I just returned from a trip to the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO. The highlight of the trip once again was the rodeo we attended Saturday night.
I don’t know if you’re a rodeo fan or not, if you are, you’ll know what I’m talking about, if you aren’t, but you love horses, then you owe it to yourself to attend a good, all-around rodeo. Not just a bulls-n-broncs event that has gotten so popular, but one where roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing are also featured. To be honest, I usually miss most of the action while at the rodeo because I am more focused on what the horses are doing, whether they were ridden by the contestants or the “pick-up” men, these are some of the most amazing horses you’ll ever see. Whether it’s assisting a steer wrestler by crowding the running calf just right, or a horse that “turns and burns” for it’s barrel racing rider, these are horses many of us can only dream of having.
It is no exaggeration to say that at the rodeo we saw, one bareback rider owes his life to the good horses the pick-up men were riding. His hand was stuck and he couldn’t dismount so as he was being drug around the arena, the horses the pick-up riders had were the only chance to save this man. These horses (and of course the amazing cowboys on those horses), quickly cut off this bronc that wanted to run, and the riders and rodeo clowns were able to get the cowboy loose. If it weren’t for a couple good horse and rider teams, who knows what may have happened. As the scene unfolded, you could almost see the horses knowing their job and wanting to help. I’ve always had the opinion that probably the best and most accurate compliment you can give a horse is that it knows it’s job, these rodeo horses are the perfect definition of that.
More on these amazing horses coming soon…
