Cinch Magazine- Your Online Equestrian Source

What Rodeo Feels Like

Cinch Magazine, Press Release

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It wasn’t my first rodeo, but it was the most exhilarating. The second annual Beamsville Western Rodeo, held Saturday and Sunday, July 17-18 at the Beamsville Fairgrounds, welcomed fans to the classic events of rodeo and gave Niagara residents the feel of Calgary without leaving Ontario.

Rain and thunder held off Saturday and thank goodness no heat wave sizzled in on Sunday. None the less, the triple-decker, chocolate coated ice cream cones more than a few people passed me with, were tempting.

The day offered a bit for everyone and even gave a dozen animal right activists an excuse to enjoy the fine weather, though they didn’t receive much support from the enthusiastic rodeo fans driving in.

I picked up an official event brochure, but I apologize I didn’t get many of the competitor’s scores and times … I did however add a few autographs to my collection, retrieve a Boston Pizza Frisbee for a little girl (Frisbees were thrown to the crowd and somehow I’d been in the right place and ended with a few to divvy out) and watched a future cowboy lasso a mechanical calf from a mechanical horse. I lacked the confidence to challenge him.

But the Beamsville Western Rodeo was more than a good time, it was an eye opener. I crossed paths and spoke with the youngest competitors at the event and retired rodeo cowboys, there for a good time.

Although I didn’t speak with them, I observed the many signs of protestors outside the rodeo grounds and a paper slip left on my windshield told me their side of the story. I noticed the majority of rodeo goers threw theirs away unread.

But it was the stories of a cowboy that’s been attending rodeos every weekend most his life and the stories of Jr. Bull Riders and Barrel Racers that spoke to me most.

Rodeo isn’t first a sport, nor is it first entertainment, it is a lifestyle lived and breathed by the competitor whose horse pulls at the bit in anticipation of chasing a calf, the bull fighter who dares to put himself between a fallen rider and a one ton Texas longhorn, and the pickup man that’s been on the job for twenty years, scooping riders from the backs of broncos.

Rodeo is one of the last places where history is still being lived, and still feels as natural as it had two-hundred years ago. In early North American history, duties on the ranch ranged from roping cattle to breaking horses. With the arrival of barbed wire, railroad and civilization, this lifestyle was forever changed but preserved by “cowboy competitions” and Wild West shows – the few places a working cowboy could still earn his meal.

The love of cowboy spirit has not faded and cowboys and cowgirls still test their grit in the ranch activities of long ago. Most spend their weeks in a camper with their horses in tow, traveling from rodeo to rodeo. Others work the ranch during the week and haul to places like the Beamsville Fairgrounds on the weekend. The bronco horses enjoy pasture everyday and buck for eight seconds in the ring about thirteen times a year. With ears forward, some of the horses really seem to get a kick out of unsaddling their cowboy. At the Beamsville Western Rodeo, cowboy spirit and grit holds strong. From the cowboy who broke his toe and talked about it as if it were a hangnail, to the winner of the bull ride event who almost didn’t score when one judge gave a thumbs down to his performance.

The passion for this event is electric, the lifestyle vivid in the Stetsons and chaps seen across the grounds. You can’t question the love these competitors have for their horses. They take losses as a learning curb and wins as an answer to prayer.

I chatted with three junior competitors whose enthusiasm for the rodeo, I’m sure, is what kept the rain away. James has followed in his father’s footsteps and has been bull riding for four years. How good is he? “Uh, PBR rider,” he says. His buddy and I laugh. “No. No. I’m joking.”

His friend, Lane, found his way into the sport despite his mom not being a rider, and admitted when he competes, he’s housed with “PBR rider, here.” I get the impression bull riding is like hockey to these kids. They love it. But is it nerve racking? “No. Well, not no more,” Lane says. “When we first started it was.”

Fifteen-year-old Victoria won Jr. Barrel Racing at the Beamsville Western Rodeo on her horse, Creamer, and loves the adrenaline rush. “As soon as I could hold up my own head, I was on a horse.” She’s taken a paycheck at her last five events and competes every week. She also rides English but says Western is better, “For sure.”

The easy nature and friendliness of rodeo competitors is amazing. They want nothing more than to share their sport and lifestyle with others.

My longest conversation came with retired roper and 26 time year end Ontario Champion. Joe’s even roped at the Calgary Stampede a couple times. He has nothing against the protestors at the Beamsville Western Rodeo but sees both sides of it. Bronco horses spend maybe 110 seconds a year in the arena. “The rest of the time they’re in pasture, fed grain, and they run in a herd. They’re living the life. I know [for some people] that doesn’t justify it, but if they weren’t broncos they’d be dog food. They’ve hurt somebody in real life.” And the bulls, “They butcher bulls when they’re three. Some of these bulls are fifteen. But try to explain that to somebody.” Joe owns a 39 year old retired rope horse.

He spent his childhood on a cattle farm. Though his parents weren’t horse people, from age six, all he wanted for Christmas was a pony. “Kind of born with it. You can see these guys, they really love their horses. If one gets hurt, they cry. That’s their life. It’s in their blood. You’re never going to end it. But they’re trying to. What are you going to do?”

My roots in rodeo, I admit, are minute – though I wish they were deeper. Attending the Beamsville Western Rodeo opened my eyes to a tradition that against all odds has had the grit to survive. Like Joe said, you’re born with it.

It opened my eyes to a lifestyle I love but also to a lifestyle my horse, a retired barrel racer, once lived. Late Saturday night, I returned from the rodeo and watched her nibble the grass. She’s a good horse, stout, smart. Loves life. Twenty-seven and can never get enough of galloping. When she’s really having a hay-day in the field, she’ll paint an imaginary barrel and spin. I guess you never lose the rodeo spirit.

To learn more go to: www.beamsvillewesternrodeo.com.