New England Rodeo

It's boots and chaps

It's cowboy hats

It's spurs and latigo

It's the ropes and the reins

It's the joy and the pain

And they call the thing rodeo

-Garth Brooks

A rider getting ready in the shoot

Friday night Laurie and I went to the New England Rodeo n Norton, MA. I was pretty surprised to find out there was a rodeo in Massachusetts. I was even more surprised that it wasn't in a city or even a fairground. It is in Norton in the middle of nowhere off of I-495.

The rodeo has been going on all summer. If you are interested, the rodeo is on Friday nights at 8 pm. There is a ten dollar admission fee. 

There are two different events that go on during the rodeo. There is barrel racing for women and girls. The other event is bull riding. The events are staggered. There were a few barrel races followed by a few cowboys riding bulls and back to the barrel racing, back and forth. 

I went because I really wanted to see the bull riding. I wasn't expecting tv rodeo bull riding. I was expecting small bulls and nothing really dangerous. I was wrong! These were full size, big, mean, dangerous bulls. To qualify for a score a cowboy has to stay on the bull for eight seconds. I can tell you, the bulls won a lot more than they lost. One of the bulls is in the Rodeo Hall of Fame. Another has not been rode for eight seconds all year! One of the cowboys that got bucked off got stepped on by a bull in the inner thigh near the groin area. The sport is definitely dangerous. 

In between events there were side shows to keep the crowd entertained. One was a cowboy doing tricks with a lasso. Another was a guy riding a horse shooting balloons while the horse is running. There was also a kid riding a calf a couple of times. 

I really enjoyed the rodeo. I wish I didn't wait until the end of the season  to go. It was obviously something completely different. It seems like the people in Norton made a commitment to host the New England Rodeo. So I assume that the rodeo will be in Norton again next year. I plan on going back.

Sorry I don't have any pictures of bull riding. All of my pictures came out blurry.