So Matt called at 9 o'clock the morning of event sign ups to get Joel on the roster so he could ride a sheep one of the evenings of the rodeo. Apparently, the phones had opened at 8 a.m. and all forty of the available slots were filled by 8:15 a.m. However, the woman taking the calls told Matt that mutton bustin' would also be available in the "kid's zone" during the day at this year's fair.
So yesterday we headed to the opening day of the fair early so that we could be the first in line and get Joel signed up. Joel was all dudded out and prepared for a wild ride--right down to his lil' buckaroo chaps. It turned out that there were no early sign ups. Joel just needed to be at the mutton bustin' arena by high noon. Rides would be on a first come first served basis.
We wandered around the fair a bit and then got back to the arena at 11:52 a.m. They had already begun the festivities, so we scooted Joel into line behind the other little kids. The guy that runs the company, called Wool Busters, that puts on the event is really a kick. He did a great job of getting the crowd excited for the event. He announced each little rider's name and where they lived before they rode. And he asked the all important question, "Do you want help?" The man's grandsons were available to hold the sheep and keep them from running to make the ride a bit easier for those little guys (or their parents) who preferred a safer ride.
"Sweet Home Alabama" blared on the sound system as rider after rider took his or her turn. Each kid received a blue ribbon after riding--"we call that braggin' rights," the man would say.
Every kid who rode before Joel asked for help. When Joel got into the shoot, the man asked him, "Do you want help?" and Joel answered, "No."
So the man said, "Joel wants to ride unassisted. Is that o.k. with you, Dad?" Matt nodded "yes."
"Just a minute, I have a special song for those who ride unassisted," the man said. So he ran out of the arena and put on George Thorogood's, "Bad to the Bone." Then he returned to the gate and asked Joel one more time, "You sure you want to ride without help?" Joel answered in the affirmative.
"This sheep's name is Tornado. Joel will be riding Tornado unassisted today." Then he opened the gate. . . and Joel lasted about two seconds before he fell off.
As the man handed Joel his blue ribbon, he said, "You earned that ribbon cowboy." Joel left the arena and watched from the sidelines as the other kids rode. Most wanted assistance, although a few rode without help. All of those kids were older than Joel and lasted a bit longer than he did.
Later, the man caught Joel's eye as he stood outside the arena and said, "You come back and ride with us again, cowboy." Joel smiled a big proud smile.
We asked Joel if he'd like to ride again. Right now, he's not so sure. He got sawdust in his eyes during his face plant landing and had to go to the first aid station to have his eyes rinsed. He is sure of one thing, though. He still wants to be a cowboy in Texas when he grows up.
1 comment:
Way to go Joel!
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