Los Fresnos Rodeo

Riding the bull while the bullfighter taunts it and the clown on the barrel gets ready to attract it away from the rider.
Many of the rides were less than eight seconds.

A roping team chases down a steer.

The team has the steer with one rope on the horns and the other on the hind legs.

A Bucking Bronc

A cowboy jumps off a perfectly good horse to wrestle a steer to the ground.

After the cowboy has roped the calf the horse keeps the rope taut while the cowboy ties the calf's feet.

The barrel rider is a blur as she speeds to the finish line.

What a hoot as the kids chase the calves to pull the ribbon off its tail to win a prize.

Another first for us was attending the nearby Los Fresnos PRCA Rodeo that included many different types of events based on the skills used by cowboys on the ranch. The events were bull riding, bronc riding, team roping, steer wrestling, tie down roping and women's barrel riding. The rodeo clown, Rudy Burns, not only entertained the crowd with his antics, he also helped attract the bulls away from the riders after they where done with their 8 seconds (or less) atop these raging animals. Two bullfighters, Rex Dunn and Wacey Munsell, also helped rescue the fallen bull riders after running in front of the bulls to taunt them so they will jump faster and higher. The Outlaws Drill Team did horse mounted drills and carried flags and banners of rodeo sponsors. For the kids they had several 4H members in the arena chasing calves with ribbons tied to their tails which the kids needed to grab for a prize. The whole event was very entertaining and we truly enjoyed this traditional Western show. It was jam packed with entertainment and there was never a dull moment. We have always talked of attending the Calgary Stampede and seeing this small rodeo convinced us we need to definitely include that in our future travels.