I saved the best for last! It’s funny because this event was actually what kicked off the week-long celebration of the Cody Stampede’s 100th anniversary. Now I knew I enjoyed a regular rodeo but I had no idea how much fun a night of only bull riders and bullfighters was going to be!
In all honesty, next year I would probably only go for Xtreme Bulls!
Just like the regular rodeo, it starts with a presentation of the flag and a prayer of protection over all the contestants and livestock involved.
There was even a pre-show which I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t catch the performer’s name but you can tell by all our shouts of approval in the video just how appreciated he was! From rope tricks to his gun twirling he was the perfect way to get the crowd excited for the evening’s main event!
If any of you have been to a rodeo before, you know that the bull riding can be hit and miss. Sometimes you get really great cowboys who can really ride those bulls and you get great bulls too. Unfortunately, sometimes you will also have a night where not one cowboy makes it to eight seconds (the amount of time the cowboy needs to stay on to get a score) or the livestock is just not cooperative making for lame rides.
At Xtreme Bulls, every ride was a lot of fun to watch! I ran my phone out of battery filming nearly every ride! Having only bull riders also meant that the clown was in the arena from start to finish playing of the crowd and the rodeo announcer making sure everyone was having a riotous time.
The best part of the event, in my humble opinion, was the very end of the evening when the bullfighters had their competition. Special smaller faster bulls are brought in just for the bullfighters to demonstrate the skills they have that keep all those cowboys safe when their ride has ended. From jumping over these bulls to being trampled by them the bullfighters put on an even more exciting show than the riders!
Now for some, bull riding and fighting may be a bit of a bloody sport. However, the crowd that cheers for the cowboy’s great rides also boos the judges when they don’t think the score was high enough. That same crowd that laughs at the clown for having his barrel be taken out by a bull also groans and grows silent when a cowboy or fighter is hurt. Not a single person in the audience really wants to see anyone get hurt but they are more than happy to watch a crazy cowboy get the air knocked out of him after he was dumb enough to get on a bucking bull for his own enjoyment and everyone else’s! It’s a thrill to be a part of the rodeo crowd and a form of entertainment that lets us forget all the problems in our personal lives and in the world that worry every other moment of the year.
Rodeo is a great escape and a way of life in the western culture that we hope will persist for another 100 years!
I would like to say a special thank you to all the athletes, organizers, and sponsors who made the 100th Cody Stampede possible. I had a lot of fun and will gladly recommend the event to others for years to come!
Have you ever been to a rodeo? What is your favorite rodeo event to watch or to participate in?
Thank you, fellow adventurers! You can follow the lilmissbearpaw blog page on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @lilmissbearpaw for sneak peeks into upcoming posts and my adventures. This will also be a great place to share your own adventures!