As some of you know, I'm away this week for a work conference. A couple nights ago I posted about a very nice welcome dinner we had. Yesterday was a long day with a working lunch and a working dinner. Today another long day but with a team building function this evening. We all went to a "rodeo"!!
I put that in quotes because the very concept of a rodeo is just so far outside this Boston girl's life experience. Who knew people still dressed up like old west cowboys and road bulls and roped little cows and did all that stuff????? Crazy, huh?
The dinner spread at this rodeo function for us was a short buffet including three different kinds of BBQ meat and one side choice: mac 'n cheese. No salad. No veggies. Meat and carbs. I'm not saying it wasn't delicious, but wow did I feel far from home! I feel closer to home sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Prague than I do in this foreign country known as Texas! 🤣
As for the rodeo ... well, I'm not quite sure what to think. I'm very much someone who tries to respect local cultures and I know that rodeo is very deeply ingrained in the culture down here. But, with that said, I couldn't even watch, never mind take pictures of the calfs being dragged, sometimes thrown, to the ground and then tied up. Not saying it's right or wrong, it's just way outside my comprehension. 🤷♀️
But, when in Rome, right?
Anyway, I've now been to my first rodeo ever. Are you doing anything interesting this weekend?
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You probably felt like I did at my first Bull fight in Madrid. Rodeos are very or were very common here.....however they are on the way out. i have been to my fair share both in NZ and here. The local one closed down five years ago. Way to much animal cruelty when you look into it.
@KiwiBird So, yeah. way too much for me. One of the guys in my group was a huge rodeo fan and he was trying to explain everything to a few of us who didn't get the whole thing. When we asked about the ropes on the bull ... I was just horrified. And then see the calfs roped and then picked up and body slammed into the ground and then tied up ... Idk, I had to turn away. I did like the horse riding they showed though.
@TryingtoLava It's the only rodeo I've ever been to, but yeah, they chased the calf with a guy on a horse and then roped it. Once the rope was around its neck, the guy jumps from the horse, grabs the calf, wrestles or picks up and slams the calf to the ground and then ties its four legs all together. It's a timed contest. I don't really get the point, but it's definitely a thing. And the bull riding only happens because they really piss off the bulls first. I won't say how. I'm sure someone else will comment it here but it's gross and cruel.
