Do you equate rodeo with cruelty to animals?

It would be great to hear rational answers from folks both inside the rodeo industry as well as outside views. Too often, it seems, these debates turn into name calling from people entrenched on one side of this debate or the other. I am torn about where to stand on this. I have been involved in rodeo and can attest to the care and affection of the trained horses involved, especially the roping horses. It's the cattle that I struggle with. Is it right to use them for sport and then send them off to the slaughterhouse? If you do equate rodeo with cruelty to animals please put it on a "animal cruelty scale" from one to ten. Let's say a "1" on this scale is swatting an annoying fly which is something almost everyone does. We'll say a "10" is a dog fighting ring which is something a large majority of people view as morally indefensible.