Our town hosts an amateur
rodeo on the weekend of July 4th at the County Fairgrounds
just a couple of blocks from our house.
The beginning event is the
Mutton Bustin’ which is kids riding sheep.
There aren’t many rules. The main
goal is to stay on the sheep as long as possible.
If you’re lucky a rodeo clown will catch you before you bite the dust.
If you’re not so lucky…
…the clown misses.
Even a cowgirl with a pink
helmet gives it a shot and comes out with a very high score.
My favorite was this
guy. He had a look of grim determination
and he hung on with just one hand for most of his long ride.
The sheep bucked and ran
so fast the poor clown was seriously challenged to keep up.
But he was there for the
catch when the ride ended almost at the fence.
The young man walked back
past the rodeo princess with his prize money and got a big high five from the
judge.
