SCOTT BARNETT TALKS

—ON ORIGINS

“I’m a Florida native myself, or that’s what I tell people; my family goes back to the 1890s when my great-great grandfather immigrated from New York to get into the cigar business in Key West. Whether that makes me a native or not, I don’t know, what I do know is that the true natives of Florida are the men and women who tended the herds of cattle and horses over the past few hundred years, and I’m not talking here about the traditional Marlboro man. The very first cowhands originated in the 16th century with the Spanish incursions into the Florida peninsula as a means of providing a resource of livestock for these early European settlers.”

—ON JUAN PONCE DE LEON

“Florida’s original Spanish explorer would unknowingly enter into a violent clash with the native Calusa, resulting in the end of Ponce’s life, but the animals were for sure left behind, and whether or not they survived the harsh climate, that’s another thing. However, the Spanish would continue their forays into these unknown lands, and eventually various ranchos would crop up along the open prairie lands stretching from St. Augustine to the Alachua savannah. These original herds were imported from the Andalusia area of Spain, by way of Cuba, and it was these original herds that would play a crucial role in the survival of the earliest European settlements and would become the seed stock for a cattle industry that would build a nation.”

—ON COWBOYS

“The first cowboys started right here in Florida well before the United States was even conceived, and it was not just the Spanish, but also the natives that lived here who would play a significant role in what would become one of the most important economic drivers in our state’s growth. It is not ironic that the name Seminoles came from the Spanish word cimarrones, meaning wild horses, a label set upon the Muskogee people who prided themselves on their fierce independence, and always maintaining their role as caretakers of these lands.”

—ON RODEO CULTURE

“Growing up in Broward County we knew Davie to be some sort of western town. At first, I always thought it was just some theme dreamt up by local developers, but Davie is a tried-and-true cowboy town, and some of the original families that lived there still hold onto their cattle ranching legacy. The Davie Rodeo itself has been around since the 1940s, one of the oldest rodeos in Florida next to Arcadia and the Silver Spurs in Kissimmee. Rodeos always represented the best of cowboy culture; they were a series of performances whereby local ranch hands could highlight their skills, as they still do to the present day.”

—ON RODEO LIFE

“Success is measured in currency, meaning every cowboy and cowgirl is evaluated by their winnings, and most nights that usually means zero. Every rodeo offers a pot of money for every event, with the winner taking home the majority of the prize money. Professionals rise through the ranks based on their winnings, but most aren’t lucky enough to even make a few hundred dollars at one event. It’s not an easy road, and these cowboys travel to the rodeos at the expense of their families and life savings, many times only to come up short, as most of the time they go home with no earnings.” cows represented an important legacy that would impact the growth of our state and eventually the entire country.”

“State of Rodeo” is an hour introduction into Florida’s long and rich history in the sport. Using drone, historic photos and quick-moving footage, plus a range of geography and a diverse selection of people and places, the filmmakers present something fun and joyful.

In the film you visit with families of the riders and ropers, first- and multi-generational ranchers and rodeo hands, the historic places and people where Florida rodeo still rules, towns such as Arcadia, Ocala, Okeechobee and Davie.

Rodeo had been on Barnett’s plate for some time, recruited in the ‘90s to work on a documentary studying Florida’s Seminole people. That film was called “Osceola’s Journey.”

“State of Rodeo” had shown on select Florida PBS affiliates, with more showings planned. Barnett directed and produced the film; Johanna Vega is the executive producer of the team’s Fuxion Media in Pembroke Pines.

“Very few cowboys have the fortitude to keep going,” Barnett says in his overview of Florida rodeo, “it’s a tough sport led by tough people seeking the always unreachable perfect ride, even when their bodies have already given up on them.” FCM