CHECK THE RODEO CIRCUITS!
The kids and I decided that a rodeo would be the perfect way to end Valentine's Day 2009 since our dearest daddy wasn't able to be here. We are hooked... or lasso-ed! It was everything a rodeo was ever meant to be. We all had our favorite parts, but there wasn't a single part that was worth missing...not even for an outhouse run!
When we first arrived, the U.S. Army Golden Knights were performing. We got to our seats just in time to watch them make parachuting look oh-so-easy! They had quite a few tricks up their sleeves... two of them flew together almost until they were on the ground and another made a trail of red smoke showing his path. It was an awesome display of our military's finest. And hey, even if they aren't Marines, they were still pretty cool!
Golden Knight with a Cotton Candy sky!
Talk about hitting the ground running!
Look at all those strings...it's amazing they don't get tangled!
As we were walking out the door, Marshall ran back in to grab something he had to have. He returned, binoculars in hand. My boy was prepared! At first, it was difficult for him to actually see anything through them as he was so excited he was nonstop jumping. He was eventually able to sit still and watch. :)
We were there about 3 1/2 hours and during the actual rodeo portion, we were able to witness a variety of events. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of the actual rodeo because it was nighttime. Apparently it matters whether horses who don't care to have a rider on their backs have saddles or not, because they are two separate events. We saw crazy cowboys ride out on horses, only to fling themselves off and wrestle steer to the ground. There were a few different roping events. One where the cowboy would rope the (poor) little cow and the horse would hold tension on the rope, sometimes enough that he was dragging the (poor) little cow on the ground a bit while the cowboy tied the cows feet together. I admit that the first one of these we saw had me thinking that perhaps I had made a tactical "city girl" error in bringing the children. It was a bit shocking. That little cow was running for all it was worth and was stopped very quickly. I'm sure Abby and I both had looks of horror on our faces.... well, i know she did because when the shock wore off enough for me to turn my head to look at her, she was still wearing it. It was by far the most dramatic run of the night. It was very cool to watch how the horse knew his part and would help the rider. What amazing minds they have!
In the team roping event, one cowboy would lasso the cow around the neck and the other in some way that defied physics would rope the two back legs... yes, Jeremy, considering HOW that was done made my thinker hurt and perhaps smoke a little bit. What kind of coordination do you have to have to throw a rope at back feet that are running to beat the band and actually catch them while both off the ground? Oh, and just to make it a bit more difficult, when it all ended, the riders had to be facing each other. Who knew!?! I can barely get both my feet running at a pace in which I don't trip myself! I suppose we all have our own unique talents! The only "cowgirl" event was the barrel racing. When Abby saw that on the schedule, she got all excited and I ashamedly asked her what it was. It was very cool. The horses would dart out of the gate, stop mid-court, run around one barrel, run to the other side of the court and dart around another barrel, then on to the far side where a third barrel was navigated. It was then a mad sprint back... kind of like that chalkboard eraser relay event you may remember from gym class, only it stinks more and you can get trampled if you fall. Marshall's favorite event was the Bull Riding! I was again amazed by the animal! When the rider would fall off, the bull would immediately turn around to go after the guy who was on his back. Not an easy feat with 4-5 other guys in the arena attempting to confuse him. Not one bull was confused. He knew EXACTLY which cowboy had violated his personal space. Kind of makes a cheeseburger harder to choke down.
The kids and their dinner... kettle corn and what Marshall ALWAYS refers to as stripples. The rest of us call them Twizzlers. (For you non Adventists, Stripples are a vegetarian alternative to bacon. Not a very good one though. They are more like bacon scented cardboard) Isn't he surprised at breakfast sometimes?
Between serious rodeo events, they scheduled fun little side tracks that, of course, included the Rodeo Clown. He seemed to enjoy his job and was quite a character. The purtiest little gals in all of Yuma County were pitted against each other in a hard core rodeo beauty contest. I was really hoping the homeschooled girl would win, but of all the categories to win, she only won the personality portion ... tough blow to a young ego, I'm sure! Amelia was very enthralled with these pretty girls in sparkly clothes on horses. Abby, obviously more verbal, lamented the lack of a horse because it meant she couldn't enter the pageant. I had to chuckle when I heard that part of the winners pack included a feed bag. It's just not normal!
We saw a Team Penning contest where teams of 3 cowboys were presented with a herd of cows wearing what appeared to be marathon numbers. They would have to weed out the cows who were wearing whatever number the announcer called and herd ONLY them back to a pen. It looked quite difficult and once again I found myself feeling sorry for a cow. The poor little cows who were separated from the group just looked sad.
There was even a way for the kids to get involved...Mutton Busting. This is where the youngest of future bull riders gussies up his courage and hops on the back of... a wooly sheep! It was very cute and one brave little guy even hopped right up after falling off his sheep who proceded to trampled his chest. We "City Slickers" were afraid to look, but no one else seemed to notice. I am certain of one thing. If allowed to enter, Amelia would have won!
All in all, it was a wonderful evening. The only thing missing was Jeremy!
When we first arrived, the U.S. Army Golden Knights were performing. We got to our seats just in time to watch them make parachuting look oh-so-easy! They had quite a few tricks up their sleeves... two of them flew together almost until they were on the ground and another made a trail of red smoke showing his path. It was an awesome display of our military's finest. And hey, even if they aren't Marines, they were still pretty cool!
Golden Knight with a Cotton Candy sky!
Talk about hitting the ground running!
Look at all those strings...it's amazing they don't get tangled!
As we were walking out the door, Marshall ran back in to grab something he had to have. He returned, binoculars in hand. My boy was prepared! At first, it was difficult for him to actually see anything through them as he was so excited he was nonstop jumping. He was eventually able to sit still and watch. :)
We were there about 3 1/2 hours and during the actual rodeo portion, we were able to witness a variety of events. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of the actual rodeo because it was nighttime. Apparently it matters whether horses who don't care to have a rider on their backs have saddles or not, because they are two separate events. We saw crazy cowboys ride out on horses, only to fling themselves off and wrestle steer to the ground. There were a few different roping events. One where the cowboy would rope the (poor) little cow and the horse would hold tension on the rope, sometimes enough that he was dragging the (poor) little cow on the ground a bit while the cowboy tied the cows feet together. I admit that the first one of these we saw had me thinking that perhaps I had made a tactical "city girl" error in bringing the children. It was a bit shocking. That little cow was running for all it was worth and was stopped very quickly. I'm sure Abby and I both had looks of horror on our faces.... well, i know she did because when the shock wore off enough for me to turn my head to look at her, she was still wearing it. It was by far the most dramatic run of the night. It was very cool to watch how the horse knew his part and would help the rider. What amazing minds they have!
In the team roping event, one cowboy would lasso the cow around the neck and the other in some way that defied physics would rope the two back legs... yes, Jeremy, considering HOW that was done made my thinker hurt and perhaps smoke a little bit. What kind of coordination do you have to have to throw a rope at back feet that are running to beat the band and actually catch them while both off the ground? Oh, and just to make it a bit more difficult, when it all ended, the riders had to be facing each other. Who knew!?! I can barely get both my feet running at a pace in which I don't trip myself! I suppose we all have our own unique talents! The only "cowgirl" event was the barrel racing. When Abby saw that on the schedule, she got all excited and I ashamedly asked her what it was. It was very cool. The horses would dart out of the gate, stop mid-court, run around one barrel, run to the other side of the court and dart around another barrel, then on to the far side where a third barrel was navigated. It was then a mad sprint back... kind of like that chalkboard eraser relay event you may remember from gym class, only it stinks more and you can get trampled if you fall. Marshall's favorite event was the Bull Riding! I was again amazed by the animal! When the rider would fall off, the bull would immediately turn around to go after the guy who was on his back. Not an easy feat with 4-5 other guys in the arena attempting to confuse him. Not one bull was confused. He knew EXACTLY which cowboy had violated his personal space. Kind of makes a cheeseburger harder to choke down.
The kids and their dinner... kettle corn and what Marshall ALWAYS refers to as stripples. The rest of us call them Twizzlers. (For you non Adventists, Stripples are a vegetarian alternative to bacon. Not a very good one though. They are more like bacon scented cardboard) Isn't he surprised at breakfast sometimes? Between serious rodeo events, they scheduled fun little side tracks that, of course, included the Rodeo Clown. He seemed to enjoy his job and was quite a character. The purtiest little gals in all of Yuma County were pitted against each other in a hard core rodeo beauty contest. I was really hoping the homeschooled girl would win, but of all the categories to win, she only won the personality portion ... tough blow to a young ego, I'm sure! Amelia was very enthralled with these pretty girls in sparkly clothes on horses. Abby, obviously more verbal, lamented the lack of a horse because it meant she couldn't enter the pageant. I had to chuckle when I heard that part of the winners pack included a feed bag. It's just not normal!
We saw a Team Penning contest where teams of 3 cowboys were presented with a herd of cows wearing what appeared to be marathon numbers. They would have to weed out the cows who were wearing whatever number the announcer called and herd ONLY them back to a pen. It looked quite difficult and once again I found myself feeling sorry for a cow. The poor little cows who were separated from the group just looked sad.
There was even a way for the kids to get involved...Mutton Busting. This is where the youngest of future bull riders gussies up his courage and hops on the back of... a wooly sheep! It was very cute and one brave little guy even hopped right up after falling off his sheep who proceded to trampled his chest. We "City Slickers" were afraid to look, but no one else seemed to notice. I am certain of one thing. If allowed to enter, Amelia would have won!
All in all, it was a wonderful evening. The only thing missing was Jeremy!
High Fiving the Rodeo Princesses at the end!
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