Oh Rodeo (Antonio!)

Wednesday night was Military night at the Kitsap County fair and Stampede. That meant that military families got in for free. I have always enjoyed watching bull riding on television and have often thought it would be fun to see a real rodeo. When I saw the advertisement for this fair, I double checked and, sure enough, the stampede is the rodeo! The fair itself was pretty standard with kiddie rides and some fun livestock. There was also a hypnotist performing on stage who was pretty impressive. But the real draw was the stampede.

The bleachers were high on both sides and stadium lights came on as it grew dark. The first event was the bareback bronco riding (the hook!) Those horses were so big and they were bucking hard. It was amazing to see the cowboys, who were essentially lying flat on their backs on the horses throughout most of the rides, stay on for any amount of time.

Next we moved on to the steer wrestling and calf-tying. The events were longer, less exciting and made me feel sorry for the calves. I didn't take any pictures but I was glad to see that, most of the time, the calves won the event!

Then there was the ladies' event: barrel racing! This was amazing to watch. I was on the edge of my seat as they careened around those barrels as fast as they could. I have no idea how those horses could stay on their feet, but they did! The saddle-riding broncos proved to be good entertainment too, but by then I could hardly stand the anticipation of seeing the bull riding.

I was not disappointed. Those bulls are enormous! It was both exhilarating and terrifying to watch them jumping and twisting. After the riding was over (usually after about three seconds, very few eight second rides occurred), the bull would run around the arena. You never see it on tv, but three men on horses would come with their lassos and herd the bull back into the corral. I think they have the toughest job of all. Those bulls were excited and mad and the men would often surround them, swinging their ropes, having to get right up next to the bull to get it out! They did the same thing for the bucking broncos, too, and it was equally as terrifying because the horses were so much faster than the bulls.

Bottom line: I loved the rodeo! It was exciting and nerve-wracking and I will definitely be going back next year! P.S. Don't forget to enlarge the pictures by clicking on them to see the details better.