Nation Western Stock Show and Rodeo

On Saturday night we went to the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver. It was totally awesome, and I encourage everyone to go to a rodeo at least once in their life! I put up 113 pictures on our website, so take a look! Since most of you probably don't know much about rodeos, I made a list with discription of everything we saw!



*Bareback Riding - You have to stay on a horse without a saddle 8 seconds, only use one hand, and do certain things with your spurs.



*Saddle Bronc Riding - You have to stay on a horse with a saddle 8 seconds, hold on to the reins using one hand, try to stay securely seated in his saddle, and can't touch any part of the horse or or yourself with the free hand. This is supposed to be like when cowboys have to break a horse in real life.



*Tie-Down Roping - A calf runs out then the horse runs out. The cowboy lassos the head of the calf, and the horse is trained to come to a stop. The cowboy jumps off the horse (which was funny because the horse stopping and the cowboy jumping happened at the same time and they would like fall off and fall on their face), runs to the calf, and body slams it to the ground. Then he hog ties any three of the feet together. The whole time the horse is supposed to pull back hard enough to eliminate any slack in the rope, but not so hard as to drag the calf. One time the horse drug the cowboy and the calf about 20 feet and it was funny.



*Steer Wrestling - There are 2 cowboys on horses. First the steer runs out (which weighs 2-3 times more than a cowboy), then the two horses run out. The horses try to keep the steer running in a straight line. When the cowboy on the left reaches the steer, he jumps off the horse (while it is still running), hooks his right arm around the steer’s right horn, grasps the left horn with his left hand, and wrestles the animal to the ground. He has to make all four of the animal’s feet face upward.



*Team Roping - There are 2 cowboys on horses. First the steer runs out, then the two horses run out. When the cowboy on the left reaches the steer, he lassos is either around both horns, around one horn and the head, or around the neck. He turns the steer away from the other cowboy, who attempts to rope both hind legs. If he catches only one foot, the team is assessed a five-second penalty. The clock is not stopped until there is no slack in the ropes and the horses face one another. This is what they do in real life to catch a cow that needs shots or branding.



*Barrel Racing - This is the only girl event at the rodeo. The horse crosses the start line running as fast as it can, does a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels, then runs as fast as it can back across the finish line. They said not many horses can turn that fast and narrow.



*Bull Riding - You can only use one hand to stay aboard, hopefully for eight seconds. The other hand cannot touch the bull or the cowboy. He is not required to do specific things with his feet/spurs, like the two types of bronco riding. They are basically just judged on staying on, not form.



*Mutton Bustin' - 5-7 year old's under 55 pounds cling to the sheep as hard and as long as they can. It is the coolest thing I have ever seen.

~*~ Ashley ~*~