During my recent visit to Austin, Tx with my Boy Child for the Motogp weekend at COTA, we traded one kind of horsepower for another on the Friday evening.
The pro rodeo event was in town!
Before I go any further, if you are averse to such events, please stop reading and I’ll see you next week for a different blog. It is 100% not my intention to offend anyone’s sensibilities with this particular blog.
I will also add right at the start here that all living breathing creatures including humans left the arena unharmed.
Ok, still with me?
Rodeo remains a contentious event across the USA with many states restricting events or banning them entirely. (It’s banned in the UK and in many European countries) Professional rodeo events are strictly governed and sanctioned these days primarily by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA).
In Texas, rodeo is the official state sport with Rodeo Austin being one of the top five pro rodeos in the USA. Rodeo Austin is a non-profit organisation that been fundraising for the children of Texas since 1938. To date Rodeo Austin has awarded $9.7M in scholarships with 2525 recipients benefiting from this as they work to cultivate agricultural education. This was all positive news to me! Naively, I thought it was simply a two-week event for largely entertainment purposes.
Rodeo Austin is held at the Travis County Expo Center and to be honest, as we approached the site in our Uber, I really wasn’t sure what to expect.
Rodeo Austin is a family event. Outside the Luedecke Arena was a sprawling fairground complete with the obligatory Ferris wheel. It’s the first time I’ve seen a carousel where one of the options was a rooster than a traditional carousel pony.
As we were early for the actual rodeo show, we wandered round checking out the various food trucks until we found ourselves outside a large open barn with a sign saying, “Milking Parlor”. Curious, we wander in and came face to face with a Longhorn bull in a pen!
In the middle of the building, countless cows were being prepared for their appearance in the show ring. Never in my life did I imagine that I would see cows getting a shampoo and blow dry!
The rodeo event itself began at 7pm in the arena. Having had our hands stamped on entry with a purple ink cactus stamp, we took our seats in the bleachers ready to experience our first taste of rodeo.
How many of you have watched Yellowstone and had your heart stolen just a little bit by the inept wrangler and rodeo rider, Jimmy Hurdstrom? I know I have and Jimmy was on my mind as we settled down to watch the show.
There were nine events lined up for the two-hour programme. After a patriotic start, the first of these events was the bareback riding, where the cowboys have to last at least 8 seconds on the back of a bucking horse while only holding on with one hand. You learn very quickly that 8 seconds is a long time!
Bareback Riding at Rodeo Austin 270326
The most dangerous event of the night is reportedly the steer wrestling. This is where the cowboy comes in on horseback and wrestles the cow to the ground by grabbing it by the horns. I’ll be honest, I found this a tough watch.
Steer wrestling at Rodeo Austin 270326
So, how do kids aspiring to be cowboys start out? With Mutton Bustin’! A group of kids ranging in age from 5-8 years old lined up next for their 8 seconds of fame when they got to burst out of the chute riding a sheep bareback. This really was a firm crowd favourite and just too cute to watch. It was great to see the winner being awarded the treasured rodeo prize of a belt buckle, same as the adults. Not sure anyone managed the full 8 seconds to be fair.
Mutton Bustin at Rodeo Austin 270326
Probably my favourite event of the evening was the ladies only event – Barrel Racing. For those who don’t know, barrel racing involves entering the arena on horseback at full speed then sprinting in a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels. Fastest lady wins and there’s time penalties if a barrel is knocked over. The speed of this event is a sight to behold!
Barrel Racing at Rodeo Austin 270326
The last rodeo event of the night was Bull Riding. Fortunately, none of the bulls involved horns as impressive as the Longhorn we’d see earlier! These bulls are huge animals! Why anyone in their right mind would want to attempt to ride one is beyond me. Kudos to the cowboys who do, especially to those who lasted more than 8 seconds.
Bull Riding at Rodeo Austin 270326
The evening was brought to a thunderous close when the horse that had appeared earlier stampeded rounded the arena to take their lap of honour.
Definitely a cultural experience that created memories to last a lifetime.
Coral McCallum 