Wednesday, June 9, 2021

"3 bulls left to load. I have ONE direction from Regg for the whole weekend. "Don't get the white bull by himself. " I will load all three. It will be great. Send all three and they head up the lead up alley....but stop about half way....and the little white bull gets turned around.
Now sitting in the pen....by himself... is the little white bull. Internal monolog: Ok, just hurry and send him back before he sits and gets hot.
Step in pen and send little white bull..... pushing gate around behind him as a wing....but......he turns back and I can't hold him. He pushes through the gate and back around to me......and then he keeps coming to me! Pretty soon we are playing ring around the rosie around the gate post.....with him in hot pursuit! I am certain by the grace of my guardian angels....is the only way I stayed in front of him! Upon getting to other side of the gate, I hollered to Justin, " I need help!"...to which he promptly replied & the bull was loaded.
When returning to the chutes, one of my bull riders said....You almost got ran over! Yes, yes, I did."
The rodeo moved on, temps warmed up and the wind speed gradually increased. The tree border around the fair grounds certainly was a blessing and offered some protection. After making it back to the corrals with 1 load of stock.....I would certainly miss the trees. The wind was blowing a perfect mixture of sand and tried manure right at your face.
Regg was about 30 minutes behind me. The first things he said to me was "You are filthy!" haha...Thanks....as if I was not already aware of this. We unloaded him and doubled back to get the rest of my stock. Yes, in case you were wondering....my little white friend had me up the fence again before we got loaded.
Back to the corrals to unload. 2 pairs needed moved over so we could trail bulls and horses across. No biggie. Yesterday we had been in and out of the pen with these pairs and no problem. Well....since then, the down horned cow's calf had slipped through the fence and she was not as eager to be trifled with. Grabbed the calf and re-united him with Mom, he eagerly began to nurse.
Again.....in a situation....where the bluff has been called....she was NOT bluffing. Going up the fence was not good enough, she prefered you go All the Way Over to be out of her bubble. With some electronic encouragement, she eventually moved to the safe haven of her pen and the peaceful refuge of the wind break.
Here is where I should mention (even though it is not my story to tell) that Regg had a bull get him down in the trailer while loading out of his rodeo. Banged him up pretty good. He was still in good humor when he arrived but between the wind and ....the down horned cow.....everyone was pretty much on their last straw.
Perfect timing, David was backing in with his semi. Calves in the belly, unloaded & sent to Regg. Next divider, horned Momma cows that are growing impatient with the amount of time it is taking me to get the top pin undone. Finally, all pins & latches opened, swing the gate open and stand in the corner. This seemed like a great idea at the time.....until.....the cows, eager to unload, and trying to climb out 3 wide and I am getting smashed by everyone. I quickly decide...behind the gate getting smashed was a much better option.
Why did it never occur to me to use the gate to slow them down & file out 1 at a time....I have no idea....but it did not.
3rd truck is quickly unloaded. Wind blown and tired, I loaded myself in the car to go pick up Clancy. Grateful she was with loved ones...because clearly....I can barely keep myself from being ran over.
Regg said it best...."Rodeo is easy. It is the 5 hours before & after that will test you" paraphrased
As long as I can remember, I have always had a soft spot for a cute bucking horse. I was raised going to Rodeos and it seems to be something that just gets in your blood. From the view from what happens in a rodeo arena, it seems glamourous.
If you saw me this weekend, I probably looked something like this. Wind blown, caked in a dirt manure facial & rbf....just shy of glamourous. 😉 Unless of course, I caught eyes with a friend, then my face lit up with a smile. This was my first weekend back at a rodeo since the spring of 2019. It took a little more knocking the cob webs off than normal.
Thank you to all the amazing friends that made the weekend worth every second. Looking forward to the next one ❤
***UPDATED:
Right before the bronc riding, I turned to Hoke Morton & said "I am going to ask you to do something that I am sure David has never asked you to do.....as I proceeded to hand him a piece of pink twine string to tie my hair back with! High fashion, I tell you! (haha...yes, I had asked the guys tripping latches and behind the chutes if anyone had an extra hair tie....oddly enough none of them did 😉
*** Thank you for your kind words. haha...like my Mom said..but Did you die?
I really am just a princess. Regg takes extra good care of me & really does send me with the very best handling stock & I am surrounded by such amazing people who make everything work flawlessly! April 28, 2021
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