My First Rodeo

America needs the Cowboy values more than ever!

At the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo

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People are often impressed when I say, “It’s not my first rodeo,” probably because they are surprised at how a girl who grew up in China has learned to use not just any English idiom but one that likely originated from America’s Wild West. I must confess that although I had used this idiom for many years, I had never actually been to a rodeo. Finally, I was able to erase that experience deficit recently.

My husband Mike and I had the opportunity to attend the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo in Denver. The show was staged at the Denver Colosseum, a massive concrete building with two wings separated by I-70. Inside one wing were hundreds of booths selling all kinds of western-themed merchandise, including cowboy hats and boots, leather goods, furniture, and food and drinks. There were also pony rides for little kids. The stockyard and auction lot were on the ground floor, where my husband said it smelled like money because it’s where ranchers hoped their good-looking animals would bring them a fortune (I even got to pat a few of them!).

What a handsome cow!

The other wing of the Colosseum also had many shops on its main floor. But its main attraction was the rodeo. It was where we watched rounds of competitions: tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, and bareback bronc riding. The participants’ athletic ability, endurance, skills, and speed were impressive (see the video below). I also admire their courage and toughness. Some of those rides, such as bareback bronc riding, clearly seemed uncomfortable and taxing on one’s body, especially when the announcers also announced that at least one orthopedic surgeon was on standby, indicating that things might have gone wrong for some cowboys before.