Rodeo

Greg and I went to the ABC Rodeo here in Lubbock this past Saturday. It was pretty exciting! There were a few big names there, but I couldn't tell you who they were. Several guys were national champions though. I didn't have my camera, but I got this picture off the internet.
One guy was hurt pretty bad though. I don't remember if he was on a bull or horse, but I am sure he got whiplash from being slammed down face first into the ground. He just laid there shaking, and he could barely walk out of the stadium when they got him standing up.

It was at the city coliseum where TTU's hockey team and the city hockey team play, so it was weird to see the usual ice floor covered in dirt. We got to see the bull riding, bronc riding, steer wrestling, tie down and team roping, barrel racing, and bull fighting. Bull fighting is when the rodeo clown runs around the arena with a bull chasing them. Here's a video from last year - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiJH474azvc.

They also had some events for kids. One was sheep riding or mutton busting. Here's a picture I found online. It's a different rodeo, but you get the idea.
They also had a calf scramble where this mob of kids run around after three or four calves. I'm not sure what the object was. I think the calves had something tied on them, and the kids had to pull it off to win. All of the kids events were hilariously cute!

There was a barrel racing contest too. All but two of the ladies knocked over one or more barrels which is a 5 second penalty per barrel. The two that didn't knock over barrels still didn't win. They would have had to get 13.4 seconds, but they both got over 14 seconds. Apparently a bunch of girls had raced the night before, so we didn't get to see the winners race.

I have never gone to a rodeo that I can remember. Maybe mom will tell me I did when I was a little kid, but I don't remember it. Greg has actually gone to more rodeos than I have. It was pretty cool to see men and women, teenagers and little kids walking around in their Wranglers, purl snap shirts, and hats and boots. It made me want to go out and get a a completely different wardrobe. I've had friends from out of state that thought we all walked around in ropers and cowboy hats in Texas. I've never owned a pair of ropers and when I've had cowboy hats, I hardly ever wore them. I did grow up wearing Wranglers though. They were irregulars that we got at a discount jean store somewhere on River Oaks Boulevard.

Since the cousins that read this go to the state fair ever year, I'm sure none of this is new to you. Is there a rodeo at the state fair? I think it would be cool if my cousins that live in New York and Tuscon had cowboy boots and hats. I think one of them wears nothing put flip flops, so probably no boots.