Checking out the Sidney Rodeo

When the 100 Places listed the Sidney Rodeo, Linda and I both thought that the southwest corner of the state was a little far to go for a rodeo. We'd been to rodeos before; how different could this be? We found out...

The Freemont County Fairgrounds are located in Sidney, Iowa. The most significant building on the grounds is the rodeo arena. This facility has to be one of the finest rodeo grounds in the state, probably several states. And they know how to put on a show! From the fully covered stands on the north and south sides of the arena to the huge replay screen in the east end, this place shows an investment in the fan that makes an immediate impression. Add to that an announcer that is on the field and has a quick wit, an equally clever sound system operator with an impressive selection of musical riffs and humorous sound bites, and a rodeo clown voted entertainer of the year last year and you've got a show... before the horses and cattle show up!

We found our seats on the more popular south side of the arena and immediately appreciated that the builders had left a significant gap between the top row and the roof to let a wonderful breeze roll down over us. We had a few minutes to soak in the facility and assembling crowd. It was the family matinee performance so there were a significant number of young buckaroos in the crowd, some with hobby / stick horses in tow. I should probably mention that this rodeo is a four day, five session affair.

The opening ceremonies brought several competitors, dignitaries (including senior linebacker from this year's football team), color guard, and band onto the arena floor. One of the nice touches was the naming and pause to remember those members of the rodeo family who'd passed on since last year's event. The anthem was played and fireworks started ... literally! Part of the opening was a volley of Fourth of July grade fireworks!

The opening event was bronc riding. The first rider and horse put on a great show down the west half of the southern stands. The rider made his time and we were rollin'. The replay on the big screen was immediate and, by the time it was done, the score was shown as well. The announcer introduced the next rider and his gate opened. He didn't fare so well but the pace was established. They knew that people didn't need to be sitting on their hands waiting for the next rider. That image in the right has been altered to better show one of the more spectacular jumps and falls; the announcer called that one a Chiropractor's Delight. Ouch! He scrambled away without medical attention.

After the broncs, the Two County Dusters, a group of around thirty high school horsemen and women took the arena. They arrived in two columns but quickly split into two lines and wove figure eights, reversing circles, pinwheels, and other synchronized patterns to patriotic country music. It was quite a show and really communicated how horsemanship is an important aspect of many of these kids lives. They looked good out there.

Steer wrestling was up next. Sometimes called bulldogging, the he man event of the rodeo went off pretty much as you'd expect. Big guys drop off of speeding horses onto racing steers and wrestle the steer to the ground. What's not to like? (Okay... PETA might have an objection.) All the steers got up and a couple even got away.

Team roping was next. You better be a true Lariat Sam to have a chance in this event. Getting a rope around the pointy end of the steer is the first step; that's certainly not easy. Getting both of the rear legs with the second rope can't be easy either. Thinking about it, you'd probably have a much better chance of catching those when the steer is still on the run; once it stops, it's gotta be harder. We only saw a few teams accomplish the task at hand. In this collection of images, I actually have a photo of the winning team taking their Shell Victory Lap. Generally after each event, the winning competitor or team would take their lap in the arena.

Throughout the performance, four time PRCA Clown of the Year, Lecile Harris entertained us with his wit. Twice, he was also the featured act between events and shared a couple of his skits. In one, his taxi career took a pretty serious hit when his car acted up. In the other, he showed his skill with the bull whoop; of course, not all went as one might have been expected. Lecile's career has been long and varied and he can still put a smile on your face. It was a real treat to see this showman in the arena.

Tie down roping was another challenging event in our session. Some of the calves got away clean while others escaped after their knots were tied. One cowboy caught the back hooves instead of the head; he just let the calf go. The timing of this event is pretty amazing to me. This is just one of my photos of this event where the horse is skidding to a stop while the cowboy is dismounting but the calf hasn't even broken stride yet.

The ladies took the stage with barrel racing. The thought of bringing a galloping horse into a tight turn around a steel barrel and then get it back up to a gallop to do it all over again... and again is pretty scary, at least for me. You've got to have a great deal of trust in your horse, your balance, and the arena; one misstep and it's not going to be much fun. There were only four or five competitors in our session but they certainly put on a show of steely nerves and horse control. When they were done, there was a brand new high banked turn carved around each of the barrels.

Last up... the bulls. While the name of the event is bull riding, we didn't see a lot of long rides. There were certainly a few who were fortunate enough to get to stay aboard; there were several more who hit the dirt. As we watched this event and as I looked through my photos, I saw that there was one man in nearly every shot. If you didn't see him, it was because he was behind the bull. The guy in the red and white striped shirt has an amazing job. He's generally the first thing the bull sees when it comes out of the gate. He's often the last thing the bull goes after before heading back to the pens. That's his job. When a cowboy goes down, this guy puts himself between the bull and the fallen man as quickly as possible.

The picture in the bottom left is pretty scary but I know that that man got up and ran off on his own. The bull hung around to play for a while longer. That's him in the picture in the middle of the left side. He'd lowered his head and pawed the ground in an obvious challenge / warning; this bull was looking for trouble. The clowns faced him down, took his best shot, and lived to tell the tale. The bull then trotted off to his pen.

The top two photos are pretty dramatic as well. In the big picture in the top right, you can see the clowns on the run as the cowboy is heading down. This is also the only bull that got the lariat; I have to wonder if he has a history of bad behavior. The image in the upper left has the clown with the bull "in his pocket." There can't be much room between that bull and the clown. Pretty amazing stuff.

The event closed with a short video message about the cowboy spirit and values, encouraging those present to try to live up to the ideals of that way of life. A small herd of horses and foals were released in the arena as a tiny stampede representative of freedom and independence. It doesn't translate well in words but I hope you get the idea.

As you can probably tell, I had a whale of a time and would happily return. I really have to recommend this to anyone with even a remote interest in rodeo. These folks know how to do it. Happy trails!