McMinnville, OR
Hello Friends,
Calida and I were fortunate enough to spend the Fourth of July at the world famous
St. Paul Rodeo. St. Paul is a tiny burg only about 15 miles away from McMinnville and boasts a population of 300 (a fact the rodeo commentators mentioned numerous times). The town explodes over the July holiday to host one of the largest rodeo's in Oregon and the country. Apparently this is one of the biggest purses you can get in Oregon and there is another Rodeo not too far away this coming weekend with another big purse that draws a lot of competitors so they can compete in both due to their close proximity.
In typical MCT fashion we were invited to the rodeo by a stranger who knew the MCT team was coming to town and had extra tickets he wanted to share since his kids enjoy our program so much. After exchanging a couple of emails we agreed to meet at the beer tent. It was an absolute gorgeous day on the fourth. While St. Paul is a very tiny town finding parking as the masses descended was quite easy. The rodeo began on the 31st of June so the carnival booths and rides were all in full swing by the Fourth and the sights and smells of a good old fashioned fair were abundant as we sought the beer tent.
With a Coors Light in hand we met our wonderful contact and his family. They have been coming to the rodeo since the mid-60's and their seat are kind of legacy seats you hold on to forever, much like a season ticket for college football. And great seats they were! Box seats right on the rail line nearest the chutes. We could literally reach out and touch the horses as they pass.
I should mention now that I have never been to a rodeo so I had no clue what to expect.
The event started with a nice procession of mainly rodeo Queens (think beauty pageant, not drag queens, though that would have been equally entertaining...) all on horse backs representing various other rodeos from around the region. At the end of the procession was a group of vets from various wars including a D-Day vet. It was a pretty touching tribute and nice to see especially on the Fourth. This whole process took a good fifteen minutes and then we got into the rodeo itself.
Over the next FOUR HOURS we took in 12 events ranging from bull riding and calf roping, to barrel racing and junior events. Each event had about 12-18 competitors however that was just for this program. Each event really has around 100 entries that are spread out of the four day event, so we are only seeing a little slice of the competition. We saw some great riding and even a guy who got thrown in the air from a bull (we later found out he broke his shoulder). But by far the most interesting events were the Model T "Pig-N-Ford" Racers and the Wild Horse Race.
In the Pig-N-Ford race you must do the following:
1. Model T-like crank start roadsters are assembled on the track.
2. A box of pigs is lined up next to the roadsters.
3. At the signal the drivers must run to the box and grab a pig (they were cute piglets)
4. With pig in hand they must crank start their roadster.
5. With pig still in hand they must then drive a lap around the arena.
6. Upon completing a lap they must deposit their pig, grab another, and repeat two more times.
I don't know how drunk you have to be to invent this event... Wow. It wasn't until afterward that we learned it was a big promo event as the roadsters had sponsor flags on them and is kind of like cheering for something on a jumbo tron like a boat or the like a sports game. Still these men who drive the cars and pigs DO THIS FOR A LIVING in the rodeo circuit. And they say I have a strange job...
The last event of the day was the Wild Horse Race and this was a real event with a purse attached. It is absolutely crazy and great. What happens is 10 teams of three line up in front of the chutes, at the signal they open and a wild, saddle-less horse comes running out. It does have a rope around it. It is then the job of this team to wrangle it, put a saddle on it, and get it across the line on the far side of the arena first. This all happens at the same time as ten wild horse coming barreling out of the gate and it is absolute pandemonium. I have a great video of it on the phone and I hope to share it soon.
All in all it was an amazing slice of America to experience. For the most part I enjoyed seeing the expertise of the competitors and cow hands that kept the event running smoothly. I should mention that they non-stop banter between the commentators and Gizmo the rodeo clown was down right PAINFUL and actually quite offensive at times. Not all of us think a bull looks and acts like our mothers and wish our wives were as nice as said bulls. Said once was sort of funny, the tenth time was aggravating. I wish they would just shut up and let us enjoy the events.
The night was capped as we took in McMinnville's fireworks and hit the hay to begin another week the following day - and things are going great!
Again, the internet is not so hot right now so no pictures, but as soon as we do I will post a lot!
The Adventure Continues - ML
