Though I’ve spent my whole life here in Mobile, AL, I’ve never really gotten into many of the things people think of as traditionally “Southern”. Things like mud-riding, country music, hunting, livestock, the Marlboro man, and rodeos have never even vaguely appealed to me. Though I still feel that way about almost everything on that list, I had to cross one off the list recently. It all began when I heard a couple of fateful words: Louisiana state prisoners with no training or experience riding wild bulls.
Yes folks I’m talking about the Angola Prison Rodeo at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, LA. I had never heard of such a thing until a couple of years ago when the GF Casey attended and could not stop talking about how great a show it was. Though she talked it up something fierce, I still wanted to hold on to my disdain for most things related to livestock and country music. Fast forward a couple of years and Casey was dead set on attending again. I decided that now was the time to branch out and try something new, and boy am I glad I did.
For the uninitiated Angola Prison holds a prison rodeo one weekend in April and every weekend in October. This is a full fledged rodeo with the inmates competing in the events. Angola is a maximum security prison with the majority of the prisoners serving life sentences. This creates an environment where the prisoners are looking for excitement without a whole lot of regard for their individual safety. They compete for the adventure and for the chance to win money for their prison bank account. For spectators this means lots of excitement and daring feats.
Tickets to the rodeo can be purchased online (they currently use Tickets.com but they really should switch over and use Birmingham’s TicketBiscuit) or via telephone, but they sell out almost immediately after going on sale. So if you think you might like to go, you really need to plan ahead and get your tickets. The rodeo takes place in a very nice covered facility built by the inmates and all seats are assigned (the best seats are in the upper sections opposite the shoots since these keep the sun out of your face).
A couple of things to be clear about, the rodeo takes place inside of a state maximum security prison. It is one of the few times people are allowed to roam freely around. By attending the event you agree to have your car or person searched if they so desire. Also, no cellphones or cameras are allowed into the prison (as well as weapons and drugs of course). I was expecting to be wanded or patted down but during our time there we were not searched. If you leave your car unlocked, they will search it (got to make sure no inmates are hiding in there). Approved media personnel can bring cameras and film the event.
That said my experience was completely pleasant. I was a bit uneasy about giving up my privacy rights while inside the prison but there were no incidents and I would definitely go again. While the rodeo is the main event, there is also an arts and crafts show that is equally amazing. The prisoners create all kinds of crafts for sale. From t-shirts to leather goods to drink cozies to fantastic wood-working projects, they have something for everyone. The level of craftsmanship is really incredible. It is obvious these guys have lots of time to spend perfecting their creations.
The prison facility itself is a sight to see. It encompasses 18,000 acres of land in Angola, LA (about 50 miles from Baton Rouge) and is bordered on 3 sides by the mighty Mississippi River. It is a full working farm with the inmates growing much of the food they consume. In the warden’s words related to running a peaceful maximum security prison “you’ve got to keep the inmates working all day so they’re tired at night.” I like the concept of the inmates being able to work and create while incarcerated versus just spending 23 hours per day in isolation. It seems like a model facility though it does cost $98 million/year to house around 5,000 inmates. That works out to about $20,000/year per inmate. At least for that $20k/year the good people get entertainment value from the Rodeo.
When it comes to the rodeo itself, the inmates compete in a range of events that go from mildly amusing to downright life threatening. They ride the bucking bulls, they wrestle calves to the ground, ride horses bareback, and even try to play tug of war against wild horses. But where it really gets crazy are in events like Convict Poker. In this event they seat 4 inmates around a poker table (more…)