The rodeo on Thursday night was too much fun! We got there early enough to walk around and see the animals before finding our seats. It had been hot, hot, hot earlier that day - that steamy hot still right before it rains. But as the wind picked up and the rain began, it it cooled off nicely. I was able to wear my grandmother's shirt. Yes, I did get it hemmed. Several of you asked to see me IN the shirt, so here you go. And the hat is one that my mom keeps around for the boys to play with, but it fit, so I wore it too.
I hand stitched the hem instead of getting my mother's machine out. My grandmother had hand stitched it many years before and I wanted to finish the hem in the same way. It was the first sewing I have done in more than two weeks. It felt good and I like hand sewing more than I thought I would. Very good therapy indeed.
For those of you who have never been to a rodeo in person, I thought I might give you a little taste of this part of Americana. Our rodeo here in Weatherford is put on by an organization called the Parker County Sheriff's Posse. This organization was started in 1947 as one that would be typically Texan that could, would, and has to this day preserved the southern flavored Western traditions of this part of the country. My grandfather was a founding member and elected as the first captain.
As the rodeo opens a cowgirl presents the U.S. flag and it is ridden around the arena as everyone stands and cowboys remove their hats. Then all of the participants, the cowgirls, cowboys, and the posse members ride parade style through the arena in an S pattern. Cowboy Rick (a childhood friend of my Dad) was riding in the grand entry and I was able to shoot a photo of him as he came around the far corner, tie flying and all. Then The Star Spangled Banner is sung and the rodeo begins!
The boys loved the rodeo clown who kept calling the bulls back to play with him by saying "here kitty, kitty". Ian and Zane were laughing so hard popcorn was flying out of their mouths.
This is a photo of the pickup men. After a cowboy is finished with his bull ride (if he hasn't been bucked off) they come up next to him on their horses. After the cowboy frees his hand, he wraps his arms around the pickup man's waist and lowers himself safely off the bull. At least that is how it is supposed to work. Sometimes the poor rider grabs ahold of the pickup man's saddle horn or the poor horse's mane in order to avoid being pulled under the bull. In the event the bull does not want to leave the arena, the pickup men rope is horns and provide him with a guided tour to the exit gate.
The bull riding was their favorite event by far, but we also got to watch team roping, barrel racing, calf roping and bronc riding. A new even that was added since I last went to the rodeo was mutton busting. This event is for kiddos and involves strapping them to a lamb (with helmet and pads of course) and then smacking the backside of the lamb just as the chute opens. Similar to bronc riding, but on a smaller scale the poor kid holds on as long as he can until sliding off and landing in the dust. Each kid emerged very dirty, but with huge smiles on their faces. We liked this event a lot and hopefully they will continue to include it.
One other even that munchkins are invited to join is called a goat/calf scramble. This is where they tie a ribbon onto the tail of a goat (for ages 4-6 years) or a calf (for ages 6-12) and then turn a pack of kids loose to chase the calf. Whoever returns the ribbon to the official wins. Ian decided he would participate in the goat scramble, but Zane just wanted to yell "GO IAN" from the stands. Wyatt cried the whole time because he wanted to go with Ian, but was too young. Ian went all by himself in a huge mass of other kids and did great, although he did not get the ribbon. He was a tad bit upset, but when I said that I was proud of him for even wanting to try it and that he and I could go get some cotton candy, the tears welling up in his disappointed eyes were replaced with a giant grin.
Ian is the kid in the red striped shirt in the middle.
After the rodeo was all over, we went out back by the horse stalls to visit with Cowboy Rick and his gorgeous black horse, Martin Luther. According to Cowboy Rick, Martin Luther's previous name was a not very nice word. So he changed his name to one that was quite the opposite, but much more deserving of a horse of his caliber.
If you would like to see some more photos of this rodeo...some really wonderful photos, you can check out this set by freelance photographer, David Kozlowski over on flickr. He did a wonderful job of capturing every little detail that makes this rodeo so special.
A great time was had by all. But I think the one who enjoyed it the most was my Dad, who was able to share a bit of his history with my boys.