Rodeo Fun

Saturday night was the last night of the Moab Canyonlands PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) Rodeo so where else were we to go than to the Spanish Trail Arena which is about 3 miles south of Moab on 191. We paid our $12 each admission, bought a programme but did not buy a $5 raffle ticket. After all, if we were to win what would we do with a Suzuki 4-wheel drive ATV or a black powder rifle? Into the arena we took our places on the benches with the other rodeo goers who were mostly locals. Lots of men in tee shirts with John Deere caps and work boots on their feet, cowboys in boot cut denim jeans and large cowboy hats as well as a number of local Native Americans the women distinctive with braided hair and mongoloid folds to their eyelids. The parade of rodeo sponsors came into the arena preceded by the rodeo marshal for 2007, Mr J J Wang, a native of Nanking who came to Moab in the late 1970s before setting himself up as a local business leader. It seemed totally incongruous to have a smiling Mr Wang seated on the back of a vintage white Ford Fairline convertible, dressed in a gleaming white cowboy shirt, wearing large spectacles and slowly waving a large white cowboy hat to the crowd. Before the rodeo began there was the singing of the Stars and Stripes, an invocation asking for heavenly help to keep cowboys and all livestock from harm and a request for all the military in the audience, both serving and veterans, to stand to receive the acclaim of the audience. Then the rodeo started with bareback bronco riding though the first horse didn't want to start out of the stall whatever the arena staff did to it followed by calf tying, steer wrestling, bronco riding and finally bull riding. The rodeo cowboys were thrown all over the arena by the animals and though some had to crawl out under the bars around the dirt arena no one appeared to be seriously damaged. There appeared to be a complicated scoring system which we didn't even start to understand but the scores determined which contestant won money on the night; that did become clear as the arena announcer passed on the judges decisions to the audience.
In between some of the men's events was a competition for lady riders riding barrel horses. These fast, small horses are bred and trained to race against the clock round a circuit in the arena marked out by three barrels which each horse and rider has to circle and then dash across the finish line. Very exciting as horse and rider make the turns right up against the arena barriers. But the highlight of the whole evening was an event called "mutton bust'n". This was an event in which children aged six and seven or so are introduced to rodeo and bronco busting. Each child, wearing a football helmet for safety, is placed on the back of a sheep, the stall opened and the youngster has to hold on to the sheep's fleece for as long as possible. Some of the sheep just dashed across the dirt whilst one or two actually bucked. No kid stayed on for more than three or four seconds, all were picked up by arena staff. No sheep was hurt in the process either. Its all good, clean rodeo fun.