An update on the rodeo in Wyoming

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Cheyenne Frontier Days officials met with members of an animal rights group to hear its concerns that certain events at the rodeo are cruel to participating animals. While nothing definitive came of the meeting Wednesday evening, Frontier Days officials said they are looking into one of the group’s concerns. Both sides described the meeting as cordial. SHARK, or Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, advocates banning steer roping from rodeo and wants Frontier Days to change its calf roping event by eliminating so-called jerk-downs, in which a calf is pulled straight back when roped around the neck by a rider on horseback. The Illinois-based activist group earlier this year presented videos showing horses being shocked with hand-held devices to make them buck at the Cheyenne rodeo. Frontier Days banned the use of the devices before this year’s rodeo, and SHARK officials said they saw no horse shocking over the nine-day rodeo in late July. Mike Kobliska, an investigator with SHARK, said both sides listened to the other’s positions and arguments.