A German Goes to the Rodeo
One of my goals in our summer living in the western US was to take my German husband, Martin, to his first rodeo. What better time than the 4th of July to stir some dust around (or rather – watch the cowboys do it while we sneeze in the bleachers!). We hit up one of gobs of rodeos happening over the weekend to see the pros compete for the big bucks.
We plopped our cowboy hats on and strutted to our seats. The smells of cattle and dust were quickly accompanied by the heavy, thick scent of beer. The crowd got louder as it got colder and colder (seriously – is this really July? brrr.). So we stomped on the bleachers and cheered plenty, and a fairly tipsy cowboy fell over when he looked at us. Do you suppose it was the hats?
Yes-sir-ee. Martin and I snagged cowboy hats of our very own. Ever since I posed for this picture dressed as “Cowgirl Kate”, I’ve had my heart set on getting a cowboy hat one day. (A hat for each of us was our one exception to the No New Clothes Summer at our house.) Now we wear them everywhere. Stay tuned for the scoop on hat shopping!
Meanwhile, back to the rodeo. First there were the cowboys behind the arena.
Then there were the same cowboys getting bucked around the arena.
Martin is thrilled to announce that now that we’ve been to a rodeo, he can officially say that old line, “This ain’t my first rodeo, cowboy” any time he wants. I’m pretty sure that statement is only applicable to the people in the arena this weekend. But who’s going to know that in Berlin?
Then cowboys wrestled, trying to get steers roped, tied, and on the ground. You know – making ground beef.
The whole thing was fantastic. I still flinched as much as ever during the bull riding. And the barrel racing surprisingly had us on the edge of our seats.
Have any of you been to a rodeo? Or how about in the rodeo?
July 6th, 2009 at 4:03 am
The town that my alma mater is in has a rodeo every September. Friends and I went each year during college, and this past year, I took my husband and our Swedish roommate (my brother now attends my alma mater, so he joined us as well). The rodeo is an amazing amount of fun – love watching the action both IN and OUT of the ring! :) Glad you guys had fun!
July 6th, 2009 at 4:10 am
what a riot! I’d love to have my German husband experience the American West, and it’s coast =)
July 6th, 2009 at 5:10 am
Looks like you two had a great time. Did you know your blog has been featured?
July 6th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Yee-ha!
July 6th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Hilarious! Glad you’ve achieved one of your big goals for the summer!!! ; )
July 6th, 2009 at 10:03 am
How fun! Despite the fact that several cousins and friends compete in local rodeos, I’ve never been to a rodeo. Maybe it’s because I don’t have a proper cowboy hat.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:38 am
I’m so curious, Bunny, where is her blog featured?
I have enjoyed our friendship, Katie. I am glad you had fun on the 4th. I too cringe at a rodeo. All that roughness, the cowboys falling off and nearly getting their brains stomped into the dust by the crazy bull or bucking bronco. It is all a bit too much for me. My stomach is in knots at the end. Our town features a demolition derby on the 4th. We went for a couple of years, but they began to look so much alike, I didn’t see the reason for buying a ticket just to see last year’s same contestants with practically the same cars. They even chose similar models and used their same numbers each year, so we quit going. After the derby, they shoot off fireworks. We used to come just towards dusk and lay on the grass outside the arena, but then, even that got to be too much. My hubby hates crowds and pretty much is totally uncomfortable with the whole crowd thing, so it is easier to stay at home.
So this year, I rented a movie! But it was a flop for my hubby, because he hates those tense minutes when someone will get embarrassed or feelings hurt, and so he was in and out throughout the movie.
We rented “he’s just not that into you”. oh well
back to Friends. He loves those. we are safe with that and the old standbys, You’ve got Mail, and
This year in the west it has been unseasonably cool. I have LOVED every minute of the rains and coolness. Honestly, I don’t belong in the desert. I could live happily in a climate with a constant 70 degrees. But I might miss the seasons after a while.
have a great time.
xxoo
~a
July 6th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Yes, Heather, it’s because you don’t have the hat. haha!
Annie, I thought about taking Martin to a demolition derby, too. I’ve only been to one once, and it was really fun. I was pretty young, though, and I realize that the only reason I liked it was because my cousin was participating. Now I could totally see how they’d get old. But who knows. Maybe we’ll have another summer in the west down the road. A little demolition derby might be fun.
Ever heard of combine demolition derbies?
Katie
July 7th, 2009 at 6:12 am
I looove rodeos – even though I’ve only been to one in real life – in Reno. I was there for work by myself and had the evenings to myself so I took a taxi, had a giant beer, and watched in the bleachers by myself! Had so much fun!
Love your hats – and that’s so funny that a cowboy fell in the stands. Your photos are awesome! I hope Martin does use that line in Berlin – you’ll have to write about it when he does!!
July 7th, 2009 at 6:33 am
How cute are you two in your hats? Martin still looks very German though (don’t tell him I said that, I don’t want to hurt his feelings). I’ve never been to a rodeo, but my mom used to go all the time when she was a kid and loves them. I had an opportunity to go to one, but it was so hot I opted to stay inside where it was cool.
Was it really cool? I was in the Southern US and it was like being in an oven. Miserable. I flew to Chicago for a few days to visit friends and they had a heatwave while I was there! We got back to Germany and it was in the 90′s! Is it following me? Today though it cooled off and is in the 60′s. Yay!
When do you guys come back?
July 7th, 2009 at 7:15 am
My husband and son rodeo almost every weekend. My daughters used to but have kinda grown out of it.. and me? I am the support team :)