One summer rodeo, the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, has gained continental preeminence. In this picture, taken at the 1919 Stampede, Clem Gardner, one of the most prominent Canadian stockmen, has just succeeded in dropping his lariat about the calf's neck. The horse, with perfect timing, is already coming to a stop. The short length of rope to tie the calf's legs can be seen looped handily in Gardner's belt.
The rodeo, the only real view most of the public gets of the cowboy, has served to ensure that the cowboy tradition, the supermasculine horseback culture remains a popular and romanticized stereotype.
