The rodeo is a big event in my home town.
For two weeks in February, the San Antonio Spurs NBA team gets kicked out of the AT&T Center and the horses, cows, pigs, sheep, cowboys and cowgirls move in.
The arena floor gets covered with dirt. Pens are set up for the various “animal athletes”-that’s the PC term for animals in service to the rodeo events- and the signage, artwork and gift shops change to all things western.
It was fun to go and peek into the world of show animals and challenging rodeo events. Everyone likes wearing their boots and hats and their best jeans.
The rodeo used to be split into two parts with a musical act performing during the intermission. Nowadays, the rodeo runs a brisk two hours without an intermission. The musical act comes after the rodeo. This allows for longer concerts by the musicians, which they like. It also allows people who just want to see the rodeo do that and the people who just want to see the concert do that.
I like some of the rodeo events, especially barrel racing (the only professional event for women), bareback bronc riding, and the bull riding; although I cringe watching those guys on those huge bulls getting thrown around. Fortunately, most of the time no one gets hurt. This cowboy was ok.
There are 2 popular events for kids: the Calf Scramble and Mutton Bustin’. The Calf Scramble pits 12 calves against 24 high school kids in the arena. Each kid has a length of rope and has to catch and halter a calf and lead it over the finish line. Mayhem ensues until all calves are claimed. The winners each get a certain amount of money to purchase a calf to raise for showing. You feel bad for the kids that don’t get a calf.
Mutton Bustin is where a little kid-aged 5 to 7- puts on a flak jacket, a helmet and is placed on the back of a sheep and rides it out of a chute. The kid who stays on the longest gets a fancy belt buckle and everyone gets a trophy. Some kids like it and come out smiling, others get a helmet full of dirt and end up crying. One kid had a meltdown as soon as they put him on the sheep, so he got a bye. Not sure how I feel about this event, due to the potential trauma for kids and sheep alike.
There are fairgrounds with the stock show exhibits, a Western Art Show, The Dairy Barn, and the Carnival, and the food booths. So many food booths. The longest line for food is the nachos. I really like the kettle corn-freshly popped in a huge copper kettle. Now there is a Craft Beer Tent and a Wine Cellar Tent to attract those beverage aficionados.
Shopping at the Rodeo has become so popular that the old Coliseum (next door to the arena) where rodeo performances took place for decades is now devoted hats, boots, western wear, always-sharp-knives and home decor. It’s also a good place to sit a while and chill out.
We don’t go to the rodeo every year, but this year we had a great time seeing the western heritage alive and well in our home town.
