British freshman goes to her first rodeo
‘How are they allowed to do this?’
Over Spring Break, I went to visit my cousins in Texas. They wanted to give me a truly American experience, so we went to Rodeo Houston.
At last, I thought, I can pretend to be a true Americana. The grounds were packed with people, lots of whom were rocking embellished cowboy boots, faded blue jeans or shorts, and jazzy cowboy hats. Those who didn’t arrive in hats were given plenty of opportunities to rectify their fashion situation.
We spent a good thirty minutes slowly weaving our way up huge ramps, just to get inside the arena. I met a few interesting people, most notably a man wearing a t-shirt that read: “you can take my gun out of my cold dead hand,” but even he seemed lovely.
Once inside, the craziness of the rodeo began. Grown men jumped off their horses to tackle cows to the ground, five year old children rode sheep, clinging on for as long as they could, cowboys rode bulls. It was like nothing I had ever seen.
“How are they allowed to do this?” I asked. I was definitely shocked that what was happening in the arena didn’t legally constitute animal cruelty.
After seeing cows being tackled to the ground, you could then go and pet some calves in the kids barn, all while munching on a hamburger. Know where your food comes from I guess.
It wasn’t only cows, there were lots of different animal species represented. Whether they were all native to Texan soil was somewhat questionable.
My friends and family back home in the UK reacted with a mixture of shock, glee and horror to my regularly updated snapchat story.
The craziness of rodeo sport was nothing on rodeo food though, all of which was deep fried, even the ice-cream.
I embraced my tourist status, and took a photo in front of a “deep fried butter” sign. The people actually ordering deep fried butter weren’t very impressed.
One of the things I appreciated most about the food at the rodeo was the freedom it allowed you to temper the sweet with the salty. Honestly, it was all about keeping things in moderation and balancing food groups to ensure a healthy lifestyle.
I was also enraptured by the ready availability of photo ops on top of mechanical bulls. Trust me, I considered getting one myself but $20 seemed a little steep when you could buy an entire turkey leg for $12.
I may have been heavily judged by rodeo regulars for taking a photo of the sun setting over a sea of pick-up trucks, but it seemed like a fitting way for the day to end.