Broncs, Bulls, and Barrels

 We have lived in Riverton for four years now and attended our first rodeo here the other night. Riverton hosts a rodeo every year around the 4th of July as part of their three-day "Riverton Town Days" event.

I remember attending rodeos while growing up in Spanish Fork. They were held at the fairgrounds during the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days which was always around the 24th of July. This got me started in liking rodeos.

One thing I liked about this rodeo in Riverton was that they made it very patriotic since it was held close to Independence Day. 

To start things off, there were two sky divers who landed into the arena. One carried the American Flag.

That was so much fun to watch.

To set the stage for the National Anthem, they brought the biggest flag I have ever seen into the arena.

It was pretty spectacular.

It's nice to see girls involved in a rodeo besides those participating in the barrel racing. These girls carried flags around the arena advertising sponsors of the event.

One of my favorite events is barrel racing. This picture wasn't taken by me, but it gives you an idea of what barrel racing looks like. I forgot to take pictures of this event. The horses are extremely fast!

Another favorite, but very dangerous event, is bull riding. We watched 8 men try to ride a bull, but none of them had qualified times. The bulls were just too hard to stay on. Brahma bulls are so strong and powerful. They usually get what they want.

Clowns are fun and an important part of a rodeo. They are used for entertainment as well as safety and diversion for the bull riders.

This might be the last rodeo we ever attend, but I'm glad we went. It was fun to get out and do something different. The rodeo was sold out all three nights, so you can see that it is a popular event.