Rodeo Fun

Delta, Utah was having a rodeo this last weekend for three days, so we decided to go to it Friday night. Amazingly we made it on time for the Grand Entry. (I say amazingly because my husband ended up having to work late and then we had to take a potty break on the way there which is a little time consuming when the little ones that have to go are buckled into the very back of the van!)

I'm always so impressed with how easy the riders make riding a horse look!

Then it was time for the exciting riding to begin! They started with bareback riding, and many of the riders stayed on the eight seconds and more.

And here's Isaac! Jenny and her kids came with us, which made the night even more fun. Isaac loved running up and down the bleachers.

More bucking horses. Ouch. Just watching them makes me ache.

Desert Boy and Ava were keen spectators--sometimes! There was a good crowd, but still plenty of room for more rodeo fans. The weather was about perfect.

I don't know exactly what they were looking at when I snapped this photo, but it must have been good!

Then it was time for mutton bustin'. About a dozen little kids wanted to try their best to stay on the back of a sheep.

Most of them immediately fell off.

One little tyke was like a tic, though. I didn't even notice he was still hanging on for a bit, as he held on so well! (He's on the sheep second from the right.)

Then it was time for steer wrestling. In this round, the steer won.

When I asked Desert Boy what his favorite part of the rodeo was, he said the dessert. He was mightily impressed by the snowcones. You can see what color Ava had.

Back in the arena was a really bizarre show with monkeys riding border collies. I had never seen anything like it.

After running around the bleachers for awhile, Isaac finally got tired and was willing to sit still--in his mom's arms.

 

I didn't get photos of all the events, mainly because the fast action and low light were challenging conditions for my camera. Above is one of the barrel racers-they sure were fast!

I wanted to get a nice shot of all the kids, but probably waited a little too late into the night. They all stayed awake throughout the rodeo. Three fell asleep pretty fast on the way home, but Desert Boy persevered until the last half hour.

I'm really glad we went, it really brought out the spirit of the Wild West. Plus it was some downright good entertainment.