CHINA/USA: Rodeo China announces plans for the first ever rodeo to be held in China

Record ID: 623420

  • Title: CHINA/USA: Rodeo China announces plans for the first ever rodeo to be held in China
  • Date: 27th April 2011
  • Summary: RODEO FOOTAGE IN NEWS CONFERENCE RODEO FOOTAGE ON SCREEN RODEO CHINA CO-FOUNDER RICHARD TUCKER SPEAKING ON STAGE RIHARD TUCKER SPEAKING WOMAN WEARING COWBOY HAT TAKING PICTURES VICE PRESIDENT OF CHINESE PEOPLE'S ASSOCIATION FOR FRIENDSHIP WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES LI XIAOLIN HOLDING ROPES ROPES NEXT TO HAT PLACING HAT ON LI XIAOLIN'S HEAD AUDIENCE CLAPPING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) BEIJING RESIDENT YIN LINGWEI, SAYING: "Actually the Chinese understanding of rodeo is mainly from American western movies that were really popular at that time. So we had that kind of understanding, and I think us Chinese found that very interesting and exciting." COWBOY ON MECHANICAL BULL MAN GIVING ADVICE COWBOY ON MECHANICAL BULL WOMAN TAKING PICTURES COWBOY RIDING ON MECHANICAL BULL (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD CLASS COWBOY MATT SHIOZAWAM, SAYING: "It's great to be a representative for the rodeo in China. I think there's a lot of opportunity here and I think entertainment-wise we can put on a world-class show for these fine people in this nice country." VARIOUS OF WOMAN ON MECHANICAL BULL VARIOUS OF MAN ON MECHANICAL BULL
  • Embargoed: 12th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, China
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAEBOQIE0I1H10NJO3G0VMEVFB5
  • Story Text: American's favorite Western past time will be travelling east, as Rodeo China announced plans for China's first ever rodeo at a press event on Monday (April 25).
    Rodeo China, a China-US cultural exchange program, will host an eight-day rodeo event from October 3- 11, providing Chinese audiences with an authentic live rodeo experience featuring bull riding, country music, dancing, and rodeo culture.
    To be held in Beijing's iconic Bird's Nest Stadium, the rodeo marks the first global television special to be broadcast from the arena since the 2008 Olympics.
    Country western bands, cowboy hats, a mechanical bull, and Texas cuisine were all provided to whet the palates of Chinese, and give them a taste of one of America's oldest sports The cowboy culture speaks to the rural lifestyle, with origins from cattle herding on farms and ranches in Spain and Mexico, and though China is experiencing a rapid urbanization, Rodeo China co-founder Carrie Tucker believes it is an event that will appeal to China's rural and urban communities and audiences.
    "The urban communities will love the culture of the American west, the cowboys, the boots, the hats, and all of the excitement of the country western music and the new arena that has not been as much in this culture. That is the urban. The rural will enjoy the rodeo, the participation of people that do these things on the farm, and can create an opportunity to translate this lifestyle to their own and make it something that they can emulate and learn from as well as be productive," she said.
    The rodeo hopes to promote cross cultural exchange between Chinese and Americans, using some proceeds to fund American exchange students to study Chinese language and culture, while hosting workshops to teach Chinese about western rodeo culture and how to be a cowboy or girl.
    As an educational and cultural exchange, the rodeo is also sponsored by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).
    Rodeo remains a foreign and novel sport for many Chinese audiences, but Beijing student Yin Lingwei said she was intrigued by the sport.
    "Actually the Chinese understanding of rodeo is mainly from American western movies that were really popular at that time. So we had that kind of understanding, and I think us Chinese found that very interesting and exciting," she said.
    Prior to the rodeo's opening, organizers plan to place eight mechanical bulls in malls throughout Beijing to get locals acclimated, involved, and excited about the sport.
    The organizers hope it will be a marriage of culture, sports, and entertainment, and Matt Shiozawa, world-champion cowboy in tie-down roping, said he was very excited to bring his passion to Chinese audiences.
    "It's great to be a representative for the rodeo in China. I think there's a lot of opportunity here and I think entertainment-wise we can put on a world-class show for these fine people in this nice country," he said.
    Shiozawa will participate in the rodeo's tie-down roping competition, which will be featured alongside bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, and team roping.
    The event will bring over 150 horses, bulls and livestock to China to compete alongside the rodeo's 105 competitors, and will feature the world's largest prize purse of 8 million U.S. dollars.
    The October event will not be China's first encounter with western rodeo.
    In 1979, Premier Deng Xiaoping made a state visit to the United States, the first senior Chinese official to visit in thirty years.
    On his trip he visited the Simonton Rodeo in Texas, where he rode in a stagecoach, and a cowgirl presented him with a cowboy hat and a 'western duster coat'.
    The year marked the establishment of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Washington, and many believe Deng's rodeo visit was a true measure of the convergence of China and American ties.
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