The Rodeo

In honor of the "Grand Daddy of 'Em All", I am going to have a week's worth of posts up. Today, it will just be pictures (ok...and a couple of videos!). If things go well, the other days will have just videos. On Saturday, I went to ONE of the many events that are being offered...the three and a half hour rodeo. These are my girlie-friends, Shannon (left) and Amity, that I went with. :)
At this rodeo, there were, of course, horses!

And, as always, cowboys could be found there. So many that you can really just take your pick! :)

After gawking over the cowboys, we got to see some races! Those were kind of a dud, but it's all part of the experience, so that's why it's being posted here. :)

Finally, it was on to the main events. They started with a crowd favorite...bull riding.
Notice in the picture below how the men are just calmly standing around and watching everything? Isn't it wild how they can remain so calm? Now me, on the other hand...
... ... I'd look more like this guy (below) in the tan vest. I'd be scrambling to climb up on the gate and get OUT of the way!!!
Next event...steer wrestling. It's always great to see how the cowboys work together, in a way, and treat each other like brothers. Take this scene, for example. This fella seemed to be having a bit of trouble with getting that steer to the ground...
But, I just thought it was awesome how these next two fellas just came right out and said, "Hey, man! This is how you do it!" I just thought it was so nice of them to come out and show the first guy how things get done and to help him learn a bit more. It was special! So, first you chase down the steer like this:

Then, you wrestle him and flip him, like this:
I sure learned a lot from those two fellas, so I hope that first guy was able to pick up a few tips, too!! :o)

.

Next, it was steer roping. I always feel kinda bad for that steer. He just aimlessly wanders out into the arena (probably thinking, "I'm free!"), but once he reaches a certain distance, the cowboys are allowed to take off after him and rope him. You always know the moment when that steer realizes he is NOT free and that he needs to run for his life. It's like a firecracker has been lit under him!! Every time one got away from the cowboys, I'd yell, "Run home, cow! You're free!!" People looked at me funny.
Okay, next up was the bronc riding. Between this and bull riding, I would think that anyone who was a chiropractor would head to these events and try to get some work. After all, after these boys finish these rides...well, there's usually a reason that they don't look like they're standing straight as they walk/limp/drag away!
Next up...barrel racing. A lot of women in the crowd enjoy this event. I, for one, have never really enjoyed this event. I always think, "Boring!" However, in recent years, I've actually started to watch this event and it's kind of interesting! You always wonder who is going to have the tightest turn and whether or not that turn will be too tight and knock over the barrel (which is a penalty). Interesting stuff!

And the LAST event of the day -- and one of the dumbest ones EVER!!! -- is the Wild Horse Race. This year, the event kind of made me feel gross inside. Why? Because these horses are crazy and they're frantic and they will do anything to try and get away from the men and RUN AWAY. So, I'm surprised more of them don't end up with broken necks or legs or something. I'm talking about the horses AND the men now. So, here are a couple of pictures and a couple of videos. You can see for yourself the choas. It's just plain stupid.

WARNING: The sound on the videos may be kind of loud because of the announcer. There's your warning.

All-in-all, it was a great day! It was rather hot (about 96 degrees), but there was a slight breeze AND we were able to sit in a shaded area. So, really, it could have been worse!

So, over the next few days, I will post more videos. Maybe some of you will like to see videos of the events that we got to see. If you're ever out this way, the Cheyenne Frontier Days are fun to attend! There are TONS of things to do and it's just a fun experience. Of course, there are a LOT of people, but if you can get over that, I think you'll enjoy your experience!