Search This Blog

Saturday, January 30, 2016

8 Seconds

 
What else should one do in Texas on a Saturday night when there is a bull riding event going on? GO! So we did.

Now this was NOT the PBR...that's the one that's like famous and cost BIG bucks to see No, no this was the NPBR. Whatever, it was bull riding and on a Saturday night in Texas it's what you should do if it's available, I mean, this IS Texas, that's what they do!

We showed up early for the pre-entertainment...the people watching proved to be the best bang for your buck. The pre-entertainer was okay, but he didn't do songs we knew and his set up was at the other end of the arena therefore, he was hard to hear. The kettle corn was some of the least yummy I have ever had. So it was the people watching that kept us entertained. We also crossed paths with some folks we had met at a concert a few weeks ago, that was fun! They are a hoot!
Hanging at the NPBR with my man.

The bulls in the qualifying round were good and we saw some pretty decent riding. We also saw some injuries, yeah, no thanks, this is definitely a risky sport! EMTs were gainfully employed. But the riders seemed like they were enjoying it, the ones who could walk afterward anyway. The clown was entertaining. There were also bull helpers...they were earning their money with some of those beasts. One of those young men went down pretty hard with a bull stomping his leg but he made sure the rider was safe. Matt did return to action but he favored that leg the rest of the evening.

Pretty tough to capture the action without blurriness
The final round proved somewhat harder for the riders, NO ONE stayed on these animals These were, of course, higher rated bulls and definitely a harder ride. Couple riders came close, one was at 6.8 seconds but lost out for the full ride. They even allowed a re-ride but no joy. One of the highlights was a bull getting loose. Like out of the fenced in area. He was roaming the parking lot. For a few tense moments everyone was holding their breath. It was all hands on deck to try and get this bovine corralled. Finally, there was success and the riding went forward. Made good fodder for the announcer and clown the rest of the evening. I was just praying he didn't go near Roada!

At the close of the night they had bull fighters...yeah, we were not sure about this but it was somewhat entertaining and not at all like the traditional bull fighting that comes to my mind. First they were dressed somewhat like a rodeo clown and then they pretty much just chased the bull around the arena. They did try to use the Cavender's barrel as a prop to put between them and the bull to touch his head. Since the clown was in the barrel and the bull usually "nudged" it over he got shook up several times. It was definitely something to watch and but then we were also shaking our heads asking ourselves if this was really a smart thing. The answer after two injuries and one EMT visit was, 'NO". But the crowd seemed to like it and we couldn't pull our eyes away so I guess it was definitely entertainment at its finest.

#OWT
#LooksDangerousToMe

No comments:

Post a Comment