Yeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaw!

Howdy and greetings dear reader. It has been an interesting couple weeks since I last wrote my harrowing tale of battling the elements and myself for domination of…myself. Work has been work, as it usually is, but I’ve survived to fight another day.

Yesterday, some of my friends from work and I went to the Last Chance Stampede Rodeo and Fair (my first rodeo and second fair that I can remember, not including those held at various schools, etc). I didn’t really know what to expect going into it…honestly, the only thing I knew about rodeos were that they involved cows, cowboys, cowgirls and horses. Oh, and lots and lots of dust.

I picked up Ms. Far Side around 6:30 and we met up with Ellie at the fairgrounds around 6:45. We walked around for a bit and got a ginormous corndog (they said it was a footlong, I’m not so sure), were joined by another one of our co-workers (Mrs. Vegas) and then made our way to the grandstands surrounding the pavilion.

I said this while I as still pulling into the parking area, but I swear I’ve never seen a congregation of that many cowboy hats in one place ever in my entire life. They were everywhere. Anyway, we sat down and watched Mutton Busters (small children all duded out with chaps and helmets and belt buckles riding sheep). It was pretty funny and thankfully, none of them got hurt.

Next came the steer portion of the event (I don’t know what to call it…these older kids were riding these steer (small bulls) and trying not to break every bone in their collective bodies). Was still pretty cool. The kid who won just rode his like a horse and never got bucked off. The luck of the draw, I guess.

Then came the Bareback Bucking Horse part…or Bareback Horse Bucking…or Bucking Bareback Horse…anyway, you get the idea. I’ve never seen horses do something like this before…and the guys that were trying to “ride” them…they must have a couple screws loose or something, or are the gutsiest folks ever born. Either way, you won’t catch me on one trying to do that. I may be crazy…but not that crazy.

We also saw what I’ll call Team Steer Chiropractor (I’m sure there is a name for this, but it’s more fun to make up stuff). The object of this is you and a buddy are riding horses after this steer that is trying to get away. One of you ropes him around the horns, and the other ropes him around the back legs…and the team that does this the fastest wins!

Another fun event to watch was the Steer Wrestling event (again, I don’t know what it’s called) where the steer runs away from you and you jump off your perfectly good horse (because, clearly, you forgot to bring a rope to a rodeo) and wrestle the thing to the ground…all the while trying not to loose your cowboy hat or get too dirty. How they don’t get stabbed by the horns, I don’t know…but it was still pretty cool.

There was also the Hold Onto the Bull for Dear Life competition…which is pretty much self explanatory. You hold on to the bull…or you die. Thankfully, nobody died (even though not all of them held on so well)…and I can honestly say I’ve never seen a future hamburger jump that high in the air (we’re talking a ton of beef at least a foot off the ground).

There were other events that were cool…but I can’t remember them all. Anyway, one of my goals was to get a picture with a genuine cowgirl (I figured…why not?). I had decided to get a picture with the Rodeo Queen, but by the time Tk, Soccer Chick and I made it over there, she was gone. So, instead I saw this very cute cowgirl standing next to her horse and I said, “Tk…come with me.” She agreed to be photographed (thank you…even though you’ll never read this!)…so mission accomplished. She ended up winning the Barrel Racing portion of the rodeo and I joked that I needed to travel around with her as a good luck charm (if anyone knows who she is…I can go any time!).

After everything was over, a band started playing and everyone (but me) started dancing. Well, all of our group, I mean. It was fun to watch them have fun (I’m strange, I know). They danced for a while (Ellie ended up “forcing” me to dance with her for a bit…sorry)…and fun was had by all. Ellie and I had talked about riding The Zipper while at work, so we got Ms. Far Side and Soccer Chick to come with us…and after some bribing and pleading, the 4 of us rode it.

I can honestly say…I have NEVER been on anything like that before. It’s like a 20 minute long rollercoaster ride that has loops and everything…that only takes about 2 minutes. Ellie and I rode in the same cage thing and she was laughing the whole time. I don’t know if she was laughing because of the fun, or if she was laughing at me. She later said I all but cried on the thing (yeah right!)…but I can say now that, given the chance, I would do it again. Ellie…you let me know when, ok?

We all (minus Mrs. Vegas and Tk) ended up leaving around 11:40 and, this is to all that went, I had a freakin blast. Thanks for suggesting I go. You guys rock!

For pictures of said events: http://latech.googlepages.com/rodeo2008