Yippee....There's a Rodeo Today

                               Are you laughing? I'm wondering how the horse did this trick.

Earlier this year, I photographed and wrote about a team roping competition. Click, HERE to read the post again.

Many contestants arrived early today, bringing horses, saddle, and boots.  Oh yes, and a Bar B Q Grill and ice chest.

 

Don't you just love directions in the country?

 

Meggie Mac

Cowboys, Cowgirls, Horses and Team Roping

A friend of mine asked if I would like to come out to the rodeo arena to watch him compete in the Sunday Team Roping Event.

As you read this post, and view my photos of yesterday's events, keep in mind this is Texas. Horses, cattle, boots, hats, jeans, working the land, and western history are a big part of many lives, especially in small towns.

This must be the way...

 

Yes...I think I have found some of the riders. There are tens of thousands of amateur ropers across the country, who compete for millions of dollars in prize money.

This technique was originally developed on working ranches, when it became necessary to capture and restrain a full-grown animal that was too large to handle by a single man.

A western saddle with specialized features is used for the event.

The contestants are lined up as teams, waiting for their turn to beat the clock.

 

                    Once the steer is released into the rodeo arena, the team makes a fast break to rope him.

Click on Photo

The steer has protective horn wraps that go around the horns to prevent rope burns. The horses also wear protective bell boots on their legs.

It is not as easy as it looks....many times the steer gets away.

There is a great deal of skill and horsemanship that goes into the contest. The horses are fast, sure-footed, and well muscled.

You may be thinking this is strictly an Cowboy sport, but you would be wrong. Team Roping is the only rodeo event where men and women compete equally.

A pat of the hand for recognition of a job well done....

I would like to emphasize this is just a part of what Texas is about. Texas is bigger than many countries and we are a diverse people. There is no shortage of the arts and wonderful music that includes the symphony and opera. We have large cities with tall high-rise buildings and many universities and museums.

Yesterday's event took place after lunch, when the sun was high in the sky. It was a day of sunshine and enough winds that my hat would not stay on my head.

Fortunately, like many of the riders, I brought my baseball cap along for the day. It is never wise, to go without a hat, in the Texas sun...

I wasn't the only one having trouble with a hat.

Much to his father's chagrin, the little buckaroo finally took both hands and bent the brim of his hat down....

Meggie Mac

Chuck Wagon at the Cowboy Gathering

Donning boots, jeans and camera, this past week end I headed over to the 3-day event, "Cowboy Gathering"

I would like to first clarify Cowboy Gathering. Cowgirls are also included. It is an opportunity for the western community to get together and enjoy music, food and horse training clinics. There were also western artists selling their artwork, trick rope demonstrations, and a big BBQ Cook Off.

What impressed me the most was the Chuck Wagon, and invention attributed to Charles Goodnight, a Texas rancher who introduced the concept in 1866.

Goodnight added a "chuck box" to the back of the wagon, to hold supplies. (like a kitchen cupboard) The term chuck is a slang word for food, not a nickname for  Charles.

The canvas cover provided protection, from the sun or rain, for the "Cookie" on the long cattle drives from Texas to New Mexico.

The chuck wagon became part of history throughout the United States and Canada. If you are interested in reading more, click HERE. And click HERE, to read about the adventurous life of Charles Goodnight. Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove is a fictionalized account of Goodnight and Loving's third cattle drive.

You can see the chuck box on the back of the uncovered wagon.

No air inflated tires to cushion this ride.

Part of the chuck wagon display was a demonstration of dutch oven cooking with an open fire.

It is amazing how they can cook everything from stew, to biscuits and pies, in the large cast iron covered pot.

I think I will continue to make coffee in my electric coffee pot......






Meggie Mac