“I love the pants,” I told my friend Courtney, commenting on a pair of very colorful duds.
“Those are chaps,” she corrected. Whatever. They were nothing short of fancy pants with all that flashy fringe, I thought.
Even though it wasn’t my first rodeo (it’s my second full season, so technically, it’s my second!) I’m still learning. It’s good to have friends that are patient with me, the citified greenie. Not as citified as I used to be, though. Rodeo gets to you after a while, and sinks deep.
“That’s Dean Oliver,” my friend told me, “World Champion calf roper and All-Around cowboy.” I knew him more from the golf world. The man seemed to be a natural at everything he did.
When the lights went down and the Stampeders came thundering out on their lighted mounts, wearing lights themselves, it struck me not for the first time how unique this culture is. We have a world-famous, lighted horse drill team from our city. How many cities could say that? This year, the light design is especially phenomenal, with the well-planned lines placed where they most emphasized the synchronized movement of both horse and rider. Add that to the rope lighting that runs along the top of every gate in the arena, and the effect is mesmerizing.
I’m learning that by being a careful observer, a person can learn an awful lot of life lessons from rodeo. One of the lessons I re-learned last night is that we’re all connected.
The announcers, Boyd Polhamus and Bob Tallman, started a new trend. Just before the National Anthem was sung, one of them offered what could only be called a prayer, openly and without excuse claiming allegiance to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and ending with a sincere ‘amen’.
This was immediately followed by an explanation: we have the freedom to pray or not pray however and wherever we want to, because of the men and women who fought and died and spilled their blood for us. Many of those men and women were in the audience this night; it was Patriot Night at the Stampede, where active military and their families were in attendance in record numbers. They were given a heart-felt thank-you for the service they had given and were giving to their country.
That feeling of connectedness continued as I felt disappointment for the ropers, who seemed to be having a rough night in general. Both headers and heelers were facing trouble, and as they rode by, you could see the frustration on their faces.
More connections as a rider named Chris Graham made his appearance; the announcers told us that the Carthage, TX man was a fifth generation Graham. That would be the Graham in what we know as graham crackers.
With animals, like we humans, there are always the stubborn ones; the ones that won’t go anywhere you want them to go, or do anything you want them to do, no matter what. It was almost comical, the battle the strong-willed critters waged with the pickup men. They were going to do things their way, that’s what. A part of me couldn’t help but respect that.
When it comes to bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding, I just have to say this: my heart can’t take it. In the past week, I’ve sat through many a spine-stiffening moment as I viewed what could be considered the near-death experiences of both the cowboys and the bullfighters. Brian Martinet went down when a horse called Angry Bird fell on top of him. The bull Friday Wright was riding, aptly named ‘Three Drinks, Please’, must’ve never heard the advice to not kick a man when he was down, because he got as many rams into Friday as he could before the bullfighters distracted him.
Again and again, champion bullfighter Cory Wall got in the way of danger so that a cowboys like Dustin Daniels (who had an eighty-four point ride) could escape to safety.
When Jake Wade rode Zombie Zoo, it was a short show. Jake went sailing through the air, then landed with what looked like a lifeless thud. I caught my breath. I’d seen people who’d passed away before, and this looked like the real deal. I began to pray silently that we’d not have a tragedy on this night, with our soldiers present, some who undoubtedly had seen their fair share of death in the field of duty.
The announcer, who we’d already prayed with earlier in the evening, kicked in. He told us that this sort of moment was exactly what the men and women of the armed forces have preserved for us. He asked us to pray with him. Bob Tallman said a prayer full of feeling for Jake Wade. He openly asked God to help him to completely recover from his injuries, and to have there be no lasting effects.
As the prayer ended, there were many very audible ‘amens’. We, as a group of literally thousands of people, had bowed our heads in prayer as a united force of faith.
“The Bible says that where two or more are gathered, there will He be also,” Bob Tallman reminded us. I believed that.
Different than when there were other gaps in the program, no effort was made by bullfighting clowns or announcers to take the crowd’s attention off the misfortune. We sat in subdued silence and waited.
“I see him trying to move,” the announcer gently assured us, having a better vantage point than most.
Seconds later, Jake Wade was up. Thundering applause broke out as he gingerly made his way off the dirt.
“We’ve just witnessed a miracle, and the power of prayer,” Bob Tallman told us. We later learned that Jake had hit his head and been knocked unconscious, that was the extent of his injuries. A close call for the cowboy.
We live in America. Land of the cowboy, the horse, and the fighting spirit. We also live in the land of freedom. It didn’t come cheap.
Thank you to the men and women of the armed forces who were present for the Stampede last night on your night, Patriot Night. Thank you to all the rest who could not be with us. Even though you weren’t there, what you’ve done and what you are now doing has an effect. We will keep praying, thanks to the freedom to do so.
Amen.
For pictures of Patriot Night, see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amy_larson/sets/72157627254916432/
Two nights left of the Stampede. You can still get tickets to the wildest, fastest, most faithful and full-of-pure-American-heart show on earth.
http://www.snakeriverstampede.com/
It’s your rodeo.
See you there.
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