RENO — Officials with the Reno Rodeo say they’ve launched an investigation into reports that horses were shocked during this year’s event.
An official statement from organizers says they’ve received images that appear to show rodeo personnel trying to move a bucking horse through a back chute area.
They said they plan to investigate whether policies were violated.
Reno resident Ellie Lopez-Bowlan tells the Reno Gazette-Journal (http://on.rgj.com/10xyuv0 ) she was on a walkway over the loading chutes June 28 when she saw a man trying to put a metal device in a horse’s anus. She recorded a one-second video of it on her cellphone.
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rules allow shocking devices when a horse stalls in the chutes. The Reno Rodeo banned them this year in the bareback and saddle bronc events.
