Barrels and Bucking!!

The next competition up at the rodeo was barrel racing.  This sport supposedly began back in the early 1900's in Texas and by 1928 was the only event for women only.  Women actually participated in various rodeos riding broncs, but in 1948 they founded the Women's Professional Rodeo Association with barrel racing their event.

There are three barrels placed in the arena and the contestant must ride a cloverleaf pattern around all three.  Deviate from the pattern and you are disqualified.  This horse stumbled just behind the barrel and almost went down.

Knock a barrel over and you get a 5 second penalty added to your time.  If you want to win, your time should be in the 16 second range.  On this day there were a few 17+ times, along with a bunch of 18's.

Winning the most money will make you a champion, so following the circuit around the country is the name of the game.  It can range from $300,000 to $500,000 a year if you're good.   

It's important to note that usually comes along with lots of broken bones and injuries that affect you for many years to come.  Here's an example of marking out ... he was disqualified in this saddle bronc ride.

Your saddle helps keep you aboard.  You can see the swells, the part right in front with the horn on top, are high in this old image of a cowgirl riding at a rodeo.  The cantle, the part behind your butt is also high to help keep your seat.  As time went on, many were hurt by the horn sticking up when the horse fell, so they removed it as bucking saddles evolved.

In this competition, the cowboys are riding with saddles and free swinging stirrups, holding on to a rope attached to the horses halter.  This is saddle bronc riding.

Although I'm sure my horses never bucked this high or hard, I can tell you this is exactly what it FELT like when they got spooked by something, even if they only jumped two feet in the air.

Judges keep a sharp eye out as the ride progresses.  You are not allowed to touch the horse at any time with your free hand.  If you do, you are disqualified, so there are occasionally various gyrations by the guys so that doesn't happen.  This guy was from the bareback competition, a picture I missed last time. Now this horse can BUCK!!

That's it for today.  I'm taking my rig in early this morning to repair all those electrical outlets that broke and/or fell out of the wall.  I don't have much hope they will be able to come up with a permanent fix, but I'm having them fix the problem anyway.

We're expecting lots of rain this afternoon into the night.  It's probably going to be a stay inside kind of day.