Tonight I went to my very first rodeo! Right here in my town is the world-famous award-winning Bigfork Rodeo (the announcer made sure to remind us it’s an “award-winning rodeo” over and over), and Pepper and I decided to give it a shot. We grabbed some friends and the four of us sat out on a warm summer evening and watched a bunch of horses run around in the dirt. There were more hats, boots, and belt buckles than I’d seen in one place in a while, and the country music was blaring from the speakers. It definitely felt like stereotypical Montana.
Cow-roping was one of the events; a calf would be released from a gated cage and a cowboy would launch from the chute on his horse. He’d lasso the calf’s neck, then jump off his horse, pick up the calf, body-slam it to the ground, and tie its legs. Of course the goal was to do it as fast as possible. I think the winner pulled it off in something like six seconds.
(Forgive the terrible picture quality; these were taken on my phone and although we were actually pretty close to the action, it has a wide-angle lens like all phones do. I regret not bringing my real camera and a telephoto lens.)
The cowgirls had a similar event, although they just roped the calf– they didn’t leap down and tackle it. The cowgirls also did barrel racing, where they shoot out of the gate and ride their horse around three barrels before galloping at full speed back to the gate. It was pretty exciting, and the eight or so contestants all had times within half a second of each other. There were two winners who actually tied with 15.76 seconds (yes, tied to hundredths of a second).
There was team calf-roping, riding a bucking bronco (“let ‘er buck!” screamed the announcer), and the pinnacle of all rodeos: bull riding. Bull riding is crazy dangerous, and one cowboy nearly got his head kicked off by the flailing legs of an angry bull. The announcer frequently pointed out that the men and women we were watching in the arena were world-class cowboys and cowgirls. I guess these people literally travel the country every week of the summer, attending various rodeos and earning a living. What a life!
For me, the highlight of the evening was definitely mutton busting. That’s where a bunch of kids volunteer to ride sheep. The sheep aren’t exactly raging bulls, but they get pretty excitable when a child is clinging to their back for dear life. They come roaring out of the chute, with a little six-year-old in tow, and it’s absolutely a riot to watch. Some of the kids held on for a good ten seconds, riding a crazy sheep all around the arena. In the (horrible) photo below, you can see a pink blob attached to a sheep just left of center; that’s a little girl hanging on while the adult cowboys chase alongside for safety.
It was two and a half hours of fun, and now I can honestly use the phrase “This ain’t my first rodeo”.
Also, Pepper and I decided we’re going to use the phrase “let ‘er buck” more often in conversation. We might also throw in an occasional “rip-roarin'” but only on special occasions.