Put on your stetson, we're heading to the rodeo

Okay, so we've actually already been to the rodeo, and I don't own a stetson, but the title sounded good. Last Saturday (November 13th) night we went to the Canadian Finals Rodeo held here in Edmonton at Rexall Place. We sat in the nosebleed section, which was fine. We could see the whole arena clearly from where we sat, and we didn't have to worry about any angry bulls charging the fence (which had happened the night before). Andrew and I brought our dinner (I love packing sandwiches on this sort of occasion), since we were on the LRT shortly after 6:00 pm and the show started at 7:00 pm.

I found the rodeo interesting, although I'm not too sure what to say beyond that. It's not something you'd readily find in other parts of Canada (although there was one cowboy from Ontario, and a few from Saskatchewan and BC), or at least not to such a large extent, so I thought it was one of those things we needed to do before leaving the province. That being said, would I/we go again? I know Andrew was not a fan. He could see the skill required and purpose of calf roping (done in singles and pairs), and he liked the woman's barrel racing, but didn't care for the bronco/steer/bull riding. I can see that. Really, why would anyone in their right mind willing take a seat on an angry animal whose sole goal is to get you off their back and possibly trample you in the process? I can see how it might easily be taken as a testosterone charged contest--and whether or not that's how the contestants feel I don't know. Regardless, I found myself cheering and hollering all the same and maybe that's just because I don't step back and think about things in an introspective manner.

The scoreboard over head listing how the cowboy's ranked, and showing us close-up pictures of the contestants as they waited to be released into the arena.

My pictures seemed to be rather washed out, but it looks like it's team calve roping here.

Bronco riding, don't remember if it's with or without a saddle, though.

After everything is said and done, I did enjoy myself. Not in an, 'oh my gosh that was fantastic I can't wait until next year' sort of way, more an 'I've never had that experience before and I'm glad I can say I've seen what it's like' kind of way. In fact, I really appreciated the horses used throughout the rodeo. Although I grew up in the country, I never lived on a farm, so I've always thought horses were pretty--and there were some very lovely horses in the arena on Saturday night. Beautiful white ones,with long flowing manes (just the type you might expect Princess Buttercup to ride away on), and gorgeous Pinto horses. *sigh* Maybe in my retirement I'll learn how to ride (right, like I'm going to have free time when I stop working for pay).

All-in-all we can cross rodeo off on our list of things to do before we leave Alberta. Yeah, we've got a 'to do list,' since we don't expect to stay out here for the rest of our lives and we want to make sure we've seen what the province has to offer. Next up? I don't know. It'll probably have to wait until spring when the weather improves (-24C today). Maybe a trip to Drumheller, or the Badlands, since I've never been to either.

Ciao,

Andrea