My First Rodeo

Every year on Father's Day weekend, Colville hosts a Rodeo!  Since my daughter is thoroughly, and completely a "horse girl", I thought it would be fun to check out what other "real horse people" do for fun.  I'm glad I did!



 Cowboy hat, plaid shirt, blue jeans, cowboy boots (can't see them), great friend, and a dog!  What else does a Rodeo girl need??

 I dragged the boys along.  I think they enjoyed the bull riding the best!

 When we first arrived, I felt like I was in a story book!  There were cowboys and cowgirls EVERYWHERE!  Not all of them were rodeo competitors, but people were just in the spirit of coming to a rodeo, and dressed for the occasion!  I loved it!  It completely had that small town feel, good wholesome entertainment, and country music was blaring over the loud speakers.  This is my kind of place!! As I took everything in, lyrics from country music songs began to fill my head!  The "girl in the ticket line with the mini skirt" was there...the "boy with the stain on his shirt" was there...the "big green tractor" was there...people who lived in "the house that built me" were there...and I'm sure lots of "broken hearts" were there!!    I grabbed a bag of kettle corn, after passing up ice cream cones, cotton candy, hot dogs, and barbecued ribs, and then headed towards the stands.  There were people dotted all over the stands, and everywhere we looked was someone that we knew!  How cool is that?  It's another perk of small town life!  We found some friends, and claimed our seats.  Before the show began, two more groups of friends found us in the stands, and we had a large group of familiar faces surrounding us!!

The bull riding was first.  MAN, those guys are CRAZY!!  I seriously think they have too much testosterone flowing through their bodies.  Those bulls are mad, and they want revenge.  Only 3 riders the entire evening stayed on for the required 8 seconds.  Many were off after the second jolt, and one was sort of crumpled under the bull when he fell off.  While it's exciting, it's a little bit difficult to watch.  I certainly don't want to see someone get seriously injured. 

The rodeo clowns are amazing!  One of them had headphones and a microphone, and he would banter back and forth with the Rodeo announcer.  They were downright funny, and added so much to the entertainment.  The rodeo clown brought out a mannequin dressed in the most vivid and wild colors, nothing matching, and everything clashing.  It was meant to be a distraction for the bulls, and it definitely did the job.  One of the bulls, after ridding himself of the rider, tore around the arena, looking for a way out.  Suddenly, his eye caught "lady gaga", and he stopped in his tracks.  He eyed that spectacle, pawed his foot, lined up his head, and charged forward, sending the colorful dummy in 5 different directions.  He smashed her to smithereens, each appendage landing in a different direction, like a tornado had come through town.  I wish I had a video of the actual impact!  It was classic, like an explosion, with pieces going in all directions!  Of course, it was a huge crowd pleaser, and after that, the clown had to settle with a pile of parts.  He put the legs sticking up out of the ground, and the torso sticking up a little distance away, and then the jokes never stopped about how long waisted she was, how much pain she must be in, etc.  I was glad we made it through the bull riding without seeing any blood or broken bones, on a real human!

 I had some mixed emotions about the other events.  The barrels were fun to watch.  Seeing a horse turn on a dime,  and lean into the turn like a seasoned motorcycle rider taking a tight turn was quite impressive.  But I did not like the calf roping events.  Those poor little creatures, lassoed at the neck, just to have the horse and rider abruptly stop, resulted in a terrific pull, often spinning the calf around in the air, twisting the head behind it's body in a very unnatural and painful looking angle.  Whenever a roper "missed", I was secretly glad!! I also didn't really like seeing the horses bucking around.  I didn't seem to mind the bulls, because they are mean, but the horses seem like innocent victims.  I'm sure I'm just a softie. I will say that I'm looking forward to my next Rodeo, and will definitely go again next Father's Day weekend to the one in Colville.  Kaelyn wants to ride the different events in the rodeo, barrells, poles, etc., so I guess I better get used to this environment!!

 

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