Coors Ranch Rodeo

Let me just say, YES we did move here to serve the lord. But-even Jesus said it was okay to have a little fun every once in awhile. And as many of you know, our idea of fun is spelled R-O-D-E-O :) Thank goodness they do not seem in short supply here.

Enter: The Coors Ranch Rodeo!

I should start by warning all y'all (the plural use of the word by the way) that we had some technical difficulties with the camera. It could've been that we were just wearing it out trying to take too many pictures of cowboys. But I think the main problem was the lack of proper lighting :) So I apologize in advance if a lot of these shots seem blurry or grainy. It was the best we could do. 

Can we just say that the best rodeo's are held in Texas? This one was held in Amarillo at the events center. The ticket cost $12 and included a BBQ dinner and complimentary BEER. That's right, the beer was not $8 a cup. It was COMPLIMENTARY, as in free!

 So this was not just a regular old rodeo. As you can see here it is the Coors Cowboy Club Ranch Rodeo. Translation: These are REAL cowboys who work on REAL ranches! Plus its more of a team event, the cowboys compete in teams representing their respective ranches and earn points in each event to determine an overall winning ranch at the end.

 And although the stands were packed, we did manage to get some of the best seats in the house. AKA right behind the chutes :)

The first event was the bronc riding. This poor guy almost got dumped in some woman's lap. The announcer said if she caught him when he landed she got to keep him. We then moved seats to the edge of the arena :) 

The Pickup Man (not arena attendant, I was informed of this recently) was quite impressive (in his pickup-ing skills). As was his gorgeous buckskin which I intend to hunt down and horse-nap at a later date.

This mare was part of the bronc riding and also brought her baby along for the show :)

Next was the Mutton Busting! One of my favorite events ever. I can honestly say I have never seen this technique used before, but it was very effective. I think this kid won :)

This little girl was AWESOME! Not only was she the only girl entered in the Mutton Busting, but was also one of the winners. I think she got the most applause out of anyone that night.

Then came "Steer Tripping". This was the most chaotic roping event I have ever seen. All the teams were in the arena together chasing down their steers and running helter skelter all over the place. I thought sure someone was gonna have a collision but these guys were good. No injuries.

As you can see though, the steers were not exactly the most cooperative bunch. It took awhile for this one to get tied down.

 

And like any good roping horses these 3 were more then happy to hang out and chill while their riders were busy wrestling the steers to the ground. After all, their job was done! 

Sorry this one is so hard to see. This event was called "Team Loading". Basically what happens is one of the cowboys cuts 4 steers out of the herd, in NUMERICAL ORDER as in 1,2,3,4 or whatever numbers the announcer calls out. Then they have to keep them all bunched up at one end of the arena and then load them AND all their horses into a stock trailer and then get themselves in a single cab pickup! And its all timed. 

 

I wish we could've gotten a better picture of this as well. This team was so serious about winning that the guy on the left with the white hat (just peaking over the side of trailer) rode his horse onto the trailer and dived off just before he was about to be smashed into the trailer roof!  He hit the ground running as did all his team mates and loaded their steers, horses and themselves in the fastest time of the night! We were very impressed.

This is my NEW favorite event :) Wild Cow Milking! And it is exactly what it sounds like. The cowboys (as shown here) chase down and rope a "wild" cow and then their other team mates come in and proceed to try to hold the cow still and milk her. Then one of them has to run across the arena and land on the mat with milk still in his bottle and the fastest time wins. It was HILARIOUS!

This particular team was having a bit of trouble. The cow was really not in the mood to be man-handled and milked at the moment. She drug that poor guy holding onto her tail all over the arena and then stepped on him. Which I can't say that I would blame her for :) 

Oh ya, and on the way home we ran into this lovely thunderstorm! I (of course) was completely stressed out and thought we were gonna get stranded in the middle of nowhere and crisped like a burning marshmallow. Nicki on the other hand was marveling at the beauty of the death dealing storm and snapping pictures!

I think I might finally be getting over my weather phobia though, now that tornado season is over :)

And as a final parting picture, I do believe this is the perfect shot :) We would highly recommend anyone that comes to visit should see the Amarillo Ranch Rodeo. Well worth the $12! Hope you have enjoyed the pictures!! Stay tuned for more, next up is a very exciting/muddy day in the rural territory. Possibly our best day in service ever....