This ain't my first rodeo!

Actually, I lied. It is.

And OH MY GOODNESS was it fun! I can now say that I'm officially a Texan because I went to a rodeo. Oh, and I can say "This ain't my first rodeo" and not be lying. It's a win-win situation for me! A friend of mine even let me borrow her cowgirl boots so I definitely looked that part of a native Texan.

Thanks Amie and Mandy!

I was somewhat apprehensive about the rodeo simply because people told me they're really not that great. I guess if you grow up going to them, it's not as fun to go when you're an adult. Marshall gave me some good perspective about it by saying it's like Washington D.C. for me. Growing up, we went to D.C. every year for fields trips and family outings. When we had friends come from out of town that wanted to visit D.C., I usually dragged my feet because I thought it was boring. 

After getting our seats (luckily Marshall knew that you should sit closest to where the actions happens and not directly in the center like I had thought), we waited for the action to happen. They had a little "pre-show" action of something called "Mutton Busters." They had a sheep in the middle attached to a leash. Said sheep was not thrilled about being attached and continuously tossed around and plopped on the ground trying to get out. I was not happy to see that because I thought the sheep was hurting himself. Marshall assured me the sheep was fine. What happened next still makes me giggle. Little children, aged three to five, jumped on the back of these sheep holding on to extra fur while the sheep ran out of the gate frantically to the other sheep. Sometimes, the sheep would just stop once he got to his friends while the child still clung to him.

After that, the real show began. I saw the rodeo clown roll out a barrel towards the middle of the arena. Next thing I know, the clown is standing inside it! Oh yes, I laughed out loud to this. The first bull was let out of the gate and the rider did a great job and lasted his full eight seconds. Apparently, the point of bull riding isn't to see how long you last. You have to last the eight seconds in order to get a score and if you do, they judge you based on your form. Who knew!? The second bull came out with a fury. He knocked his rider off immediately and then came running after the clown in the barrel! The clown ducked down so fast and once he was hit, just rolled around until it was safe! Did I laugh? Oh yes. If I were him I would've peed my pants, though. Here's a video of the third bull who knocked the wind out of his rider after a few seconds.

We saw some barrel racing (the girl sport, apparently), steer tie down, team roping, bareback riding and so forth. Throughout the show, the rodeo clown provided the crowd with comedy acts. He dressed up as a fat rodeo queen and hit on other men, danced and flopped around. He was also dressed up as Nacogdoches Finest, the NPD, sporting a fake buttcrack and all. Oh yes, I was thoroughly entertained. [It doesn't take much, does it?]

I guess I'm officially a rodeo fan. I told Marshall we should just quit our jobs and travel with the rodeo. He didn't seem so keen on that idea...

Aren't we cute?