Sheridan, Wyoming – The home of the WYO Rodeo!

We drove on Highway looking for a welcome center, but the best we could do was to pull out of the highway at the welcome billboard for Wyoming. We needed to stretch our legs so we went over to the billboard and had our picture taken. Just as we pulled over another car full of girls stopped and wanted their pictures taken too. Then a truck full of hay rolls came and stooped too. We were looking like a parking lot. We chatted with the girls who were on their way to Colorado. Soon we were on the road again.

About twenty miles from Sheridan, we let our Garmin Girl guide us to our KOA. We were told that we did not have site with electricity, but we could use the electricity from site number 2 a few sites down to blow up our matrasses. That was fine. I plugged in my long orange extension cord, sat down in the shade and went to work. Halfway into pumping up the second matrass, a green pickup drove up to the camping spot. The fellow called out from the car. "Shade is at a premium see!" I looked up and said I would be done in a jiffy. John went over and chatted with the couple for a few minutes and I was done. I told them they were welcome to use my electric cord for their matrass as well. They said thanks and began getting their tent placed in the shade.

As we continued to work and set up our tent sites, we continued to chat with Angelina and Emil who came from South Dakota. We told them that we were planning to go to the rodeo. Emil got really excited about this, especially when we told him that we had never gone to one before and this would be our first, honest to goodness RODEO! Emil said, "You will love it and you will never be the same!" They had come to Sheridan for the rodeo as well and then would be going to Yellowstone. Emil was a cattle rancher who raised Angus cattle in South Dakota. Angeline was a nurse practitioner in the cardiology department. It got to be a stressful job so she set up her own nail spa, and she's happy as punch!
We each set our own table for a light meal and they offered us wine with dinner. I offered a coffee cake which I bought at the Family Kitchen in Billings. Upon finishing dinner, we found that none of us had tickets, and we decided to leave early in case we had to stand in line. So we headed out to the Sheridan Fairgrounds. There we were pulled into a parking lot by a boy scout who charged us five dollars and directed us into a spot. The lot belonged to a medical building that also treats emergencies. We thought that was odd, having a medical building near the Fairgrounds, but we were reassured of the reason later on.

We got out of our car, grabbed some water bottles, and followed the crowd toward the fence. You had to make yourself very skinny to edge yourself between the fence and the post, obviously this was the back end of things. We found ourselves where the contestants keep their horses and some were entering through the special entrance for participants. I was glad I wore my old tennis shoes. Boots would have been better, though my boots are only for line dancing and I wouldn't want to wear them in this area with mud and horse poop. No one else was looking down but me as the cute horse girls were bringing in their horses. I looked up and camera ready, asked If I could take their picture. Then the Rodeo Queen walked her horse over and John asked to have his picture taken with her. She said, "Why, shuh thing!"
We then walked around to the ticket building and found a line of people snaked all around serpentine passed the food stands and beyond. We followed the line as it led to the ticket booth. As we rounded the corner we saw a big sign that said, "SOLD OUT." Emil said, "Oh, no. Now we won't be able to see the rodeo." Angelina and I looked at each other and said, "Not if we can help it!" and rushed past the crowd that was heading for the last bleachers. We climbed up like we knew what we were doing and looked for empty seats. Well, by now all the seats seemed to be taken. So we made our way to the very top of the bleachers and there seemed to be standing room only. We were fine with that because you could see everything from there, and we were not in the sun like he people across the way who were baking in the Sheridan sun.
From the very start this event was a state of the art. They had a jumbo screen in case you missed something exciting, they would show you again. The master of ceremony spoke with a cowboy drawl and explained everything real good. He began introducing the color guard and they marched to the middle of the ring. Then he introduced a trio of singers who sang the national anthem in three voice acapella that brought down the house. Finally, he introduced all the dignitaries that rode up in their beautiful horses including the Rodeo Queen that graced us with her picture. After a standing ovation everyone sat down…except us, but that was OK.

The first event on the ticket was the Indian Relay. Today, since it was the last day of the rodeo the events were the finals of the last three days. So these were the best contestants and boy did they look eager. They came in running with their teams: thee horses, and three handlers. There were four teams of riders and they all had wonderfully clever Indian names like Spirit Moon, Thunder Cloud, Roaring Bear, Brave Wolf, and Star Dancer. They were bear chested but with painted designs on their chest and on their horses. The horses were eagerly prancing about but were not too eager to get ridden. Since they had no saddles these horsemen had to great riders to stay on the horse.
They all lined up and even if they were not all ready the bell would ring and handlers would hold the horse as the rider grabbed the main and swivel himself on the horse and off they would go around the track. The Jumbotron screen would focus on them all around so the audience could see who was ahead as well as the caller who made the ride even more exciting. When they came around again they would leap off their horse and jump on the next one and off they would race again! In some cases if the rider did not get on the horse, the horse would take off and race without a rider. The final time the third horse that had been waiting would take off with the rider and the race would go on. In one case the horse gave such a hard time to his rider that even if he was way ahead, he pushed his horse so hard it all most passed all the other horses in the race but ended second. It was so much fun to see how the relay worked and how magnificent the riders were as they rode so fast and furiously around the dirt track. When the awards were given, the winner graciously took the mic and dedicated his win to his brother who was recuperating in the hospital.
The next event was the steer wrestling which is a pretty fast event. It starts off with the wrestler cowboy, the "bulldogger" and the helper known as the "hazer" who keeps the bull near the wrestle. They both wait and give the bull a head start until the bull hits a line in the arena called the "score line" then both cowboys take off after the bull and as soon as the bulldogger gets close enough, he jumps on the bull and grabs it by the horns. He then presses his heels into the dirt for leverage and "BOOM" down goes the bull. If he does this the fastest and wins some money, he gives some to the hazer. That way they work as a team. After the bull is down for a while he is then released and is chased by a pretty cowgirl to the far end of the arena. All the contestants did pretty well at this event and the best one was the one that could do it the fastest. It also helps to have a good quarter horse that can help the cowboy get to the bull fast.
The next event was the team roping event. This is the only event when who cowboys work together. This again is a timed event and it helps to have a good quarter horse. The lead horse is usually bigger and stronger and the "heel" horse is more agile. The event begins with the bull getting a head start, then the lead horse goes and the cowboy lassos the bull around the head and turns him around so the heel cowboy can rope him around the legs. When both ropes are held tight then the time is stopped. Unfortunately, there was only one team that was successful of all the teams of cowboys. In most cases the bull would not get roped and would run around happily seeming to tease the cowboys and start running for the exit pursued by the pretty girl. That was pretty funny to us new to rodeo antics.

Now they were getting ready for the Saddle Bronc Riding event. They were having some trouble getting the wild horses ready, so to kill some time the announcer told a story of how the Native Americans chose names for their children. He said he got this story from a Comanche chief. As it was told to him when a baby is born, the father looks out from his teepee and whatever he sees will give him the name for the new baby. When his daughter was born he, pulled back the flap and saw a swan swimming in the pond. So he named his daughter, Swimming Swan. When his son was born, he looked out and saw a dog on top of the other. So he named his son Fornicating Dog. (F***ing Dog). For a moment the audience was quiet then they got it and exploded in a roar of laughter.

The announcer spoke a lot about the Native Americans in this part of the United States as a horse nation. The Spanish Conquistadors and settlers introduced the horse to the new world and the Native Americans realized the importance of this animal in their lives. The horse made it easier to follow the buffalo herds and kill the ones they needed to sustain them through the winters. They learned to breed and increase their numbers such that when the American settlers started coming across the plains there were herds of wild horses in the West. Since the Native Americans have been put in reservations and changed their way of life, being a horse nation continues to still be a big part of the Native American way of life. He made it a point that the western cowboy owed a lot to the Native tribes for their horsemanship.

By now the horses were all settled in the chute and the contestants were ready. According to some sources, Saddle Bronc Riding is the classic event. It requires the balance of a gymnast, timing of a springboard diver, and grace of a dancer. Emil explained to us that the rider's feet must touch the horse's shoulder on the first jump out of the chute. If he fails to do this, he is disqualified. He holds on with one hand to the saddle horn as he attempts to place his feet over the horse's shoulder a split second before the animal's front feet strike the ground. As the horse bucks the rider bends his knees and finishes with a spurring stroke with his spurs near the back of the saddle then he snaps his feet back to the horse's shoulder as the animal touches the ground. Technique is most important and of course the cowboy has to stay the regulation time on the horse for a good score.
Everyone was excited for the first cowboy to take his turn. The ride was a good one and it scored in the 80s. The next two contestants were DQd, but then the excited announcer said this ride was the best he had ever seen. We all looked on the Jumbotron screen for the score and it came up 90! The announcer kept up his excited talking and he put the ride back on the screen so we could all see how great it was. Well, to us they all were fantastic but the judges know just what to look for and we have to take their word for it. No one else scored higher so we had our winner.
The Tie Down Roping event went pretty well for most contestants. They let the bull go first then the cowboy goes after the bull and ropes him and his horse hold him in place while the cowboy jumps on the bull and ties his feet together. The bull plays dead for a while, they seem to know how the game is played, then the bell rings and the assistants untie the steer and he gets up and runs to the exit being chased by a pretty, little cowgirl.
Now it was time for the girls to take the arena. The first event for women was the Barrel Racing. This is a timed event in which the competitor enters the arena from a 3:00 location circles around the barrel at 6:00 location then goes across to a 12:00 location circles the barrel and goes to the 9:00 location then goes off at 3:00 exit. All the turns around the barrel must be counter clock wise and if the horse goes the other way, the contestant has to do it again correctly. Whoever does the clover leaf figure the fastest, wins. This event started in 1948 in Texas by women who thought they would add a bit of femininity to the rodeo. It has become a lucrative sport for some. The National Finals pay out over $50,000. We watched as the four participants got their turns around the barrels. Only one succeeded in doing the figure perfectly. The rider and the horse had to work together as one to really make it perfect.
The next event was the exhibition riding also done by the girls. There were three girls in this event. They each took turns riding around the arena showing their stunts as they rode around as fast as the horse could run. They looked like ballerinas on horses doing arabesques and turns on the saddle. One jumped off the ground and swiveled over the saddle and jumped on the other side all while the horse was riding about thirty miles an hour around the dirt arena. Each time they had their turn again, they came back with more difficult tricks. This is an event you would see at the Wild, Wild, West Show. The finale the rider stood on her saddle and unfurled and large American flag that waved behind her as she rode. This brought the crowd to its feet.
This event got the crowd ready for the big event of the evening, Bull Riding. Rodeos began on cattle ranches and cattle drives in the Old West. Most of the events reflect what cowboys do on a ranch, such as roping, and taking down steer to brand them. Bull Riding is not one of them and some think you have to be nuts to ride a bull. Bulls basically do not want riders on them and they will buck anyway they can to get the rider off. Each bull has a unique way of bucking. Some spin around in circles in place bucking as they turn. Some buck in place and add a jump or kick as they spin. And still some jump side to side or lunge forward to make it difficult for the rider to stay on. The rider has to be agile, coordinated, have quick reflexes, and especially a good attitude. Emil noted that the successful riders are usually small men that have low center of gravity and can move compactly as the bull moves. The rider has to stay on the bull for 8 seconds. The score comes from his control on the bull and the bull's style of bucking.
We were excited to see the first contestant as he was shown on the Jumbotron getting his hand would around with rope. They did not wear cowboy hats but helmets like football players. When he was ready, he gave a nod with his head and they would open up the chute. That was the cue for the bull to start his bucking. Most of the bull riders never made the eight second mark, except one that rode a ferocious looking bull. When he jumped off, you could see that he was a small man, more like a kid. The announcer said he was five foot two which almost as small as I am. The bull on the other hand was huge by comparison. So you had to admire the cowboy's courage.
At the end of the rodeo all the flags of the many sponsors were carried around by riders on magnificent horses as they paraded at a fast gallop in front of the audience. Music was a big part of the rodeo and the announcer used the music to get everyone excited especially now when the sponsors were given tribute. You could see that it took a lot of money and organization to put this rodeo together. We were very impressed at the showmanship and the way events went without a hitch. Even if someone got hurt a golf cart would come out and get the contestant off the arena so the show could go on. Now we understood why they had a hospital right next door for quick attention.
The Rodeo was over but the evening was not done. Down town Sheridan had blocked off Main Street where the celebration would continue with dancing, eating, and games. So we said good bye to Emil and Angelina and said we would see them at the street party. When we got there the party was already underway. There were bands playing at both ends of the street and games and food and lots of beer in between. We walked the whole length of the street and did some window shopping at some of the western stores that were opened for business. We got to one end and heard familiar Rock and Roll music with people dancing and having a great time. When we got to the other end, we heard "Louisiana Saturday Night" and we got out there and joined the group of energetic dancers.

By the time we got home we felt we had put in a full day. We met up with Emil and Angelina who said they had been to the street party and had sampled some of their Indian Tacos, which I am told is a stable food at Rodeos. Well, Emil was right. Our life would never be the same after experiencing a Rodeo! Your life changes every time you learn something new and we learned a great deal not only the fantastic feats performed by this select group of extraordinary people, but by the spirit of the event. This was not lost among the performers, audience, or sponsors. Homage was given to the Scholarships given to college bound students, the Therapeutic Horseback riding for children of Disabilities, Animal Welfare, and Recognition of our fighting men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Recognition of Native American Horse Culture. For us the great benefit was getting to know Emil and Angelina who we have grown to appreciate and will keep as good friends.