Rodeo | Down Home Traveler

In October 2007, I found myself in Wyoming. Where did I go first? Cheyenne Frontier Days, of course! Cheyenne Frontier Days is one of the two most popular destinations for the rodeo, besides Calgary.

This rodeo has been going on for a long time. Cheyenne holds a ton of history in the cowboy and cowgirl department. Started in 1987, the Cheyenne Frontier Days is one of the largest and most popular annual rodeo celebrations in the world, drawing in hundreds of thousands of visitors during the 10 day span in July!

Rodeos and concerts – if you are a rodeo star or musician, I would be amazed if you haven’t ridden or played here. Reba McEntire use to ride here before she turned to singing.

When I arrived at Cheyenne Frontier Days, it was obviously not July, and they did not have a rodeo going on. That’s ok – I’ll be back! So I checked out the museum. 🙂

The museum showcases a ton of history. Costumes of cowgirls, cowboys and the rodeo clowns.

The museum showcases some many stars including Tuff Hedeman and Lane Frost

Something I admire are the photographs. They show the everyday details of the cowboys, cowgirls and their loved ones, not only in the arena, but off as well. These are hard workers, who appreciate and challenge themselves everyday. This isn’t cut out for everyone.

Now you know they don’t all ride their horses in. Various forms of transportation are showcased from current to way back when.

Something that draws me to rodeos is really the simplicity that is at the base of it all. It all comes back to working the land, getting your hands dirty and proving what you’ve got and that you can make it. It gets back to the roots of what this country has to provide. This country wasn’t built on corporations and big businesses, it was built on working with the resources that you have. At the end of the day, it’s about being proud and seeing what you can do with your own two hands. These men and women take the tools they learn on their ranches and farms and put them into the competition to prove that they are the best.

Get on out there!

Enjoy the ride!On my way out I asked the ladies in the Gift Shop the best way to Laramie. They gave me two options, the quicker (highway) way and the more scenic way. Scenic way it is – Happy Jack Highway here I come!

Over the weekend we went to check out the 2nd Annual Haslet Wild West Fest and Chili Cookoff. Needless to say, we’ll be back next year. Haslet is a small, growing community north of Ft. Worth, Texas. You are in the country yet far away from the city that you forget it’s there.

When we first arrived we saw cattle trucks. I was already excited. They had a small rodeo arena set up with a lot of bleachers ready for fans to view the day’s upcoming events. Over in the park there were small venues set up including Lee’s BBQ (my food critic says the turkey leg was delicious), Sweet Tea, Italian Ice, Craft booths, a bus for the blood drive and a festival wouldn’t be a festival in Texas without a mechanical bull. On the far end of the park sat the contestants for the Chili Cookoff.

This being only the second year of this festival, there were about 10 teams ready to go for the Chili Cookoff. Each person gets a sample of each tent’s Chili, then when you are ready, you can vote for the “People’s Choice” award. I’m just going to come right out and say it – I voted for Hippie’s Blend Chili. It was so good I’m thinking of showing up next year with a mason jar asking if I can take some to go. It was nice to walk around, talk to the chefs and see the different tastes in each chili. Some were more meaty, one had brisket and some were pretty watery. The thing I love best about Texas Chili is that it has no beans. Makes my choices a little easier – I’m not a bean fan.

Hippies Blend! Yummy!

The Rodeo Arena had events going on all day. First, we started off with high school rodeo. I had never seen high school kids partaking in bull riding so I figured, eh they are probably on smaller bulls. Wrong. They get right up there like the grown men. They did really well! Hopefully we’ll see some of them in a professional competition in a few years. Later on in the evening, the professional bull riding was to take place. We didn’t stay for the entire day so we happened to miss out on this. At least we got to see the high school kids ride the bulls.

Next up – Weiner Dog Races. We were looking forward to this but happened to miss the event.
Mutton Bustin! This I was excited about and apparently so wasn’t everyone else. For those who are not familiar with Mutton Bustin, parents sign up their children (under 50 lbs) to ride on the back of a sheep and hold on. It’s the children’s form of bull riding, with sheep. It’s really quite entertaining, and super cute.

My favorite future rodeo star!

If you are in the North Texas area in May, be sure to swing over and check out festival. It’s great for the entire family in this small Texas town. Great food, entertainment and I think all the ladies will agree there’s nothing like walking around and seeing real cowboys everywhere you turn. You really get to experience what Texas is all about!

The Edmunds Family at the Wild West Fest!