Rodeo at Fort Worth, Texas

To the Stockyards Rodeo – yeeee-haaaaa!!  Fort Worth is the 16th largest city in the USA and the 5th largest in Texas.   It is situated just to the west of Dallas but it felt like we had arrived in another galaxy, not just another state, when we rolled into the Stockyards!  We soon realized we had made a great error in forgetting to pack our cowboy boots, hats, spurs and horses; which were pretty much standard attire for all in this part of town.  We were just about the only people wearing trainers / casual wear…oh well, dare to be different.

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon, and started by battling our way through a 20 minute traffic jam to get to the RV-friendly parking area, trying to avoid the already merry cowboys and gals, horses in the street, bikers and the like.

Our first encounter with a true Texan was a cantankerous, deaf, old cowboy in the parking lot who insisted on hobbling over on his two sticks “to help”.  By the time he arrived three minutes later, we already had directions from his pleasant wife.  He could neither hear nor understand a word I was saying – which was simply “We're all sorted, thanks anyway”, which he took massive, unnecessary offense to and started waving his stick and loudly stating how rude I was!  Adam assures me I was not the rude one, not on this occasion anyway!

As we exited the RV, the faint smell of BBQ smokehouse wafted into our nostrils.  We had been left with a hankering for more great pulled pork, brisket and ribs after a fabulous meal the day before at The Salt Lick.  We spied the source of the enticing smell at the other end of the parking lot, and somehow we drifted to the door, Adam with a slightly delirious drooly grin on his face for the second time in two days.  It’s all about the BBQ with him!  We ended up with a massive tray of meat, the equivalent of half my body weight in pork ribs, sausage, juicy brisket…. Mmmmm -  we so need one of these in MK!

We wandered onto the main street taking in the sights and sounds you might expect to see in a Western movie, including horse shit on the pavements - watch your step!  We're fairly convinced the entire town is sponsored by Wrangler or something - OTT blingy cowgirl outfits are definitely the in thing in these parts, sparkly embossed denim and hats, cowboy boots of all colours, tassels, big hair, and lots of leather.

I've never seen so many bow-legged guys in one spot, I could have make a killing on the orthotic knee brace front!  The main crowds and horses seemed to be gathering around the watering hole, which also happened to serve that thing that goes well with BBQ – BEER!

We stepped inside a busy bar and went back in time 50 years.  It was fab, a live band playing western music, couples dancing, rounds of shots being downed, cowboy hats lined the walls and ceiling, oh and the overwhelming smell of stale smoke (smoking is still allowed in bars in Texas).  We happily spent a few hours there - the people watching was fascinating.  They even had the saloon style swing doors into the toilets, which got more fun as the afternoon went on :)

We had booked our tickets for the evening rodeo which started at 7pm.  We headed there early to try and get some good seats near the front and secured second row seats at the best end with all the best action, more by luck than judgement.

The show got off to an exciting start with the cowboy contenders mounting the bulls in the stalls before being released to buck off their unwelcome riders.  Now let me tell you, these animals are powerful beasts with ridiculously massive horns.  They look as if they enjoy and relish the opportunity to throw someone around and release some energy but you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of one!  It was so nerve wracking to watch.  I was literally on the edge of my seat, as were many others, with my heart beating out of my chest each time a rider fell.  They had to stay mounted for a minimum of 8 seconds to gain any points, which proved to be an impossible task for every contestant.

Once unseated, the Rodeo Clown has the fun job of trying to drawing the buckaroos away from the fallen cowboy.  Pretty brave for a clown!  Occasionally the cowboys had to run for safety and clamber up the side walls of the arena out of the danger zone.

I realise the idea of a rodeo is probably a controversial one.  Some people are opposed to any method of using animals for sport / entertainment in this way.  Others are OK with it as long as certain humane measures are imposed on the event.  All I can say is that, in the case of the adult bulls and horses at least, they seem to enjoy the challenge.  I know it's impossible to say that conclusively, but they're very well trained and as soon as they realise the rider has been ejected, they seem to settle and head straight for the exit of the arena (occasionally with some chaperoning if they're right over the other side).  You can also see right behind the gates where they stand prior to being released and there's no evidence of any inhumane methods (electric cattle prods, etc) being used to rile them up. 

Next up was the calf lassoing contest.  This also required great skill, agility and speed to capture and tie up a calf under time pressure.   If they had not successfully lassoed the calf within 2-3 seconds of its dispatch, they were set up to fail the task completely.  Very exciting stuff.  If anything, this was an event we weren't too sure about on an ethical basis, as it's hard to imagine that the young calves understand why they're being lassoed and tied up.  Again though, they seem to trundle quite happily towards the exit when their moment to shine has finished.

Later came the cowgirls' turn - a timed horse riding competition in which they appeared galloping full speed out of the stalls, then had to dodge around three bollards without knocking them over, then back across the finish line into the stalls.  The leading times for this were just 14-16 seconds – truly amazing!

I think the most shocking entertainment of the evening was actually when they called all the children from the stadium (all ages from tiny 3-4 year olds up to about age 12) into the ring, without their parents, and released a pretty big calf with a sticker on its back.  The winner would be the child who retrieved the sticker!  Only in Texas?! But all in all a great evening out and thoroughly recommended.