Cowboys and Bulls

Saturday, 12 July 2014

 

Going, going ...

Gone!

Might need to use some hair product next time.

The barrel race is faster on a horse.

Bulls for rent!

Just a lot of bull.

A couple of friendly firies

What else would you expect to see at a rodeo?

I am NOT getting up!!!

Ride 'em, cowboy

Ride 'em, cowgirl

More cowboys than calves

The mobile lockup?

Friday was another beautiful day, with the temperature hovering around the customary 27 degrees.

After visiting the doctor in the morning to have my sutures removed and receive the good news that no further treatment was necessary – I have something that has about 50 letters in its unpronounceable name – I decided that a celebratory ice cream was called for!  We also took the opportunity to visit Rusty’s Market and stock up for the week ahead.  If only we could take the Sebago potatoes home with us …

We had a day out today – at the Mareeba Rodeo.  We didn’t have cowboy hats or boots to wear, but still managed to blend into the crowd.  We really enjoyed the day, even though we had some rather numb bums by the middle of the afternoon.  We were surprised at how young some of the competitors were (probably only 4-5 years old) and how well, in the barrel races, the older children did compared to the adults.  No animals appeared to be injured, but unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for some of the competitors.  The ambulance was called at one stage for someone in the competitors’ area who was either injured or suffered a medical condition.  About 15 minutes later, a helicopter lifted off from the back of the arena and headed straight for Cairns.  The bull riders were aged from about 5 years to adults – the littlies were riding calves with very close adult contact/supervision, the older children were on steers and the teenagers were riding the same sized bulls as the men.

We don’t have any plans at this stage to follow the rodeo circuit.