Allendale, Missouri puts on a rodeo that I have been to several times over the years. This year I decided to go back. Brandy’s daughter, Jillian, went with me which was fun. The rodeo is usually a pretty good one and gets lots of contestants. It kind of out in the middle of nowhere in North Missouri, and there isn’t a lot to do around there so the crowd is usually big. Grand River Rodeo Company out of Grand River, Iowa brings the stock.
I was little weary about the weather on the way up there, it was pretty dark and looked like it could storm. As we pulled in the lightning was getting pretty bad. I went and found the day sheets and saw that I had a horse drawn that they called Slingblade. I had been on him before a few years prior and won a rodeo. He is pretty hard to get by. He has a couple different trips, one is pretty wild and western and the other is a little better when he goes down the pen but he has a lot of swoops and moves.
The rain started in before the rodeo began which wasn’t to bad, it was the lighting that was bad. They decided to post pone the show for awhile. I wasn’t too thrilled about getting on that horse in the mud and rain, I was kind of hoping they would cancel the rodeo due to lightning. They decided to continue with the show in the rain, the first part of the show it was raining, then it let up and there were actually two rainbows over the arena. This reminded me of how lucky I was to be able to do what I love to do, no matter what the weather or what horse I had drawn, but to be out there riding bucking horses and being blessed. I totally changed my attitude about getting on Slingblade. It came time for bronc riding and I was ready to have some fun, rain or shine, dirt or mud. He is kind of nervous in the chute so I made sure I got in and nodded as quickly as I could. He always leaves the chute hard and fast so I was going to make sure I had a good solid mark out. He left fast and I was pleased with my mark out, he then jumped down the pen with the ducks and dives and swoops. I was riding him OK I thought. I was having trouble setting my feet and beating him to the ground, I was a bit behind. When the buzzer sounded I got off on the pickup man, fairly pleased with how it all went. I wanted to ride him better but was satisfied. My score of 74 was good enough for a 3rd place money. The rain picked up and made it hard for us to get home, we actually had to pull over for awhile. It was a good night in all, it was a definitely a reminder of how blessed we are, and how I should make the best out of any situation.
Until next time, God Bless, and be safe On The Rodeo Road
On The Rodeo Road 