“Whoa,” I said when I pulled into the parking lot of the Idaho Center.
I didn’t remember it being this full last year. I checked my watch. It was only 6:45 pm.
All of the bumped up media coverage looked like it was working.
I followed a man and woman up the walk to the gates and couldn’t resist asking the woman for a picture of her bright red boots; I both enjoyed and coveted them. Janet Barrus was happy to oblige.
After being given the third degree (and having my bag searched), someone noticed my press pass and waved me through. I had the same trouble when trying to get to my seat up front until once again, they saw the pass. I commend the security this year; they’re running a tight ship.
With mutton busting first, I watched the reigning Jr. rodeo clown, Caseyn Pearson, throw his hat in the air over a rider’s good performance. Tyson Acree got an 85 point ride, and that was worth a hat throw. The kids were all good sports, even when their ride rode them smack into the wall.
Speaking of Walls, it was announced that Cory Wall, one of the professional bullfighters for the Stampede, had a one-year-old nowadays. I remembered him from last year. That would have meant that his heart was somewhat divided right around this time at the 2010 rodeo: his wife was either having a baby within days, or she was home with a very new newborn. This is a tough lifestyle.
The mayor of Nampa, Tom Dale, rode out on a horse. He seemed a natural in the saddle. It struck me once again that we live in a unique area of the world, with our horse-riding mayors and governors.
We started off with the bareback bronc riding. They had names like Blood Bath and Sky Back Breaker; and those were just the cowboys! (Only kidding, they were horse’s names.)
“Bucked him OFF,” one announcer commented, while the other one told him, “Well if it was easy, WE could do it!” It would be good to say that the two, Boyd Polhamus and Bob Tallman, were in rare form, but one gets the feeling that’s not rare for them. They’re good at what they do.
The events flew quickly from one to the other. Bareback bronc riding. Steer wrestling (one of my favorites, I’ve decided). Roping. They really kept the show moving; it was impossible for anyone within the arena not to have been entertained, if not riveted.
The announcer randomly asked a Mr. Robert King to get himself and his party out of the ‘nosebleeds’ and get on down to the front row, where they could sit in the box, courtesy of Dan Wiebold Ford. I watched as they excitedly joined our party and took advantage of the free concessions that are available in that particular seating area, courtesy of the Snake River Stampede. Robert, Helgard, her sister Susannah and niece Carlena seemed thrilled and kept smiling at each other and the rest of us. Robert told me that his sister-in-law and niece were visiting from Austria. What a treat that must have been for them as foreigners to see a rodeo that close up. Their good time had just gotten unexpectedly accelerated; leave it to Dan Wiebold to make the ride more enjoyable.
Justin Rumford, the new bullfighter and entertainer at the Stampede, was undeniably funny. Impersonations of Spiderman (running from mid-arena full speed towards the gate, jumping up on it and clinging with one arm bent and a leg bent like Spidey), his hip-shaking dancing methods, gymnastic-like barrel vaulting, pseudo-cheerleader moves and a death-defying (well, sorta) jump while riding a mini-motorcycle off a ramp over two innocent bystanders (that he somehow got to lie down for the stunt) was physical humor at its finest. The best part was that he actually DID the jump, and that the two innocent bystanders lived, with one or two close calls, collision-wise. One of the wheels came what appeared to be mere inches from a man’s head.
Justin advised the single girls, “Whichever cowboy gets thrown over the gate, you get to keep ‘em!”
I thought I was seeing things when cowboy Ty Atchison from Jackson, MO, rode his bucking bronc toward the gates where we were sitting and actually smiled at us. The announcers validated what I’d seen.
“That kid is never without a grin. It looks like he has it tattooed onto his face.”
It looked like was he was having the time of his life, that’s what it looked like.
Bull riding:
The answer to the question of why so many cowboys are also so religious. When Shawn Hogg of Odessa, TX finished his dangerous ride, he got down on one knee ever so briefly in a stance of gratitude for his safety, and for good reason. These animals could crush a man.
What will tonight’s rodeo bring?
Chances are, an awful lot of pink. It’s Stampede for the Cure night, raising money for mammograms for women that otherwise might not be able to afford it. The cause serves women that we know and love, right here in the Treasure Valley, and it’s already saved many lives. If you’re thinking about going to the rodeo, there is no finer night to go.
For pictures of Opening Night, see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amy_larson/sets/72157627240907122/
The Snake River Stampede: It’s your rodeo.
See you there!
http://www.snakeriverstampede.com/
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