When Rodeo Headed East - Madison Square Garden and Beyond

The remarkable story of the rodeo that carried the sport from its Western roots to the national stage. Written by Gail Hughbanks Woerner, widely known as the Dean of Rodeo Historians, this book preserves one of the most important chapters in rodeo history: the legendary Madison Square Garden Rodeo.

For nearly four decades, the Garden brought the greatest cowboys and cowgirls in the world to New York City, where rodeo had to compete with Broadway, championship boxing, Major League Baseball, horse racing, the circus, and Hollywood itself. To survive in the entertainment capital of the world, the Madison Square Garden Rodeo had to be more than good-it had to be spectacular.

And it was.

From the colorful grand entries and precision square dances to appearances by Gene Autry, Champion, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger, the Garden rodeo combined world-class rodeo competition with Broadway-level showmanship. Its arena featured many of the sport's greatest names, including Casey Tibbs, Jim Shoulders, Bill Linderman, Toots Mansfield, Homer Pettigrew, Dick Griffith, Tad Lucas, Ruth Roach, Chester Byers, George Mills, John Lindsay, Abe Lefton, and Everett Colborn.

Many of these contestants were members of the Greatest Generation, including veterans of World War II and, in some cases, both World Wars. Their grit, skill, and courage helped define the Golden Age of Rodeo.

When Rodeo Headed East is more than a history of one famous arena. It is the story of the moment when rodeo crossed the Hudson River and reached heights it may never reach again. When the final lights went out on the Madison Square Garden Rodeo in 1959, an unforgettable era ended-but through Gail Woerner's work, its legacy rides on.

Gail Hughbanks Woerner was born and raised on a ranch in northeastern Colorado and worked with cattle and broke horses with her grandfather. She has written several books on the history of rodeo, a children's book on rodeo and numerous articles in various western-related magazines and periodicals including magazines in France, Canada and Australia. She also reviews other writer's books several times a year, and continually answers questions about rodeo from e-mail queries from around the globe.Gail is the Chairman of the Rodeo Clown Reunion which is held at various rodeos across the nation and generally has forty retired laugh-getters, bullfighters and barrelmen attend. They don their familiar make-up and costumes and sign autographs and entertain the fans. She also writes a newsletter to numerous retired rodeo clowns and their widows monthly.She received the Academy of Western Artists Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Nonfiction for her book entitled, Rope to Win, The History of Steer, Calf and Team Roping in 2008. She received the American Cowboy Culture Award for Western Writing at the National Cowboy Symposium held in Lubbock, Texas, in 2009. In 2026 she was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Gail lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Cliff.