We took the whole family and none of us knew what to expect because it was everybody's first time. Some of the riders wore hockey helmets and face guards but most of them just wore cowboy hats on their heads, which was a little unnerving. I wasn't quite sure if we should have brought the kids with us just in case horrific accidents happened during these events. I wanted to say, don't worry they aren't going to get hurt but I really didn't believe that.
It was held in the local arena. Half the floor was used for the dance and drinking that came after the bull riding was over. They actually used the saying, "dance until the cows come home," after the event.
Anyway, it all started out by turning off all the lights and announcing the cowboys using strobe lights and a spotlight (one thing I wasn't expecting). There was a winner of the Calgary Stampede there which was pretty exciting. Then the bull riding started and I was terrified when the bull came out jumping all over the place with the guy riding him. It wasn't a question of if he was going to get flung off the bull, it was a question of when.
After a few of the cowboys were flung off the bulls unscathed I started not being so horrified anymore and really enjoyed it. There were, however, those scary moments when the bull started to charge at everybody and they had to run and climb up the gate to get away, but nobody got hurt.
But just as I was starting to become accustomed to the scene in front of me, they decided to do something else. Mexican poker! They set up four lawn chairs around a table in the bull riding ring (I think it's called that) and four men are selected to sit around the table. They put their hands on the table and the last one still sitting is the winner. In the mean time, they set loose a bull to run around them and charge at them. It took three bulls until they found the winner, only because the bull charged through the rest of them smashing everything in it's path. The man who won was the only one whose chair wasn't in pieces. The table was gone too and even though the bull crashed through the other guys, they seemed fine after, a little defeated but fine.
My daughter was distraught, as I was. She screamed and asked "Mommy, why? Why are they letting the mean bull do this!" But then my boy was loving it, he sat still and watched everything with a smile on his face. Paul said, "Wow, how do I sign up for next year!"
A very appropriate roll eyes and mutter something about boys and their intelligence moment.
Oh and by the way, Merry Spring! Ho Ho Ho
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