Off To The Rodeo!

Howdy, Folks!  One thing I’ve learned since moving to Montana several years ago is that nothing beats a rodeo on a Saturday night! This past Saturday, that’s just want Jeff and I were off to do, thanks to a lovely Christmas gift of rodeo tickets.  We attended the Montana PRCA Circuit Finals at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.  

Rodeo is deeply rooted in Western tradition of cattle ranching and wrangling. Cowboys depended on roping and riding skills when tending to their herds.  Even though modern technology has greatly reduced the need for some of these traditional cowboy skills, some ranchers still rope and ride to this day.  On our ranch, the only “riding” we do is on four-wheelers and in pickups, and while I’m doubtful that Four-Wheeler Calf-Wrangling will make a rodeo debut any time soon, it’s still enjoyable to take in a rodeo and relish in this great Western tradition.

Events featured at the rodeo included: Saddle Bronc Riding, Bareback Bronc Riding, Tie-Down Roping, Team Roping, Steer Wrestling, Barrel Racing, and Bullriding.  The bull and bronc riding events are always dynamic and exciting, but I also like Barrel Racing as the only women’s rodeo event, and Tie-Down Roping. 

Here’s a really nice photo essay of the rodeo from the Great Falls Tribune—check it out!

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014140113003&nclick_check=1

I like Tie-Down Roping because it is a great combination of strength, skill, and animal handling. The cowboy must ride in on his horse and leaves the chute at the same time as the calf he is to rope leaves an adjacent chute. He must lasso the calf while riding his horse, then jump off the horse, wrestle the calf onto it’s back and tie three of it’s feet together.  The cowboy uses a separate rope to tie the feet from the lasso he uses to still the calf in the first place—the lasso is attached to the saddle on the horse. So, when the cowboy jumps off the horse to tie the calf’s feet, the trained horse will actually take slow steps backward to keep the lasso rope taut, which keeps the calf in one spot so the cowboy can complete his job. It’s a little difficult to explain, but I am always so impressed by the skill of the horses in this event and the training that must have gone into getting them to be competition-ready.

Why would this skill be useful on a ranch?  In this case, it seems like if your cattle and calves were in an open range or pasture situation, a cowboy could use this skill to isolate a specific calf if that calf needed some sort of individual attention, such as medication.  I find this rodeo event to be a useful, elegant, and efficient skill if one were proficient. It can take considerable time to round up a single calf at pasture using just a four-wheeler. 

Rodeos are always fun, and while this was not my first rodeo (hardee har har har!), it was the biggest and one of the most entertaining rodeos I have attended.  Other rodeos I have attended in Montana were small-town summer rodeos, which are delightful in their own way, and the annual Montana State University Rodeo. The latter was enjoyable because it was a competition between some of the schools and universities in the area, and I can always get behind the Bobcats.  Most of all, rodeo is best enjoyed when attended with family and friends. I had a great time attending with Jeff—it actually was our first rodeo together, and I’m sure it wasn’t the last!

Here's some photos I took from the rodeo, which are much less professional than the ones in the Tribune essay from above, but still kind of fun. 

Steers awaiting the roping events. 

Bronc riding.

More bronc riding.

Team roping in action.

Rodeo clown (in barrel) and dummy Homer Simpson propped up by a broom, awaiting the bullriding.

Cowboys waiting to ride bulls and others prepare to open the gate...

The gate is opened while the men get out of the way in preparation for the ride!

And that's what bullriding looks like! Trust me, it's much, much more exciting in person!

Buffalo Dogs and Old Style, Here!

An interesting article in today's Great Falls Tribune gives me another connection between my current home and my childhood, (though it is somewhat of a stretch) : Local Bison Meat to Supply Vendors at Wrigley Field.

In my house, we grew up Cubs fans.  My dad is a Cubs fan, and so was his dad.  I have many fond memories of listening to Ron Santo and Pat Hughes announce the game over AM radio.  I came to prefer listening to the radio broadcast of the games over the television announcers and still believe that listening to radio broadcast fosters a deeper understanding of the game than does watching it on television.  Often, my brother and I would turn the television broadcast of the Cubs game on, but mute the sound and use the radio broadcast instead-- we just liked it better!

Joe Ricketts, an extremely wealthy businessman and whose family is a majority owner of the Cubs/Wrigley Field/ Comcast, has purchased a large area of ranchland in the Blackfeet reservation, northwest of where we live, for the purpose of supplying bison meat to Wrigley Field and other places.

The article has some interesting comparison of cattle ranching to bison ranching, and also touches on relations between the ranch and the Blackfeet reservation.

I am fortunate enough to have attended a small handful of baseball games at Wrigley Field, one of the last remaining Cathedrals of Baseball: a true baseball park.  I don't remember seeing any bison offerings at the games, but maybe they will be available the next time I am there (hopefully sooner than later!) I can already hear the food vendors walking up and down the aisles hawking buffalo burgers and Old Style. I will sample a bison hot dog or burger, knowing that the meat in that product is from my new home of Montana.