Putting your fingers in a horse's mouth. Ok.

 

Back in the late 1950s, Big Hat Rodeo’s Rudy Calzavara got tangled up in green.

It was his pickup horse’s second rodeo and the bareback horse’s first time ‘under the lights’.

Not a soul was injured — not even a scratch — and much of that was due to Calzavara’s quick, defensive move captured here. If you’ve worked young horses of tough disposition, you’ve seen them come to you HARD in moments of confusion.

The pickup horse was 4. By season’s end, he was bought by an international polo player and went on to greatness. The bucking horse settled nicely into stardom and became a cowboy favorite for the Midwestern company.

In 2024, Big Hat Rodeo celebrates its 103rd year of professional production.