"
Well, it's bulls and blood
It's the dust and mud
It's the roar of a Sunday crowd
It's the white in his knuckles
The gold in his buckle
He'll win the next go 'round
It's boots and chaps
It's cowboy hats
It's spurs and latigo
It's the ropes and the reins
And the joy and the pain
And they call the thing rodeo
"
Last Saturday afternoon, Jim and I put down our nail guns and paint brushes, got ourselves cleaned up, joined our friends Michele and Courtland and headed down to Lost River for the annual Teets Bulls ‘N Barrels Rodeo. This event is put on by the Teets family, owners of Teets Cattle Company and Lost River Butcher Block. It has been occurring for over 10 years but this is the first time that Jim and I have attended. It did not disappoint!
This rodeo is a sanctioned event in the schedule of Professional Bull Riders. So the riders we saw, and the bulls they were attempting to ride, are all part of the PBR system and their rides would affect their rankings in the ongoing competition. There were riders there from all over the U.S. and even Brazil! According to some of the folks Michele and Courtland knew, who were at the entry selling tickets, there were several thousand people in attendance.
This is the view that the Cowboys have!
It’s great going to something like this with folks who are from the area, have attended before and are generally very social animals. This completely describes our friends, Courtland and Michele and their daughters. We were taken by the hand and literally “shown the ropes” (fitting for a rodeo, don’t you think?). Michele had brought along fantastic food & drink. Courtland had gone to the venue much earlier in the day and gotten a pop up canopy set up for us on the hillside overlooking the corral. The afternoon was sunny & hot, so this was a well appreciated piece of shade that we all hunkered under.
The late afternoon schedule of events included “mutton busting” and greased pig catching competitions for kids. There were Tug of War and Steer Branding Team competitions for adults. Competitions for Best dressed Cowboys and Cowgirls for all ages and a collection of family focused activities in a fairground midway setting. And of course, people watching is always a main focus of entertainment at an event like this!
The clouds gave a break in the heat as the afternoon turned to evening and to the main events. Trick Riding, Barrel Racing and of course, the Bull Riding. It’s amazing how long 8 seconds can seem when you’re cheering for the rider to hold on! The bulls were high kickers and crazy spinners and just generally ornery! I think there were only 4 or 5 riders who lasted the 8 seconds or more to get officially scored rides. But every ride was exciting and the crowd was rooting every rider on!
Keep your eye on that Cowboy in the red plaid shirt and dusty jeans, 5 from the left. He’s about to come out of the chute!
By the end of the evening we were all very dusty and tired, but had that great feeling of having been outdoors and in the company of friends for an enjoyable and entertaining day. We will definitely plan to do it again next year - and you should join us!
Written By: Patrik Jens Berger / Sandra Nasic / Steve Lironi
Recorded by: Garth Brooks