Ranch Rodeo

The Pawnee County Fair arrived and despite blistering temperatures, we had to go check it out.  It's a cute little fair and far more in touch with its roots than the Olmsted County Fair in Rochester, MN.  You won't find any rides (OK, there were a few inflatable jumpy things) or deep-fried spam curds here, just an exhibit hall (with crops, Republican candidate booths, & 4H crafts on display), a livestock pavillion, and the rodeo ring.

The special weekend events were a Ranch Rodeo and Demolition Derby.  I enjoyed the Greeley Stampede so much last year that heading the three blocks over to see the rodeo was a no-brainer.  We did, however, skip some of the other events, such as the Carcass Show at the end of the fair (although I'm still wondering if that's exactly what it sounds like).

It's really easy to see how the Ranch Rodeo concept got started.  You've got some neighbors.  You're all ranchers.  Someone throws out "I bet I can rope that calf faster than you".  You've got yourself a Ranch Rodeo!

This year, 15 teams of four people signed up to participate, each named for the ranch they worked on.  There were four events: Team Branding, Team Doctoring, Double Mugging, and Trailer Loading.  Everything except Trailer Loading was some variation of Team Roping, where two members need to rope a calf's head and back legs, then do something (either rope three legs together, stick a chalk mark on its head (symbolizing it's been "doctored"), or brand it - also using chalk).  My favorite event was the Trailer Loading simply because some teams were assigned uber-stubborn calves and it was really fun to watch them struggle through the motions.  Here's an example of a team that does it right:



The night was suppose to start off with Muttin Bustin - my favorite event (see the Greeley Stampede post for details), but it was too hot, so for the sake of the kids and sheep it was canceled.  Instead, half time was marked by an equally entertaining event: The Calf Scramble.  It goes like this:

1. Gather up hundreds of kids.
2. Tie a ribbon on a dozen calves' tails.
3. Release the kids, offering a prize for anyone that can retrieve the ribbon.
4. Chaos ensues in what can only be described as a hookworm epidemic waiting to happen.

It was a pretty fun time.  Not at all like the Greeley Stampede where roping took mere seconds, this was for fun and despite minutes wondering if they would EVER rope that calf, we did have a lot of fun.