Houston Rodeo Excursion

I had forgotten how big Rodeo is here. We had the opportunity to go to the Houston Rodeo a couple of weeks ago. I had never been. It reminded me a lot of a county or state fair with the carnival, food vendors and exhibits only it was WAY more crowded and I could walk around drinking wine as long as I didn't leave the grounds.

For the Rodeo part, we saw Tie-down roping, Bareback Riding, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Barrel Racing and Bull Riding. Those cowboys are crazy doing some of those events. If I remember right, the top three places in each event received money. In the Bull Riding event, of the 10 cowboys, only three stayed on the bull long enough to have the ride count which made it easy to see who the winners were.

I really enjoyed those events. However, the best was yet to come!

Chuck Wagon Races look like fun. I view it a lot like NASCAR or the Texas Highways. Hop on, wait for the gun and go as fast as you can in a circle!

The there was the Calf Scramble. This recipe calls for 28 FFA (Future Farmer of America) students, 14 calves, 14 rope bridles and 1 square drawn in the center of the arena covering about 1/3 of the floor. When the gun goes off, the students chase the calves around the arena and the first 14 that catch, put a bridle on and (sometimes) drag a calf back into the square, win a prize. (Unfortunately, I missed what the prize was.) The trick to this is the calves don't necessarily see the fun in this event. They had their own ideas about where they wanted to stand and look at the crowd and it wasn't necessarily from the middle of the arena in a chalk square.

But the best was yet to come.

What really ROCKS at the Rodeo is...

MUTTON BUSTIN'!!!

This event is SO much better viewed than described but I'll try.

All you need is several full grown sheep and 10-12 kids that weigh between 35 and 60 pounds. (I'm sure there is a release or two involved also.) Wrap the kids up in padding and helmets with face guards. Put one sheep at the far end of the pen (all the other sheep will follow the lead sheep). Place one child on top of a sheep and turn them loose. The kids are laying on the back of the sheep holding on to sheep's wool with the object being how far can they go without falling off. The winner this evening went almost the length of the pen but I think that was because he was too scared to jump off. He received a slightly bigger belt buckle than the other participants and can now proudly say he is a top mutton buster!

The Houston Rodeo is a great event as it is mostly done to raise money for scholarships. They have raised millions over the years and I am really glad I was able to attend. Next year we may have to get more tickets!