What an experience the rodeo is!! The guys were so excited -- and there was so much to see! We got there around 11am, and we had lunch first thing since it wasn't busy yet. I brought along snacks and lots of water, but that was for later. Then we found our seats and waited. And waited. And waited. For about an hour. I am so grateful that we had a babysitter for James. It would have been terrible if James had been there. We had gotten seats in the grandstand, rather than the bleachers, but I didn't see any difference in the seating until later in the afternoon. None of the seating is covered -- you are in the flat sun the whole time and butt-cheek to butt-cheek with your fellow rodeo attenders. There are no backrests either -- just a bench. However, as it got later in the day, I realized that those of use who had paid an extra $4 a ticket for the grandstand, were not getting the sun smack in our faces. By about 4pm, we were in a little bit of shade -- and I was so grateful. We had all worn sunscreen and hats, but it was hot and very sunny.

The rodeo started with the "mutton bustin'" which is 4-6 year olds riding sheep and seeing how long they can hang on. I think the average was about 2 seconds each. The guys LOVED it. They all want to try that sometime. (I don't think so.) After this, it was time for the junior rodeo. This was the final day, so it was the top contenders in each event. These kids were between 7 and 12 years old. They were not allowed to do the bull riding or anything like that, but they did drop a goat on its side and tie up the legs and stuff like that. The guys liked the barrel racers best, I think. Andy is still talking about them (maybe that is because it is only girls doing the barrel racing). They were truly impressive. Finally, the Army's Golden Knights Parachute Team dropped in. They were fabulous!! They dropped down and they all landed exactly on the target. The woman got the most applause from the crowd.

Finally, the actual rodeo started. It was incredible -- the speed of the horses, the violence of the bucking broncos and bulls, the whole thing was overwhelming! The group right in front of us were very serious about their rodeo. They were writing down all the times and what happened in each event. The barrel racing was incredible, yet again. The best time was 19.5 seconds to go around all three barrels. The bull riding was also amazing. You couldn't pay me enough to do that.