A wet Ranch Rodeo at the Black Hills Roundup
The Black Hills Roundup Ranch Rodeo held Friday, July 1, was a soggy success. Unofficial reports of three inches of rain that afternoon were not hard to believe. The arena had standing water over a large percentage of it, but the cowboys just “cowboyed up” and made the best of it.
Twelve teams came to compete for money and prizes, and of course, bragging rights. The events were: calf branding; team sorting; ranch bronc riding; stray gathering; and wild cow milking. For the youth there was a nanny milking event.
The nanny milking was held ahead of the Ranch Rodeo and involved a team of three kids and one nanny goat. The nanny was released from the bucking chute and the team had to catch her and milk some milk into a bottle, then the whole team ran to the judge. It was harder than one might believe, because all the goats were turned out at the same time and bunched up, making it hard to catch the right one. Further problems occurred when the goats started escaping from the arena.
The Ranch Rodeo teams had to adjust their methods somewhat on account of the deep water. Ropes, once wet and muddy, were not as handy, and horses, cattle and cowboys played out in the deep ground.
The calf branding pen was water from side to side and the calves left a wake when they were dragged to the “fire.” Heeling the calves while they were standing in six inches or so of water was challenging, too.
The sorting went fairly smoothly, with the cattle and horses having no problems with footing, due to the quality of the ground.
The Ranch bronc riding was worth the price of the ticket alone. Even the successful bronc rides still required the cowboy to get off the horse somehow. The pickup men were working hard to help them, but most still ended up substantially stained and soaked. Again, the footing was good, so no wrecks occurred due to slippery conditions.
Anyone who wasn’t already soaked and muddy sure got over it during the stray gathering. Always a strenuous event, the mud and water and wet ropes made it even more difficult. Several times an official ran out to hold a yearling’s nose up out of the water to keep it from drowning. No cowboys were drowned in the event either.
By the time the last event, wild cow milking, came, the teams were sure wet and getting the razor edge of freshness off of them. The cows, pretty Longhorns with great horns, however, were at the top of their games. Despite the effort of the cows and the tenacity of the cowboys, no one was gored during the event and most even got milk to dribble from the bottle when they struggled to the judge dragging a wet rope and running in wet boots.
The Ranch Rodeo was well run with clear rules for the treatment of the stock, which were well enforced. The cowboys gave a great show and a Ranch Rodeo to remember.
The Black Hills Roundup Ranch Rodeo held Friday, July 1, was a soggy success. Unofficial reports of three inches of rain that afternoon were not hard to believe. The arena had standing water over a large percentage of it, but the cowboys just “cowboyed up” and made the best of it.
Twelve teams came to compete for money and prizes, and of course, bragging rights. The events were: calf branding; team sorting; ranch bronc riding; stray gathering; and wild cow milking. For the youth there was a nanny milking event.
The nanny milking was held ahead of the Ranch Rodeo and involved a team of three kids and one nanny goat. The nanny was released from the bucking chute and the team had to catch her and milk some milk into a bottle, then the whole team ran to the judge. It was harder than one might believe, because all the goats were turned out at the same time and bunched up, making it hard to catch the right one. Further problems occurred when the goats started escaping from the arena.
The Ranch Rodeo teams had to adjust their methods somewhat on account of the deep water. Ropes, once wet and muddy, were not as handy, and horses, cattle and cowboys played out in the deep ground.
The calf branding pen was water from side to side and the calves left a wake when they were dragged to the “fire.” Heeling the calves while they were standing in six inches or so of water was challenging, too.
The sorting went fairly smoothly, with the cattle and horses having no problems with footing, due to the quality of the ground.
The Ranch bronc riding was worth the price of the ticket alone. Even the successful bronc rides still required the cowboy to get off the horse somehow. The pickup men were working hard to help them, but most still ended up substantially stained and soaked. Again, the footing was good, so no wrecks occurred due to slippery conditions.
Anyone who wasn’t already soaked and muddy sure got over it during the stray gathering. Always a strenuous event, the mud and water and wet ropes made it even more difficult. Several times an official ran out to hold a yearling’s nose up out of the water to keep it from drowning. No cowboys were drowned in the event either.
By the time the last event, wild cow milking, came, the teams were sure wet and getting the razor edge of freshness off of them. The cows, pretty Longhorns with great horns, however, were at the top of their games. Despite the effort of the cows and the tenacity of the cowboys, no one was gored during the event and most even got milk to dribble from the bottle when they struggled to the judge dragging a wet rope and running in wet boots.
The Ranch Rodeo was well run with clear rules for the treatment of the stock, which were well enforced. The cowboys gave a great show and a Ranch Rodeo to remember.
The Black Hills Roundup Ranch Rodeo held Friday, July 1, was a soggy success. Unofficial reports of three inches of rain that afternoon were not hard to believe. The arena had standing water over a large percentage of it, but the cowboys just “cowboyed up” and made the best of it.
Twelve teams came to compete for money and prizes, and of course, bragging rights. The events were: calf branding; team sorting; ranch bronc riding; stray gathering; and wild cow milking. For the youth there was a nanny milking event.
The nanny milking was held ahead of the Ranch Rodeo and involved a team of three kids and one nanny goat. The nanny was released from the bucking chute and the team had to catch her and milk some milk into a bottle, then the whole team ran to the judge. It was harder than one might believe, because all the goats were turned out at the same time and bunched up, making it hard to catch the right one. Further problems occurred when the goats started escaping from the arena.
The Ranch Rodeo teams had to adjust their methods somewhat on account of the deep water. Ropes, once wet and muddy, were not as handy, and horses, cattle and cowboys played out in the deep ground.
The calf branding pen was water from side to side and the calves left a wake when they were dragged to the “fire.” Heeling the calves while they were standing in six inches or so of water was challenging, too.
The sorting went fairly smoothly, with the cattle and horses having no problems with footing, due to the quality of the ground.
The Ranch bronc riding was worth the price of the ticket alone. Even the successful bronc rides still required the cowboy to get off the horse somehow. The pickup men were working hard to help them, but most still ended up substantially stained and soaked. Again, the footing was good, so no wrecks occurred due to slippery conditions.
Anyone who wasn’t already soaked and muddy sure got over it during the stray gathering. Always a strenuous event, the mud and water and wet ropes made it even more difficult. Several times an official ran out to hold a yearling’s nose up out of the water to keep it from drowning. No cowboys were drowned in the event either.
By the time the last event, wild cow milking, came, the teams were sure wet and getting the razor edge of freshness off of them. The cows, pretty Longhorns with great horns, however, were at the top of their games. Despite the effort of the cows and the tenacity of the cowboys, no one was gored during the event and most even got milk to dribble from the bottle when they struggled to the judge dragging a wet rope and running in wet boots.
The Ranch Rodeo was well run with clear rules for the treatment of the stock, which were well enforced. The cowboys gave a great show and a Ranch Rodeo to remember.
The Black Hills Roundup Ranch Rodeo held Friday, July 1, was a soggy success. Unofficial reports of three inches of rain that afternoon were not hard to believe. The arena had standing water over a large percentage of it, but the cowboys just “cowboyed up” and made the best of it.
Twelve teams came to compete for money and prizes, and of course, bragging rights. The events were: calf branding; team sorting; ranch bronc riding; stray gathering; and wild cow milking. For the youth there was a nanny milking event.
The nanny milking was held ahead of the Ranch Rodeo and involved a team of three kids and one nanny goat. The nanny was released from the bucking chute and the team had to catch her and milk some milk into a bottle, then the whole team ran to the judge. It was harder than one might believe, because all the goats were turned out at the same time and bunched up, making it hard to catch the right one. Further problems occurred when the goats started escaping from the arena.
The Ranch Rodeo teams had to adjust their methods somewhat on account of the deep water. Ropes, once wet and muddy, were not as handy, and horses, cattle and cowboys played out in the deep ground.
The calf branding pen was water from side to side and the calves left a wake when they were dragged to the “fire.” Heeling the calves while they were standing in six inches or so of water was challenging, too.
The sorting went fairly smoothly, with the cattle and horses having no problems with footing, due to the quality of the ground.
The Ranch bronc riding was worth the price of the ticket alone. Even the successful bronc rides still required the cowboy to get off the horse somehow. The pickup men were working hard to help them, but most still ended up substantially stained and soaked. Again, the footing was good, so no wrecks occurred due to slippery conditions.
Anyone who wasn’t already soaked and muddy sure got over it during the stray gathering. Always a strenuous event, the mud and water and wet ropes made it even more difficult. Several times an official ran out to hold a yearling’s nose up out of the water to keep it from drowning. No cowboys were drowned in the event either.
By the time the last event, wild cow milking, came, the teams were sure wet and getting the razor edge of freshness off of them. The cows, pretty Longhorns with great horns, however, were at the top of their games. Despite the effort of the cows and the tenacity of the cowboys, no one was gored during the event and most even got milk to dribble from the bottle when they struggled to the judge dragging a wet rope and running in wet boots.
The Ranch Rodeo was well run with clear rules for the treatment of the stock, which were well enforced. The cowboys gave a great show and a Ranch Rodeo to remember.
