Long
before Buffalo Bill Cody created the first major American rodeo in 1882
there
were ranch-versus-ranch competitions to test the skills of the people
of the
cattle industry in events such as bronc riding, bull riding and roping.
Most
rodeos have queen contests for several age groups.
Being a rodeo queen requires skills in
western style horse riding,
public speaking, rodeo knowledge, appearance and
personality.
At
our July Fourth rodeo there are always plenty of cowboys
showing off their
strength and flair in the riding of...
...the
bucking horses and bulls and the wrestling of big calves to the ground,
but
more and more I’ve seen the ladies enter and win in the events
that demanded
horsemanship and dexterity.
Barrel
racing has traditionally been an event for the cowgirls.
It
is almost a dance involving horse and rider as they
speed through a course
around barrels in the arena…
…and
then race full tilt back to the start to try and score the quickest time.
Muttin’
Bustin’ is open to any boy or girl willing go for a ride
while hanging on to a
rope around a sheep’s middle.
This
year’s first place trophy went to a very feminine red head.
Some
of the best calf roping was done by the ladies.
Lady
ropers and their horses compete with the same rules as the men.
When
the calf scramble was announced for anyone between the ages of
eight and eleven
our granddaughter and her BFF jumped up
and hurried down to the arena with the
rest of the kids.
That’s her in the
burgundy shirt and her friend is on the far left.
Note the granddaughter is wearing
flip-flops.
That didn’t seem to slow her
down at all.
When
everyone was ready a calf covered with dollar bills was turned loose.
The crowd of youngsters kicked up quite a
cloud of dust
in the stampede to grab some cash.
Check
out that burgundy shirt on the right just missing the money.
Her friend was right there too.
They
came back empty handed. Granddaughter
said she was going for the
five dollar bill on the calf’s head or nothing.
