After 47 years , Angola Louisiana prison rodeo still deemed an annual success

Angola State Prison

 By Tony Roberts, Backgate Website

 Sitting just next to the Mississippi river on 18,000 acres of farmland three hours north of New Orleans, Louisiana's Angola state prison sticks out like a sore thumb on the bare East Central Louisiana plain. Nick named the Alcatraz of the south, it houses the most inmates in the United States with 5,000 inmates being overseen by just 1,800 staff members. Angola houses mostly lifers, matter of fact, one out of every two are convicted murderers, and is host to Louisiana's death row. Angola has also been home to the Angola prison rodeo since 1964, which makes it the longest running inmate oriented rodeo in the United States, or the world for that matter.

2011 Angola prison rodeo contestant (inmate)

Over the years, more and more spectators from all over the world have bought tickets to see the Angola prison rodeo, and what started as locals sitting on apple crates outside the fence watching the action to thousands in attendance sitting in grand stands resembling those of a college football stadium have allowed the show to go global and is the talk of Louisiana residents. Angola Warden Burl Cain, who has been the Warden at Angola since 1997, believes the rodeo is a welcomed break for the convicts and a boost to the state and local economy. Convicts are given the opportunity to win prize money competing in regular rodeo events such as wild bronc riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, cowboy poker and other events. The Angola Prison Rodeo is now a professionally produced rodeo.  Angola contracts with professional rodeo stock contractors to provide the rodeo stock used in events; professional judges are contracted with to objectively judge each event.  In addition, to ensure inmate participant safety, professional rodeo clowns are always present in the arena during events.  A full complement of emergency services personnel are on-site to provide medical assistance to inmates and spectators. They even have there own facebook page and website now.

Texas Prison Rodeo

The Texas prison rodeo was also the talk of the state and beyond after being introduced in 1931 by Marshall Lee Simmons, the general manager of the prison system. Held then at the Eastham unit near Huntsville, it was eventually moved to a stadium that was built next to the Walls unit in Huntsville. The aging stadium was closed and the rodeo was retired in 1986 after the state legislature refused to spend the estimated $500,000 in repair cost to make the stadium structurally secure and instead chose to build more state prisons. Before its closure, the Texas rodeo hosted big name performers such as John Wayne, Johnny Cash, Ernest Tubb, Johnny Rodriguez, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, George Strait, and Tom T. Hall to name a few. The rodeo garnered 100,000 visitors or more in years leading up to it's closure. A boost to the local and state economy to say the least. If the state of Texas would have expanded the prison rodeo and infused it with the money necessary, would it be a cash cow like the Angola prison rodeo ? Who's to know i guess. A prison rodeo is a sight to see, and every October, the Angola rodeo commences like clockwork.