The lineage of the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo begins during the late 1940's when several Pasadena businessmen conceived an idea that meant the City of Pasadena would become home to a new community organization. The founders created the rodeo in an effort to bring the citizens of Pasadena together, offer opportunities for the community youth, and to preserve the lifestyle and moral convictions of an agricultural era that was quickly passing.
In 1949, the Unites States was in a post-war status. The City of Pasadena was a small town with approximately 10,000 people. Horses and plenty of farmland were in abundance. Pasadena High School was the only High School. And Pasadena itself was beginning to boom as an industrial community demanding a change in lifestyle. Because this economic change was, in essence, a total reconstruction of the traditional community, the founders realized that the affect on the community could be traumatic.
Because the City of Pasadena's foundation stems from a ranching and an agricultural lifestyle, these goal-oriented businessmen felt that need to hold on to the city's roots. The founders wanted to illustrate how the business community, the cowboy, and a rural lifestyle could work together successfully. They demonstrated how being a cowboy requires maintaining good business ethics, setting goals, and making decisions. Being a cowboy means being a man who possesses qualities such as masculinity, independence, compassion, and integrity. They saw a cowboy as a person who would strive to preserve his honor and his self-respect while offering the same to others.
Just as the founders wanted the community to understand the role of the cowboy, they wanted to illustrate that being a "cowgirl" was more than a "pretty face with big hair." Although the inclusion of women was on a limited basis during the early years, they did embrace the idea of what it meant to be a "cowgirl." The founders demonstrated the value of women by including them in the activities. They provided a means by which the young ladies could illustrate that a "cowgirl" can maintain her femininity while she demonstrated independence, sincerity, compassion and self-respect. They also wanted the community to understand that women are capable of competing in the sport of rodeo.
The founders knew that being cowgirl or cowboy means "following through on one's commitments, setting goals, and achieving those goals both personally and professionally". They wanted to pass this knowledge on to the area youth. The goal was to insure that the community would continue to remain united and continue to be part of a growing economy.
They did this by following the vision statement that is in the original charter. "The purpose for which this corporation is formed is to promote, encourage and assign in the scientific education of the agricultural and livestock activates and generally promote the welfare to those interested and engaged in the agricultural and livestock industry." Since then, the mission statement has been rewritten to read: "The purpose of the organization shall be charitable, educational and scientific. The organization shall encourage improvement of the breeding and raising of better cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses, mules, poultry and other livestock and farm products for the benefit of the public by the exhibition of said stock and farm products at public fairs and may promote and maintain agricultural research and educational functions."
PLSR seeks to exclude no one. All citizens are welcome to become part of the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo family by becoming a volunteer or being a contestant or a visitor. We look forward to sharing our success with you. It is because of people such as yourself and business such as yours that we are successful in providing educational opportunities for area students.