My First Rodeo

I am sure everyone has watched some crazy rodeo video clips before, but I have never been to one personally. Since I am spending some time in Oklahoma these days, it was time to cross that one off my list. When in Rome... Will Rogers Stampede was happening in Claremont over Memorial Day weekend so my parents and I decided to check it out. The fun started with trying to figure out exactly where it was. Their website proved to be useless in that regard and overall looked like it was designed back in the late 90's. Not the best start.

At least we knew the general direction of where it was supposed to be so it was not very hard to find. We got there an hour or so before the rodeo was supposed to start, figuring there will be other things to do, but besides a copule cheesy stands selling the usual fair gear and some cowboy hats, there was not much to look at.

Dress-code wise, I wore shorts and flip flops since the weather was gorgeous that day. Immediately as we got there, I realized my mistake. Pretty much every other guy was sporting jeans, tucked in shirt, a pair of cowboy boots, and a hat. Yeehaa!

The rodeo itself lasted about three hours and included many different events. Everything from crazy horse riding (bronc riding) that is synonymous with my definition of rodeo, to calf roping, mutton busting (kids trying to hold on to a running sheep), team roping and horse tricks.

Although, it was not exactly what I expected (although, I am not exactly sure what I was expecting either), it was pretty fun. We all thought that two and a half hours we spent there was a bit too much thou, especially with the hard metal stands - bring a seat cushion next time!