Rodeo opens with a grand fanfare, vamping until R5-6, where the woodwinds introduce the Cowgirl's theme. This quiet theme continues until the Rodeo theme begins presenting a highly rhythmic motif that evokes the trotting of horses. The lone Cowgirl seeks the affections of the Head Wrangler, who is rather taken with the more feminine Rancher's Daughter. The cowboys enter to the railroad tune of "Sis Joe", envisioned by de Mille as an event "like thunder," which Copland obliges with heavy drums and brass. As the cowgirl seeks the attention of her quarry, she mimics the surrounding cowboys, reflected in the heavy use of the tune "If He'd Be a Buckaroo" in this section. The theme is repeated by various solo instruments before being realized in triple canon by the full orchestra. After a brief return to the quiet Cowgirl theme, the fanfare returns. "Sis Joe" reappears again, before the entire orchestra triumphantly plays "If He'd be a Buckaroo".
