Rodeo

If  you're ever near Orange on the second Saturday of a summer month, you should head out to Oakland Heights Farm for the rodeo. The bull riders are real (Southern Extreme Bull Riding Association), the people watching is spectacular, there's yummy fair food like bbq and funnel cakes, and it is a great way to spend an evening.

The first time I ever went, I accompanied the Jackowiczs. I remember it being pretty neat, that the stands were crowded and rowdy, and it was really cold -so cold that we left before it was over.It must have been May.

The next time I took Aaron and we set on the stands on the far end which were more empty, but further from the ring. We saw people sitting in lawn chairs next to the ring and wondered how you got to do that.  Apparently you just bring your chairs, act like you own the place, and sit there. Sweet. Ever since that we've been hooked. Aaron, Detroit city-boy, loves the rodeo.

CarneyManPhotos

We bring our chairs, sit right on the ring, and cheer for the bull riders hoping they make it for 8 seconds. 8 seconds is f-o-r-e-v-e-r and sometimes it seems like no one makes it. As soon as they reach four seconds you get on the edge of your seat and really start cheering. Bull riding is no joke and taking a closer look at these still shots is impressive. Look how high those bulls can kick! Scoring comes from two judges and is based on the qualities and technique of the bull rider like balance and the qualities of the bull - like how it kicks and if it spins in circles. This last time we saw a bull fall down after spinning around a bazillion times after bucking its cowboy. Hilarious. The bull is scored regardless of the rider making it eight seconds so only the best bulls are used for bull riding tournaments.

CarneyManPhoto

We laugh at the rodeo clown shenanigans, cringe at danger (like the picture !), and enjoy the show. We sit on the end directly across from the release chutes, so we are not that close to the actual action, but we have a straight view of all four chutes and the bucking bulls they release. Click HERE for more photos from Saturday's rodeo.

Sometimes the bulls get a little rowdy and don't head back in the pen after losing the cowboys. They may head down our way and sort of tour the ring, charge the clowns, and sometimes charge the horse-riders whose jobs it is to clear out the bulls. That's when our seats on the end are the best. Aaron loves it when they charge the empty clown barrel sitting in the pen. Last night a bull crashed into the fence in front of me while kicking the clown. I sat with my hands over my mouth in shock as the fence moved a couple inches - good thing he wasn't really trying to knock the fence down because I do not know what I would do! (not this picutre because it was even closer than this - but it moved the base of those poles you can see - you can also see the sturdiness of the fence in question. You are supposed to sit about 4 feet from the fence and for good reason.)

  Taunting the onstinate bull and telling jokes. The main clown has on a microphone and interacts with the announcer, the bulls, and the crowd.

 Maybe taunting the bull is not a great idea. Look at that dust cloud of motion.

  

This bull has four ropes around it and its still running around. It charged anyone and everyone and was powerful enough to jerk away from the horsemen multiple times.

 Finally a man with a whip (red plaid) came out and tried to get the bull in line. We've never seen that before... but then again we've never seen a bull loose this long before.

Dragging the bull into the gates. They have to be careful because of all the interconnecting gates back there and if the bull gets his shoulder against the outside he'll use that as leverage to not get dragged in.

One of the best parts is mutton busting where local and visiting kids try their hand at sheep riding. The kid who can stay on the longest wins $25 which is a lot for a little kid. Watching them exit the chute and cling like monkeys to silly shorn sheep running around the rodeo ring is so hilarious and I never remember to take photos. It always ends with a spectacular tumble, the sheep running over the kid, and the clown in training hauling the kid up and making sure the kid is ok. The the kid runs out of the ring laughing or crying. Sometimes twenty or so kids sign up and the sheep have to be herded back in a few time for more riding. If I had a kid - I'd sign them up for mutton busting (Panzer watch out!).

 Aaron's friend Matt came down for the weekend to visit and the rodeo was the main reason for coming. The show did not disappoint especially since the first few bulls were particularly ornery and took a lot of convincing to get back in the pen. The horsemen definitely got an early workout and even switched horses way before half way. We are intimately aware of the horsemen because we sit right behind where they await action and their families sit next to us. They really got hammered with some of the early bulls.

another ornery bull

The rodeo went longer than anticipated because of those early ornery bulls, but all in all it was a good time. Matt enjoyed it despite the lack of Garth Brooks (they play a lot of music clips but not really that much country) and may consider coming back down. Aaron and I will miss July, but the dates have been marked on the calendar since April, so we'll definitely be going again!