The rodeo arena has the main chute area and several grandstands around the dirt ring. (These photos were taken well before the event started, that's why the stands aren't full.)
They did a great job of keeping the show moving through the many different events, such as WPRA (Women’s Professional Rodeo Association) Barrel Racing. It's a timed event where they ride their horses around three barrels as fast as they can.
In Steer wrestling the cowboy jumps off his horse, tackles a running calf by its horns, and flips it on its back. Lots of upper body strength required for this one!
Team roping is two cowboys roping a calf around its neck and hind legs.
There are two bronco busting events. Saddle Bronc is one of my favorites. The cowboy must stay on the bucking horse for eight seconds.
Bareback riding is similar to the saddle bronc, except there's no saddle, and all the rider has to hold onto is a bridle. Both bronc riding events have strict rules about how the rider kicks his legs up. And he's judged on how much he "spurs" the horse to make him buck.
At one point they released all the bucking horses to parade around the ring.
Stage coaches put on a show, including this one being pulled by two mules.
Percheron Thunder was a well trained team of horses that performed different intricate movements, including a 180-degree turn without the wagon rolling forward. It was amazing to watch. They could also gallop up to 25 miles per hour.
A big crowd favorite Mutton Bustin. Children ages between five and seven years old and under 65 pounds hold onto the back of a sheep and try to ride it as long as they can. They all fell off after a few seconds, but it sure was cute to watch.
The sheep all gathered together at the end of their "rides," with no guidance needed. Must be their herding instinct.
In Tie Down Roping the cowboy ropes a running calf, then jumps off his horse, flips the calf on its back and ties at least two legs together. The calf then must stay on its side for six seconds.
The most popular event is the Bull Riding. The rider must stay on the bull for eight seconds. They also get points for style. Not many made it the full eight seconds without getting thrown off.
Part of the scoring is how much the animals perform with the bucks and kicks. There was one horse that just wasn’t in the mood to jump around. He barely did any kicking. The cowboy got another chance to ride a different horse for a "redo." One horse bucked the cowboy off in a couple seconds then pranced around like he was showing off. It took the workers several minutes to get him to go out of the gate.
It was an action packed evening of fun with our good friends.
Today we picked up George and Linda and went to an early afternoon movie to see Jersey Boys.
The theater was about 1/2 full, and it looked like everyone was over age 50. George, Linda, and Jim all liked it, but I just didn't care for it. The reviews have been mixed, but if you like the music of the 60's, especially the Four Seasons, it's worth seeing.
After the movie we went to Panda Express, a local Chinese restaurant that George and Linda love. It was great food and a lot of it for a good price. We took them home, did some grocery shopping in Walmart, and came home to watch TV and spend the evening relaxing.
2 comments:
Our first rodeo was a small county one in Buena Vista CO. It was very interesting. Years ago we saw Jersey Boys on Broadway, we liked it very much. We'll try the movie when it comes out on DVD and compare :-)
Looks like a great day, we want to see Jersey Boys.
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