rodeo!

not only did I stumble into a rodeo at the end of the line on the only saturday in texas, but I ended up at a motel on the south edge of lamesa that looked cheap but not dingy...and it was three blocks from the rodeo fairgrounds. I've noticed that (not surprisingly) every texas town has a rodeo ring, just like every indiana town has a souped up basketball gym and every ohio backyard has cornhole boards. (does every carolina town have a dirt race track? every florida town a dog track?) events started at 8pm, with the obligatory post-rodeo dance at 10pm. knowing that texans like to dress for the occasion, I was in a bit of a quandary. no pearl buttons, no string tie, no tight jeans, and no stetson. I wasn't about to head to the local western outfitter, not least because I've got nowhere to store any extra gear. and I doubt the george strait look suits me. so I went with the only uniform I had (no, not 70s runner)...jeans, cycle boots, leather jacket, and rode the bike those three blocks so I could justify the get up. as if anyone noticed. parked the bike in a dust pit just as the announcer was going over thank yous and obligatory patriotic platitudes. sure enough the crowd was uniformed...men and teenage guys in tall hats, pressed pearl-button shirts, high-and-tight jeans, boots. many women (and all the teenagers) in some combination of sundress/daisy dukes/short skirt and showy boots. pink boots, suede boots, alligator skin boots...matching optional. I didn't fit so well. that and the constantly snapping camera...I was determined to take pictures of people, something I've rarely ventured to do.

anyway, I settled in next to the rail -- the stands were packed -- while the announcer ran through a gushy prayer heavy on the troops. and then cut seamlessly from francis scott key to the village people (not even a beat in between). I had figured out from what I knew of the rodeo in ralls that I skipped that these were fairly packaged affairs. a town contracts the rodeo portion at least (presumably city council can handle the parade and 'miss rodeo 2010' part) to one of a number of rodeo production outfits. the latter supplies the broncos, the calves, the announcer, the clown, the referee, cowhands, one 'specialty act' involving lassoes, and so on. then locals show up to ride the broncs and rope the calves, along with a handful of semipros who bounce from show to show. all this makes practical sense...but it takes away some of the local-ness of the event, especially when the announcer and the clown need to put themselves at the center of it all. predictably, the show for them was all about 'firing up' the audience and instructing us when to cheer and make noise. now these were texans, but there was no beer at the rodeo, so most were content to sit on their hands and watch the action intently. that wasn't enough for the showman duo, which asked several times if anyone there was from lamesa. such is american entertainment. strange mix of cornpone morality (how many people here are happily married?) and jokes about marital infidelity, brokeback mountain jokes, and the like. and a conspicuous lack of country music.

other than the blather, hext productions did put on a better show than if the broncs were tired old castoffs from local ranches. so there was bronco-riding of the standard sort, calf-roping, and the rope tricks guy. I left after a couple of hours, so it's possible I missed the bull-riding, but I'm guessing that's something better left to professionals. but since this was a local, non-competitive thang, there were also kids' versions...namely donkey riding and 'mutton-busting.' so tykes strangle-holding terrified sheep as they sprint around the ring doing their best impressions of broncos...kicking like real horses. unsurprisingly these six-year-olds had some moxie, hands vised/tangled in wool, legs flying, body sliding off the side. nobody attempted an odysseus hold, unfortunately. needless to say a slightly different take on acceptable risk for kids...one kid took a pretty good stomp to the gut from a sheep. got up and staggered off, collapsed, writhed around a bit, and was carried off. the kids' event highlight was the calf chase -- ten or so holstein calves had been tagged with various prize tickets, from $5 to a shopping spree at walmart. and about 100 kids. slow-motion chaos as the increasingly panicked calves jogged around the ring just in front of the throngs before they were swallowed up. I guess farm animals put up with a lot every day, but this looked excessive. but hilarious.

spectating the spectators won the night...I'll let the photos tell that story. I realize I snapped way more cowboys than cowgirls, unfortunately, mostly because the interesting outfit accessories were on top for men (pearl buttons, hat) but down low for women (skirts and boots), so the men were more readily photogenic sitting in the stands. and it's hard enough (for me, at least) to snap covert candids of strangers, but taking pictures of legs and boots was a step too far...so you'll have to imagine the wonderful array of boots on parade.