Rodeo Time!!!

It's that time of year again, when the temperature drops to below freezing and the rain threatens to fall every second of the day. It's rodeo time!

The tradition in Katy, Texas (a place with a small town mentality and a big town population) is to have the annual rodeo behind Katy High School. I used to tell my friends that you knew you were hick when the town rodeo grounds were just behind the football field. When you see one of your friends walking down the school halls after school with their latest steer, and your only comment is, "He looks good this year!"

Every year at this time the annual rodeo and parade takes over the historic part of Katy. Kids come out to see the livestock, FFA members compete for that winning steer, and the trained longhorn comes out to take pictures with the kids. All a part of the small town feel that is the rodeo. The one thing that I noticed each year was the weather that accompanied this event. It never failed to surprise me each year as the temperature would rise and hit highs in the 90's only days before the rodeo. But those three days a year, when you are sitting outside in the dark on metal stands, the temperature would drop to the 30's and the rain would fall. I have fond, but freezing memories of sitting in the stands and shivering under a wool blanket, sipping hot cocoa...wondering if it will ever be warm enough to make this evening enjoyable.

And so goes the tradition. With spring slowly approaching I head out to the rodeo tonight to see the animals and watch the show. The weather is supposed to drop tonight to record lows for the week and there's a 40% chance of rain (it just wouldn't be the same without it). The Katy Rodeo boasts some of the greatest local food, a carnival to rival small theme parks, and funnel cake (which is really the only reason to go out and brave the weather).

This year I head out to see my nieces and nephew as they participate in Mutton Bustin. You ask, "What is mutton bustin, Hayley?" Let me 'splain...no, there's to much, let me sum up. It's basically bronco riding, only on a sheep. The concept is to get the kids young and hook them in a life of traveling the rodeos and becoming a professional cowboy. They have to wear a helmet of some sort and they hold on for dear life, as a rodeo clown holds down the sheep and then lets her go. They usually run around and jump a bit until the kid falls off the back. It's all very short and quite funny. The kids are very excited about this activity, especially since they found out that every participant gets a trophy at the end.

The traditions like this will always hold a dear place in my heart. I am still fond of the calf scramble, and the stick horse race for the little toddlers. I still clinch in fear while watching the bull riding, and raise my eyes in shock when a calf is roped and jerked back with force, enough to flip it over in mid-stride. Some may say that the rodeo is cruel to animals and unnecessary. But I grew up in a town that utilized these skills and saw the practicality of it all put to use in working farms. Skills that helped and maintained the order of things, and allowed us to eat that hamburger that we had while sitting in the stands.

So if it's rodeo time in your part of the country...I suggest you take the time to enjoy the fare that comes with this time-honored ritual. "Save a horse, Ride a cowboy!"