Rodeo Part One

Had you given up on ever seeing the rodeo pictures?  I almost had too!  I took too many pictures, but wanted to share anyways....so here they are.  Part One.  A few weeks ago we drove over to St. Paul to the Excel Energy Center to watch the World's Toughest Rodeo.  They put on a fun show.  They start out with fire and smoke when they introduce the cowboys. 

The music is loud, the fireworks go off, the excitement builds.

They save the best cowboys for last...this is Charlie Barker, I remembered him from last year.  I think it was his purple shirt.

They say a prayer for the cowboys, the flag comes out, the National Anthem is sung.

And then it's time for the show.  First up is the bareback riding.  All they have to do is sit on that nice little horse for 8 seconds...

...sounds easy huh?  Ooph.  That's gotta hurt.

Then they check their scores and the video to see what just happened.  Ummm...what happened was that you got bucked off!  This cowboy was from my home town of Taylors Falls.  There weren't any cowboys living there when I was.

Our seats were really close.  2nd row...which was really the first row since they don't let anyone sit in the first row.  Hello horse...please don't land on us. Thank you.  The seats would have been perfect if it weren't for the safety bars.  We'll try for 6 rows up next time.

There's always a clown.  He's entertaining.  Telling jokes, making comments, making sure every one is safe in the arena.  Their job is under appreciated....

...just like these guys that have to round the bucking stock up after the cowboy rides.

Or after the cowboy doesn't ride.  Ooph.  It's exciting, it's dangerous, it's crazy actually.

You can almost feel the cowboys pain.

You can certainly see it.  Ouch.

After the bareback riding and before the saddle bronc riding the clown lightened the mood with one of his dogs.  This one liked chasing after a Frisbee.

Time for the saddle bronc riding.  It takes a crew to get everything ready.  They are pretty intense.

They have to get everything just right...

...and then the cowboy nods his head....

....and they open the gate.

Some rides go well, some don't.

But no matter how long the ride goes, the cowboy is coming off.  Some of them do it with more flare than others.

This one didn't stick his landing.  I think that they should add that to the judging criteria.

This one started out pretty good....

...but, um, I don't think he's supposed to be quite that far off of the saddle.

Oh, I don't think landing like that would feel very nice for a guy.

Ooph.  Another one bites the dust.

I don't think he's thinking very nice thoughts about that bronc right about then.

But he was just fine and the crowd cheered...and that's what counts right? Yeah, I don't know why they do it either. Craziness. More rodeo to follow. I hope you enjoyed the pictures!