THE BIGGEST LITTLE RODEO IN TEXAS

It is rodeo time in Texas.  This past weekend was the rodeo in Los Fresnos, TX.  It is a PRCA rodeo and this year marked the 26th anniversary of the rodeo.  Back in 1989, a group of citizens got together and decided that they needed to do something to help the economy in their town.  So, with the help of prominent businessmen and many volunteers, the Los Fresnos PRCA rodeo was born.  The rodeo is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  There is a parade that happens Saturday morning.  There is a carnival with many rides. There is entertainment at each performance.  One of Texas' own, Josh Abbott Band, was going to be there to perform Saturday night after the rodeo, so I decided I wanted to go. 

Now, I am use to the rodeo that happens every year in H-town.  It is almost 3 weeks long and is held in NRG stadium which is the stadium where the Texans play football.  They have "big" name performers who draw crowds of 60,000 people each night.  The livestock show has its own huge building.  There are hundreds of vendors who pay big bucks to have a booth to sell their wares. The carnival is big enough to entertain a family all by itself. They raise enough money each year to give away hundreds of scholarships to students in the Houston area.  They have around 20 contestants in each event each night.  It is a HUGE thing.

So, going to a rodeo on a smaller scale was something I was looking forward to.  The rodeo started at 5:00, so we decided to get there around 4:00 so we could walk around a little before it started.

There were 2 tents like the one below and that is where the vendors were located.

This was one of the attractions right before you entered the carnival.  You could ride an African watusi and get your picture made. I'm guessing this is as close to a longhorn as they could get?

Here's a picture of where you buy tickets.  They had 2 windows open. The arena had bleachers for seats.  There were numbers on the bleachers so you were given a reserved seat when you bought a ticket.

Every rodeo starts with all the sponsors and committee members parading through the arena.  This rodeo had 2 girls who alternately rode through the arena with the flag of each sponsor.

After the recognition of the sponsors, there was an invocation and then singing of the national anthem with the presentation of the flag.

Let the events start!  First out of the chutes - Bronc Riding

Next - Steer Wrestling (There were 3 contestants in this event.  Yes, I said 3.)

Next, came Calf Roping.  For those of you who don't know how this works, the calf is let out and 2 cowboys ride out after it and one ropes it around the front and one ropes it around the back legs. There were 5 entries for this event and I think they were all local.

There was a break in the action so the girls who rode with the sponsor flags at the beginning of the rodeo came out and did some trick riding.

There was also mutton busting done during this break.  The announcer said this was actually redneck child abuse.  You can't spank your kid in public without getting in trouble but you can sign your kid up for this and display it in an arena with the whole town looking on! I think there might be some truth in his words! The kids were so cute holding on to these sheep for dear life. They ranged in age from 4 to 7.

Once the action started up again, the Barrel Racing took center arena.

Then, for the final event, Bull Riding.

Every rodeo ends with fireworks and this was no different.

The entertainment started after the fireworks and they opened the arena gates so everyone sitting in the stands could go onto the arena floor and stand in front of the stage.  They had an opening group that started the entertainment.  This wasn't publicized and they played and played and played.  I finally left without hearing the Josh Abbott Band which was the reason I went on that night in the first place.  Oh well.

It was fun watching the rodeo and it was nice to see how the crowd and the town got so into the festivities.  The rodeo has grown enough in the past 26 years that they raise enough money to offer a scholarship to a couple of students each year.  Good for them.  The rodeo happens this time every year.  So, if you happen to be this way this time next year, come on by and enjoy the rodeo.