While Geoff and brother-in-law, Steve, headed off to Drumheller for the day, the rest of us strolled the main walking street to purchase some cowboy gear and then get settled. Later that afternoon, we wandered over to the Stampede grounds to take our chances at the Arcades and grab some food before heading to the Chuck Wagon races that evening.
Unsuccessful at either winning the games or finding any food that wasn't fried, we headed over to the awesome Stampede grounds for the main event.
We arrived at the grounds and were lucky to be able to stand right down by the rails for the beginning festivities, hosted by Mike and Jenn's friends who were closely affiliated to the tournament.
After a couple of races, we made our way to the seats to meet Geoff and Steve be who had been a little delayed due to a pesky rock making unwanted contact with their rental car's windshield. Thank goodness they were not hurt and suffered little more than some frustration and extensive paperwork.
The Chuck Wagon races were chaotic and exciting, even though we still don't totally understand how they works. Our research about the role of the inside and outside riders still left us wondering and so we sat back and simply cheered on the horses as they made their final turns.
The Rodeo the following day made much more sense. Whether watching vowboys try to stay on the bucking broncos or horses or Lassu a calf or navigate their horses around barrels, it was easy to understand what they were trying to accomplish. And they were very talented. But the best race was the last one where three teenagers per group tried to catch and mount a Shetland pony. They were incredibly passionate, if not entirely successful.
The life of a cowboy looks like a hard one. And that of an animal even harder. So it makes sense what they preach - save a horse, ride a cowboy!
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