When the rodeo starts it's usually with mutton busting. If you are not familiar with this it is small kids, pre-kindergarten usually, trying to ride sheep. If they hang on for more than a few seconds they are sure to be a winner. If they don't they still get a trophy. It always provides some laughs and gets everyone in the mood. When the big kids ride you will quickly see that the animals are more experienced than the cowboys, but the crashes are the best part of rodeo. If someone makes it to eight seconds it is cause for a major ovation. Pay attention to the clowns who work for salary but save uncounted lives every show while risking their personal safety. It takes lots of fortitude and savvy of bull intelligence to stay alive as a rodeo clown. Without them though we would run out of bull riders pretty quick.

After you’ve experienced the excitement of a few rodeos it gets in your blood. The sights, sounds and smells become a trigger for joy. Seeing the animals, hearing the cheers and catching the aroma of hot dogs and funnel cakes you know it has to be a rodeo...eventually you even learn to love the smell of the corrals.