Birthdays and anniversaries are meant to be celebrated. On this date, May 4, in 1893, Taylor cowboy legend Bill Pickett invented Bulldogging, a technique where he would grab a cow by the horns and wrestle them to the ground.
The origins of Bulldogging state that after seeing trained bulldogs help cowboys pull down cattle in the past, Pickett had the brave idea of doing it himself. He rode his horse at the cattle, leapt on top of the animal and pulled it to the ground by biting the cow's lip and falling backwards.
As the event became more popular among rodeo cowboys, the lip-biting became increasingly less popular until it disappeared from steer wrestling altogether.
Pickett went on to have a memorable career as a cowboy. For the next three decades, he astounded audiences with his ability to wrestle cattle. Not only did he headline shows in Oklahoma, but Pickett also traveled abroad to show off his bulldogging technique.
Pickett was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1972 for his contribution to the sport.
