It was a sweltering day in Larimer County Colorado. The pungent smell of livestock and cotton candy filled the air. I was wearing my straw Stetson and could soon feel the sweat trickling down my neck. So after checking out the carnival for sticky sweet shots of ferris wheels and amusing stilt people I was more than ready to go to the rodeo. You see, it was inside an air conditioned arena with icy cold beer and box seats above the dust. So sit back, prop your feet up, tip a cold one and enjoy going to the rodeo with me.
The churning hooves of the speeding rodeo pony sent dust flying while the rider floated on his back as if he had become one with his mount.
The young man stepped down into the chute mentally preparing himself for this moment. Will he or the horse triumph?
The cowboy's world had stopped motion during his heavy concentration to stay on the bucking twisting mount. Finally the beautiful white horse triumphed and his rider was cast off.
The large white horse ran free around the arena in his celebration but soon the riders caught up to him.
Are they really going to ride those?
The one armed man rode hard and fast, cracking his whip in the air, his pony a streak past the cheering spectators.
Modern rodeos in the United States are closely regulated and have responded to accusations of animal cruelty by instituting a number of rules to guide how rodeo animals are to be managed. A survey of 28 sanctioned rodeos was conducted by on-site independent veterinarians. Reviewing 33,991 animal runs, the injury rate was documented at .00047 percent, or less than five-hundredths of one percent. Health regulations mandate vaccinations and blood testing of horses crossing state lines, so rodeo horses receive routine care. PRCA regulations require veterinarians to be available at all rodeos to treat both bucking stock and other animals as needed.
