Culture

The Real Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

by Fred Miller | March 12, 2009 at 06:20 pm

385 views | 16 Recommendations | 3 comments

The tangy aroma of Barbecue Brisket and ribs, Cowboys in hats, Cowgirls in scarves
and Rhinestone jewelry, and rockin' sounds from Country Music stars like Brad Paisley,
Keith Urban, ZZ Top, Reba McIntyre to name a few, all in one place.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo . Where the partay continues all through
the month of March, 'kinda pickin' up whar Mardi Gras done gawn and left'.
What with the Line Dancing, the food, music, bucking Broncos, Calf roping and
Children's Animal Petting stalls, there's something for everyone. Fascinated by the
old Cowboy mystique portrayed in the old Hollywood Western flicks ? This is where
you can get the real feel. Real Cowboys and real lassos mingling with the real aroma
of hundreds of animals' excretions. Yeee-haw ! It's all good.

And then comes the real story behind the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This is
the part where you must turn away if the words 'Bull semen' bring out your gag reflex.
See, the 2,000-odd visitors from all over the world aren't here just to be spectators at the
biggest Rodeo in the world. No, the majority of foreigners who are the real big spenders are
breeders of Livestock. Here to spend big bucks...on Bull semen.

The most serious shoppers at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo are not looking
for fancy boots or new hats. They walk right by the glittering stalls of rhinestone purses
and silver jewelry.

These consumers are shopping for DNA. They are seeking bull semen, frozen embryos and best-of-breed bovines to pump up their herds in Nicaragua, Mexico, and 80 other countries.

“It’s a pretty good chance or opportunity to find good genetics,” said Hernando Guerra Gonzalez, a fifth-generation Monterrey rancher. Last year, he bought 2,000 “straws” of bull semen for himself and other ranchers in Mexico at $50-$100 apiece. After three days at this year’s show, he had bought 50 semen straws, 25 head of cattle and two quarter horses — and he was still shopping.

Now that's a whole lot of Bull....Semen.

Yeeeeeehawww !

LINKS
Even The Telegraph.co.uk covers it

Texas Travel Guide to Houston

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tikun

at 07:54 on March 13th, 2009

Thanks Fred for the article.

It brought back great memories. I worked that show too long ago for ARA food services as an up and coming Junior Exec. It was a wild time in Houston then. I lived in what was then a new area called Gulfton Gardens. Worked 18 hour days and partied just as hard. It lasted for 10 long days and then back to Colorado.

Eventually returned for another stint at the stadium. In fact saw Sonny and Cher and Elvis entertain there. Elvis was already very heavy but he packed the stadium with every middle age woman in the area. lol.

Fred Miller

at 17:50 on March 13th, 2009

You have witnessed history then, because apart from Elvis ('70 and '74) and Sonny and Cher, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and a long list of legends have performed there. The former 'Eighth Wonder of the World, the Astrodome now has been sitting idle for years, failed Safety Regulations Inspections and is too expensive to fix. Aramark is still kicking with Rodeo business but the economy has hit them with layoffs, too.

Thanks Tikun, for Reading, Recommenidng and for the memories !