Tag: Oregon State Fair

August 30, 2022 – Rodeo Season is Winding Down

August 30, 2022 /

I don’t think that I have ever talked about Rodeo before. Before I get started, I don’t want to leave the impression that I am some kind of poser. I have never attempted to ride bulls or broncos and I don’t know how to rope or steel wrestle. Despite that, I do have respect for the people that do this.

The origins of American rodeo come from cowboys and working the ranches. But, the truth is is goes way back to Rome. This is the modern day form of animals and humans in the colosseum together. American rodeo has it’s set of events but there are other countries that have theirs. Ours tend to focus on buckles and prize money while others bring a focus on horsemanship with fancy stepping horses marching in unison.

This particular rodeo we went to was called a rough stock rodeo. This means that it was an abbreviated event. A full rodeo would include steer wresting, calf and team roping which the winners are based on the quickest time to complete the events. A rough stock rodeo is the bull and bronco riding (for some reason this one also has barrel racing as well).

The object to riding an animal is to hang on for eight seconds. If that happens, then the two are scored up to 50 points for the animal and 50 points for the rider. The nastier the animal is with bucking and twisting, the higher the score. For the rider, spurring front to back and keeping one hand in the air lead to points deductions for technique. With that, the best score wins. This means that there is some luck in this as well as skill.

When I was a youth, the Fourth of July was unofficially called Cowboy Christmas because there were so many concurrent rodeos happening. In my area, there were three big ones which would draw bigger names because the could compete in all three and therefore enhancing chances with a bigger payday.

Most venues are outside making summer the primary season for rodeo. The biggest one to my knowledge is the Calgary Stampede which runs for two weeks in September. That is one that I would like to see. The official commencement of the year is the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in February. That is an organization like the PGA that requires membership and has it’s own rules for participation and qualification.

The one that we attended was at the Oregon State Fair. We specifically went to the fair to watch the rodeo and the concert by Ned LeDoux afterward. We are planning to go back to see anything else at the fair since this took our entire evening. It is pretty common to see food, games and a carnival atmosphere associated with rodeos. It is an entire entertainment experience, not just a spectator event.

With TV series like Heartland and Yellowstone, I think that there is a resurgence or new awareness of rodeo. This is one of those pursuits that can be very dangerous. And you don’t see old rodeo cowboys. It is just too physically damaging to ride bulls and horses for long. Actually, I think the roping sports tend to be older guys because it takes a lot more skill to do it and it is not nearly as physically damaging.

End Your Programming Routine: I like putting on my boots and hat to go out and watch the rodeo with my wife or family. Stick and ball athletes may be strong or fast but cowboys are tough. The whole process requires desire. The desire to travel and live on the road, the desire for a chance to complete for mostly peanuts as wages, the desire to be the best at a life threatening pursuit. It is a culture and a lifestyle that I enjoy participating.

August 31, 2021 – Distraction Through Music

August 31, 2021 /

There are so many things going on in the world at the moment, it is hard to stay focused on the best ones to talk about. There are a number of things that are heavy on my heart and those tend to be the ones that are pushed to the forefront. I think I am going to go in a different direction today.

I will say that the American evacuation of Kabul is my generation’s evacuation of Saigon. The war in Afghanistan has lasted almost twenty years and it ended about the same fashion as Vietnam. I don’t really want to get into politics but what a sad situation that we created and then left.

Clearly I have been pretty quiet on Covid in the last couple of weeks. This state has lost it’s mind and the majority of the people have joined in the ‘hate week’ celebration. We have counties passing even more restrictive measures. Again, I don’t want to get into politics.

Harvest season is really kicking in. I have a bunch of plums planned to make some wine. My wife wants to put up some peaches and pears for the next year. Our chance to do so will be in the next week. School is starting next week. We are barreling into hunting season, the fall and then the holidays. Right now, the plan is that my wife is going to be out of town for most of it.

A few months ago, this was planned as a period of celebration. We had a tickets and a family trip planned to go to Silverwood. My wife had four different days of the state fair tickets, that we were looking forward to. We did get one day where the primary plan was to see Chicago and we are going next Sunday.

Chicago is one of those bands that I have always liked, I suppose that it is my 1980s childhood. Depending on where you fall on the generational gap, most of their top 40 songs were released in the 1970s. But, it is also a band that I had to be in the mood to listen to. The funk was not really my era and the melodrama of the 80s is often times kind of moody.

It really wasn’t until I saw them last Friday that I really appreciated the band. What I was thinking as they were on the stage was when was the last time there were musicians playing brass instruments as part of a rock bank? And more so, a major rock band? I looked up a couple stats and it said that Chicago has the most top 40 hits of any band in the 1970s. Chicago was really the grand finale of big band, jazz and funk and the transition into popular rock, something that had lasted for around 40 years..

There are those kind of seminal moments like Guns n’ Roses full orchestra that are combining two unique elements in a way that hasn’t been done, done for a long time or just doesn’t mix. And when done right, like this case you get it. The primary reason for going aside from already having tickets was that it was an homage to my father-in-law as this was his era of music for sure. We enjoyed the concert which was primarily the earlier side of band but it was OK as we felt a healing connection for that hour.

End Your Programming Routine: I think of music as a vehicle to jog memories of happy times. Maybe I didn’t have the same kind of memories as my wife does, but I could imagine the feel good part of being a seventies youth or young adult. I still prefer the 80s part more, but I came away with a different perspective about Chicago. That is to say that I enjoyed the concert.