A Day at the Fair

On Saturday we went to the local county fair to watch the nieces and nephews show their animals, enjoy the exhibits and booths, and eat some yummy, unhealthy, hey-I-only-eat-it-once-a-year fair food (like fry bread).

We got there in time to see the large class of steers. Before entering the arena, the steers (and in some cases, the kids) were given a last brush. Note that Caleb has his number on in the above photo.

The steers were led into the grassy show arena.

Clay, Alyshia, and Caleb were all in this class, and had really big steers! Alyshia's had been behaving on the ranch, but in the show arena he kept wanting to make a getaway, making Alyshia run after him.

They walked them around so that the judge could get a view of all sides.

Note Caleb's shirt now. There are safety pins, but no number. Where did it go?

Apparently his steer thought it would taste yummy and ate his number off of him. Completely.

Clay smiled as he listened to his mom.

The judge ended up awarding Clay, Caleb, and Alyshia blue ribbons. He commented that their steers looked like they were from a commercial cattle ranch. He was right about that!

Next we walked around the booths. Desert Boy had fun collecting free stuff like yoyos and balloons and crayons. He also really liked this game where he threw ping pong balls into a house that had areas open to show where fires could burn.

Then it was back to the arena to watch the Showmanship round. Megan did a good job with her sheep. We were informed that Desert Boy will be able to take a sheep to the fair the summer after next. Yikes, that seems soon! And I know about nothing about sheep!

Alyshia's misbehaving steer kept up the act the second time around, while her dad and uncle looked on from the fence.

Caleb (with a new number attached) did a good job and won a Grand Champion for the junior showmanship class. That meant he got to compete in the round robin and also show a sheep and a pig; the latter was a new experience for him.

Caleb's steer.

After visiting more animals like ducks and rabbits and chickens, we went through the exhibit hall and wandered around again. We were lucky to catch a competition about to start.

It was the watermelon eating contest, and Desert Boy was willing to compete in the 0-3 year old division.

On your marks, get set...notice the boy on the left and the girl on the far right didn't really think it necessary to wait for the "go."

They had one minute to eat as much as they could. The girl next to Desert Boy needed a little coaching.

She's taken a couple bites, while Desert Boy keeps chomping down. Usually he hates the seeds, but he didn't complain at all about them.

It seemed like a long minute, but finally the time was up. The kids had to stop eating and the judges tried to figure out who had eaten the most.

And the winner was Desert Boy! He got a nice first place medal. He also achieved a very slimy shirt, hands, and face.

He was happy to keep eating the watermelon. And Desert Girl was happy to assist. She'll be ready for this age group next year!

Roping

Last Saturday we went to a nearby town for the team roping competition. I had never been to such an event before, and I was very excited to see what it was all about. When we got there, several of the participants were walking and trotting around the arena to get warmed up.

It was also a fundraiser for the local junior and senior high schools, which will be taking a trip to Washington, D.C. next year. Some of the kids were there to help with the event.

And then it was time to start. In case you've never been to a team roping event, here are the basics:
1. Two people chase a steer with horns and try to rope it.
2. The first roper is called the header and tries to lasso the horns.
3. The second roper is called heeler and tries to lasso the two back legs.
4. They only get one try.

This event wasn't timed, so they either succeeded or not. A success could be full, being both back legs roped, or partial, with just one back leg roped.

There were two competitions, a morning and afternoon. For the morning competition there were 35 teams. Some people only went once, while others went more than ten times. Each competitor had to pay $25 to compete. The purse was split between stock charges (a fee to take care of the steers), and the winning three teams.

Glen was the guy who organized it. He's been to many roping competitions and makes it look easy.

Here are the steers in a chute waiting for their turn to outrun the ropes.

While the cowboys and cowgirls waited, they practiced their form.

When the team was ready, the header nodded at Blake, operating the chute. He opened it, and a steer raced out, followed by the horses.

I've tried roping a fake steer standing still in my inlaws yard and couldn't even manage that. Trying to rope a moving steer from a moving horse takes a lot of practice.

Once the ropers either missed or caught it, the steer was taken to the far end of the arena where the teenagers took off the rope, if needed, and let it through to the holding pen.

The speed is really impressive. Each try at roping was over in less than a minute.

Above, the header is getting the rope around the steer's horns. Each steer wears protective head gear.

Here's another header trying to catch a steer.

Desert Boy was happy to spectate with Carol and Sam while I wandered around with Desert Girl taking photos.

More ropes waiting their turn. The roper on the far left might be familiar to you from previous posts.

It's Lee, our 90 year-old cowboy. He was lamenting that he was no longer a good roper. He's still better than 99.9% of the population! I sure couldn't do what he was doing that day!

It was neat watching the ropers swing their ropes. They don't use just any old rope, they have very special ropes for roping, with a certain heft and flexibility. After being used for awhile, the ropes develop kinks and have to be retired for basket making or odd jobs.

Ben had a really good camera and probably got much better photos than me. Someday I may get a better camera, but first I have to be willing to haul it around!

Sam concentrated hard on the competition.

This young cowboy watched intently. I wouldn't be surprised if he's competing in ten years.

After all the steers had had their turn, it was time to bring them back for another round.

There's a little score booth where the score keeper can keep track of how everyone is doing and announce who's up next. Out of 35 teams, about a dozen were successful ropers in the first round, so they went on to a second round. Only three were successful then, and there were no ties, so it was only three rounds long.

In the afternoon there were ties, so there were many more rounds.


Here the header has roped the horns and the heeler is swinging his rope tried to get the back legs.

Caitlin and Creg were one of the teams that were tied, so they had to rope many times.

Caitlin has successfully roped the horns.

And then Creg gets a leg. The steer is quickly released.

Meanwhile the younger kids found a chute to play in. We also ate a delicious barbeque lunch and bought some bake sale items to support the fundraising efforts.

And out in the arena, the roping continued. It was getting pretty warm and the kids were ready for their naps, so we got ready to go.

I don't think it's something that I'll ever be able to do, but watching the competition was quite entertaining. And now I can say I've seen some team roping!

Cattle Drive

We heard about a cattle drive the other day and went out to investigate. Off in the distance we could see a bunch of dark shapes with dust rising here and there. We cautiously approached, not wanting to get in the way or make the cowboys' job any harder.

Right away we could see some action. A calf was making a mad dash away from the group, and a cowboy and his horse galloped after the wayward young'un.

The calf had spotted open country and decided to make a run for it. It obviously wasn't thinking about other consequences, i.e. it would be lonely and hungry without its mama. This calf was living in the moment.

But the calf didn't have its freedom for long, the horse caught up and turned the calf, all at high speed.

The calf sprinted back to the rest of the cows, the horse urging its quick return. Dust rose as hooves pounded the dry, hard ground.

It was such a high speed chase that the cowboy's hat even fell off!

They're still running.The calf had strayed far from the herd. The cattle were being moved from winter range to summer range, and it was the calf's first time to see this terrain. I can feel it's curiosity, crossing over the pass and seeing so many different things. And sometimes a kid just has to run, to stretch his legs.

Hurray! Back with mama and the rest of the cows and calves. A couple of cows used the distraction to take a snack break.

Then it was time to get the cows moving again. Four cowboys and some dogs kept the cows walking most of the time. It's a fairly slow process, but with steady pushing they can cover a lot of ground.

It was a beautiful day, with pleasant temperatures and beautiful scenery. My brother-in-law Dave came over to ask a question. I took the opportunity to get some close up photos.

He still has a wide smile at this stage of the trip! He knows that it will be many more miles and hours to go.


In places a lot of dust is raised. Being a cowboy can be quite dirty work.

Now the cows are moved along the little two-track road. These cows aren't quiet as they walk along. In fact, they have quite a lot to say as they tell another cow to get out of the way or comment on the brown cow's butt or share calf-raising tips or cuss out the cowboys. You can hear a sampling in the video below. What do you think they are saying?



And then away they go, slow and steady, the sound fading as the distance increases. Quiet returns to the desert, interrupted now by grasshoppers whirring from one bush to another, horned larks chirping, and the wind rustling the squat vegetation. The moment of excitement has passed.