When Rodeo Drive came on the scene, the biggest problem many breeders had with him was that he was not big enough. Many thought this, seeing his sire, RPS Tribune was a moderate framed bull. I saw Rodeo Drive numerous times when he was a mature bull and I doubt very much if he was a frame 9 bull even though this has been reported by many. I remember him as a big but but there were many many sires of the time, that had much more frame.
If you look at the breeders who purchased shares in Rodeo Drive, it is interesting to see that many of them rose to the top, so to speak, and many of them are still considered some of today's top breeders. It is also interesting to see how many of today's top selling and winning animals have Rodeo Drive back in their pedigrees. It is often two, three or even four generations back.
Rodeo Drive was not a perfect bull and he did not sire all good offspring, just like many others sires or then and today. He did do a few things very well and I think it is for these things that he will be remembered. He sired some females that I consider in the list of best females I have ever seen. Tonquish Rodeo Lady may be the best mature Shorthorn female I have ever seen. A close second would be Waukaru Prima Donna. These were both Rodeo Drive daughters and they were not extreme females. They were near perfect in design and they had immactulate udders. Other RD daughters that come to mind are Shadybrook Lindora 9H ( Centurion's dam) as well as ideal ET twins, Shadybrook Picture Perfect 101D and 102D. These females were a little bigger framed but they had the same lack of waste with volume, smoothness and evidence of muscle
Many Rodeo females could use more volume and natural thickness along with the easy fleshing ability that accompanies these traits, however, they certainly work well with some of today's sires that have these traits.
Personally, I have used two direct sons of Rodeo Drive and I have to say that both of these bulls did a very good job here. One of these, HC Merger 93M is still in use here. I have attached Merger's picture which was taken at 4 years of age on pasture. He weighed in at 3150 as a four year old sire and I have not weighed him since as I cannot get him into the chute. He is possibly the longest hipped bull I have seen... of any breed. He is tremendously thick and adds more performance to his calves than any other sire I have used. Many people say that commercial producers do not want big framed cattle, however, I have sold all his sons to commercial producers, and if they see Merger first, they look for his sons in the bull pens.This is why I still use him, although I am more selective on the females he is used on. His daughters are very fertile and have perfect udders. They are crossing extremely well with bulls that have more thickness, such as Wolf Willow Major Leroy ( pictured at the side). Merger also has an amazing quiet disposition and he passes this on to his offspring. I have also attached a picture of a daughter of Merger that topped the 05 Agribition sale at $10,000.
IMO, Rodeo Drive has been a good tool for us to use in the quest to design a better beast. Like many other sires, he did not do it all but was a valuable ingredient when used in combiantion with other genetics. Take a look at many of today's to sellers and show winners, and Rodeo Drive can be found in many pedigrees, 2, 3, or 4 generations in the background.