Legends of the West. A real rodeo for Sebastian...our real cowboy

Sebastian is all cowboy.  He loves everything cowboy. He loves cowboy movies, riding horses, the cowboy desert landscape, and reenacting the old west cowboy days.

So yesterday we drove two hours to Wickenburg Arizona, a real cowboy town, to see to a real rodeo, Legends of the West.  

There was one thing Sebastian was missing before he was a real cowboy—his “real” gun.

So we headed off to the rustic cowboy shops at the rodeo to find his gun.

Here Sebastian is…..all cowboy, complete with his gun, handcuffs, and a Sheriff’s badge!

 

 Sebastian getting ready for the Gunfight at the Wickenburg Corral….

We were at the rodeo early, so we could check out the gift booths, food, and get good seats.   Or that’s what we said anyway. Actually, we were all so excited to go to the rodeo that we left home two hours early.  But we did get the very best seats—that we chose after trying out three other spots! 

Grandpa had a cheeseburger and fries.  Sebastian had eaten so many eggs and pancakes that all he ordered was a giant sized lemonade.

Here I am eating my fried Oreos.  Surprisingly, they were delicious.  Sebastian and Grandpa were lucky that I shared them.  Otherwise, Sebastian would have arrested me.

Finally, all the bulls and horses where herded into the holding corrals….

…and the rodeo started with the opening ceremonies, which included a prayer, singing the National Anthem, and all the rodeo performers entering the arena on their magnificent horses.

The participants in this rodeo travel the southwest rodeo circuit.  They are professional cowboys, and rodeoing is their livelihoods.  This dangerous sport is their love and their jobs.

We were shocked at the strength and athleticism of the cowboys and the raw brutality that we saw.  The cowboys took many hard falls.  One cowboy was butted in the head by the bull's horns, going full blast at him, but luckily the bull riders wear helmets, not cowboy hats.  

One horse with a woman rider galloping around the arena with a flag took a sharp turn and slipped.  She went off the horse face first, and then the horse fell on her.  The woman walked away after slowly getting to her feet.....turning her attention not to her injuries but to her horse.  The horse lay on the ground for some time, until it finally was able to (barely) stand with assistance and was taken from the arena by a veterinarian with a trailer.  

As I said, this is a dangerous sport for the cowboys AND for the livestock. 

We got several excellent photos of this amazing sport in action.  The following are some of our best.

The Saddle Bronc Riding (Grandpa’s favorite):

 

 The Tie Down Roping (Sebastian’s favorite):

 

 

For halftime there was a trick rider.  This was not a competition.  She rode two different horses.  She has been been performing for twenty years.  It was spectacular, and worth driving to Wickenburg just to see her performance!  It was actually almost unbelievably beautiful. 

 

 

 

 

 The Steer Wrestling:

Rodeoing is clearly a man’s sport.  It requires tremendous upper body strength. So we weren't surprised that women didn’t enter into any of the events except two--Breakaway Roping and Barrel Racing.  These still required great skill with horses, but did not involve brutal falls to the ground (usually) and upper body strength. 

Breakaway roping is where the women roped the calf, and then instead of wrestling the calf to the ground like the men did, they just let go of the rope. 

Barrel Racing:

I did barrel racing when I was Sebastian’s age and placed third the one time I entered a competition.  I was amazed since neither my horse nor I had ever done barrel racing before that day.  I bet my horse and I looked just like this woman and her horse…

Look at the skill needed to maneuver the horse in that tight turn.   All three of liked this event.

There was a parade of female riders who galloped around the arena with the rodeo sponsors' flags.  And there was a group of beautiful women on beautiful horses—the past, present, and teen Rodeo Queens.

Here is our cowboy climbing under the bleachers for the third time to pick up things that we had dropped.  Thank you Sebastian.  This reminded me of the time I was his age and went to the Ellensburg Rodeo.  I dropped my flip flops under the bleachers and had to climb down to retrieve them.  

Team Roping:

Bull Riding:

This was the scariest to watch.  Those bulls are mean.  In contrast to bronco riding, when the riders are thrown from the bulls the bulls actually go after them to try to hurt them.  After throwing the riders (which they did about 75% of the time) the bulls would immediately turn their backs to the thrown riders and kick at them with tremendous force.  The riders have learned to stay low to the ground as soon as they are thrown.  There are also several people in the arena to get the bulls away from the riders (the first photo shows this well).

Much more dangerous than professional football, for example, where the players are covered with pads and where there are referees to blow whistles to stop action. 

Grandma and Grandpa with their grandson, Sebastian…..a real cowboy.

We had so much fun….next year we are going back to the rodeo.  Want to come along, Sebastian?  It just wouldn’t be fun without our cowboy!