Being Country at the Poway Rodeo…
When someone says they are “being country” it means they harken back to western traditions of the American cowboy. What better way to experience this than to attend one’s first rodeo, so we headed out to the Poway Rodeo to immerse ourselves in the dust kicked up by wranglers and their horses.
We thought it was rather cool to find the Poway Rodeo’s Master of Ceremonies riding his own horse. It’s an Appaloosa.
Here’s a bull evading the cowboys at the Poway Rodeo. Competitive rodeo became popular after the Civil War. In fact, the first officially recognized competitive rodeo took place in 1872 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Then, in 1888, the first professional competitive rodeo took place in Prescott, Arizona.
And, in this photo, we can see the Poway Rodeo wranglers waiting for another bull to be released. The wranglers have their lassos at the ready.
Here’s a photo of us watching the action at the Poway Rodeo.
There was certainly a lot of dust in the air with all the galloping taking place.
During intermission we found some John Deere tractors to climb upon.
Did you know that the word tractor has its etymological roots in the Latin word which means “to pull” — that is, trahere? Its precursor was the traction engine, which came into existence in the mid-1800s. Then in 1892 John Froelich invented what the world now recognizes as the first petrol-powered tractor. By 1901 the word “tractor” widely displaced the term “traction engine.”
Also, during intermission, we made time to visit some of the concession stands where folks can purchase country western merchandise.
Of course, part of being country involves sporting a cowboy hat. Here’s a booth that was selling troves of them.
When we returned to watching the Poway Rodeo action after intermission we discovered a role-playing actor near our seats. He was part of a team that reenacted some historic western scenes on horseback.
Imagine our delight in discovering that young kids can also participate in the rodeo, particularly in the event called mutton busting! Here’s a photo of the sheep being rounded up at the Poway Rodeo for mutton busting.
Mutton busting is similar to bull riding and bronco riding. But, with mutton busting, young kids ride sheep. Of course, the kids have to wear helmets — and their parents have to sign waivers for legal purposes.
After the mutton busting event, it was back to the wranglers and their lassos. A rodeo has different events taking place. Besides the mutton busting at the Poway Rodeo, we also saw some tie-down roping and team roping, some bull riding, and some saddle bronc riding.
The Poway Rodeo is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Indeed, the Poway Rodeo first took place back in 1973.
We enjoyed our time at the Poway Rodeo. We hope this blog post will inspire you to also attend a rodeo near you.
