeo was it being so central for all the cowboys and keen spectators.
He figured between 4000-7000 would turn up for the entertainment. (The final count was roughly 7000, breaking all attendance records for the Waikato Rodeo and doubling the usual average crowd numbers).
“This is not something you can see every weekend.
“It’s quite a popular sport. There’s a bloody lot of people (arriving)”
A mate of Limmer’s leaned over his shoulder - “People think rodeo is dying. It’s not.”
But not everyone is a fan.
In recent years animal rights groups – or the ‘no-gooders’ as Limmer describes them – have been protesting against rodeos in New Zealand.
It’s made holding them - about 30 each summer season - a contentious issue and it is no different here in Kihikihi, where a group of ‘no-gooders’ have announced their intention to protest at the domain gates later in the day.
A sign glares a stark warning on the steel fence next to the gate where crowds stream through: “No H.D. cameras or videoing equipment allowed’.
Underneath the words is a picture of a photographer with a zoom lens.
The sign is a symbol of the conflict between rodeo associations and animal rights groups.
Protesters have taken photos and video purportedly showing abusive acts at events, and shared them on social media and banners to support their claims that rodeo is animal cruelty disguised as entertainment.
Rodeo supporters say the images are taken out of context and insist the animals are not mistreated.
Rough stock events such as bronco, bull and steer riding use flank straps lashed around animals’ abdomens. Protesters say they are pulled so tight to cause discomfort and antagonise them to ‘buck’.
Calf roping involves chasing young calves and lassoing their necks, before forcing them to the ground to be bound by rope.
In steer wrestling a cowboy will chase the animal on his horse before jumping on its back, twisting it from the head and neck to force it to the ground.
The activists claim the animals are stressed and frightened and at risk of serious injury and even death.
Alice Hicks, 72, who retired from farming in her 50s, is the first protester to arrive at the stone gates of Kihikihi Domain, a touch earlier than the rest of her fellow activists from Animal Action Direct.
While she waits a steady flow of spectator vehicles drive into the domain parking area.
“I’m depressed to see how many people come here and cheer on animals being terrified and terrorised and being treated in a brutal manner.
“If farmers distressed or hurt or injured animals like they do in rodeo, they would be prosecuted.
“It’s only because they have the so-called code that allows them to do this and because we’ve got weak-kneed politicians who will not abolish the code that allows this to happen.”
The code Hicks is referring to is the Code of Welfare - Rodeos developed by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) in 2014.
In addition to the code, in 2018, the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) recommended additional non-regulated processes to improve the welfare of animals used in rodeos.
In response, and to manage all the oversight required, the New Zealand Rodeo and Cowboys Association (NZRCA) established its animal welfare committee, which instigates improvements to animal treatment.
This advisory group, named the Rodeo Animal Welfare Committee (RAWC), includes members from the rodeo association, SPCA, MPI, the New Zealand Vet Association, and is facilitated by an independent chairperson.
Back at the gate, Direct Animal Action spokesperson Apollo Taito says the codes and recommendations don’t sufficiently protect stock, saying animal deaths are happening.
His group, along with others such as Save Animals From Exploitation (SAFE), the New Zealand Animal Law Association (NZALA) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are calling for rodeos to be banned. The SPCA advocates for animals not to be used.
“The ultimate one for us is a complete ban,” says Taito.
“If we can get a ban on the worst aspects of rodeo, that’ll be a big win for us.
“That stuff like flank straps, calf roping - and they even still use electric prods - that sort of stuff.
“And we know if we can get rid of those, it probably would be the end of rodeos because they really depend on getting that sort of fear reaction from the animals.
“The whole entertainment they talk about is quite dependent on the animals having the experience of fear and pain.”
In 2022, the NZALA and Safe took a High Court case against the Agriculture Minister and NAWAC, alleging that rodeos contravene the Animal Welfare Act.
The case was dismissed by the court, which said the consultation process run by NAWAC was the place to challenge rodeo’s animal welfare standards.
As it turns out, this consultation process is underway right now. NAWAC is reviewing the rodeo welfare code and currently taking submissions from key stakeholders which includes animal rights groups, before asking for public submissions.
In fact, as the twenty or so protesters lined the gate, members of NAWAC were inside Kihikihi Domain asking questions and observing proceedings as the show rolled on.
Rodeo is a sport, a culture, a community and a spectacle.
Slick commentators run a fun fast show with plenty of music and hype.
One of them is dressed as a clown and throws merchandise and water balloons into the crowd, mostly to eager and delighted children.
The sun sears the arena as hoofs churn the dust, making the air thick and gritty.
On one side the crowd is shaded while the other side burns.
There is respite in the numerous food and drink caravans and stalls.
A few beers and RTDs are going down but the drinking is not obviously excessive.
One guy does a ‘shoey’ – pouring a bourbon RTD into his footwear before skulling the contents. Kudos though - he was wearing some nice cowboy boots.
In the afternoon, after the grand entry parade national anthem and official opening, the marque events such as the open bull and bronco riding kick-off.
Callum Tahau is a cowboy through and through and competes in Open Saddle Bronc.
Watching him aboard the chestnut bronco, fully leaping into the air, is to see a man focused, pumped, eyes wide and teeth gritted. He’s hanging on like his life depends on it.
It’s a heck of a watch and some will be cheering for the flailing horse in this contest between beast and man.
Tahau holds on for the required eight seconds, scores 69 points and comes second.
He lives near Ohakune under Mt Ruapehu. He started competing in rodeo at just five years old after being introduced to it by his mum who was a barrel rider.
“I went from calf riding through to steer riding through the second division bulls and then I picked up saddle bronc when I was, gosh, I think it was 18.
“I picked it up, started it and then never looked back - it’s just the adrenaline rush, I think
“And the whole rodeo is sort of like a massive family so whenever you get here it’s like your holiday as well.
“You’ve got plenty of people that are all too happy to either help you or just have a good yarn with you.”
Tahau is unperturbed by the claims of animal mistreatment.
“We have to abide by every rule and all of our animals, they’re trained like athletes. They have to be fit. They have to be sound.
“Every rodeo has a vet inspecting the stock animals before and during the event.”
It’s NZRCA’s policy to have a veterinarian and to have their own trained and appointed animal welfare officers, on-site reporting on the event.
Additionally, MPI inspectors now attend each rodeo and report back to MPI.
Former NZRCA President Lyal Cocks, who also serves as the association’s representative on the RAWC, is responsible for collating all the reports to aid in the formulation of recommendations to improve their animal treatment guidelines.
He outlines numerous changes the association implemented before the 2018/19 season, such as reducing the time for events like rope and tie from 60 seconds to 30.
Another is having all contractors who supply stock approved by the NZRCA board and required to prove proper breeding, training and preparation of animals.
“There’s a perception out there, or the view, that the animals are taken out of the farmer’s paddock and taken down to the rodeo arena,” Cocks says.
“That’s just not the case.”
Instances of mistreatment, such as harsh roping techniques or improper use of whips or spurs, will be reported by officials or judges. Consistent offending will result in disqualification, Cocks says.
While no disqualifications have occurred this season, they have been issued in the past.
Yet, even with all the scrutiny, animal deaths do happen, including a year ago when three – two bulls and a horse – were killed within three days, reigniting calls for a ban.
According to Cocks, deaths are rare. He says farm animals are at more risk than those used in rodeo.
Statistics collected through NZRCA’s reporting and supplied by Cocks, show during the 2022/23 season there was a total of 9789 times an animal competed. The number of injuries reported, which included minor wounds or harm caused on transport trucks and in yards, was 52.
In 2020/21 it was 13,325 competes for 75 injuries.
“That’s a 0.5% injury rate based on the number of animals that are competing.
“So, it is very, very low and we try and keep that as low as possible. That’s why we have all the scrutiny but occasionally we do have animals die.”
Tahau acknowledges rodeo is a niche sport and most people will only ever see it from the outside rather than experience it.
He tells a story where city folk, unfamiliar with rodeo beyond thinking it was ‘a bit of rough and tumble’, quizzed him about being a cowboy because of his jeans and boots.
He ended up inviting them to his farm for a rodeo practice session and reckons he opened their eyes.
“I didn’t have a bucking horse but I put a flank rope on my horse and did it up tight and the horse didn’t do a thing - it just kept walking as usual.
“And I said, the only thing that makes a horse buck is the actual horse.
“The flank is a very soft blinking thing that doesn’t even hurt them. It’s woollen, it tickles them.”
When asked what he’d lose if rodeo was banned his answer is “everything”.
“The entire lifestyle, the love for it. It’s my sport.
“It’s like somebody playing rugby That becomes part of their life.
“And not only that, how many hundreds of people are here competing?
“I’d never see some of them again, or, well it wouldn’t be as often. It’d be like you’d lose a big family.”
Outside the domain Alice Hicks has no sympathy – she saves it for the horses and cattle they ride or chase.
“I draw this analogy for everyone who reads your article or thinks about this.
“If they have a pet cat or a pet dog how would they feel about their cat or dog being chased across an arena, have a rope thrown around their neck and yanked off their feet, thrown on the ground and have a man get on top of them and tie their feet up?
“No farmer would do that. No true animal lover would do that.
“Why do they do it here?”
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