We are full well into Summer now, with temperatures going into the triple digits (Fahrenheit), brilliant sunsets, and most notably, rodeos. Especially this past weekend, across the U.S. rodeo world there are so many performances that it is difficult keeping up. Close to home, our grandson Ty and his main squeeze Shannon have been traveling to Rocky Mountain Rodeo Association (RMRA) rodeos and sometimes coming away with a few dollars but always coming away with the satisfaction of participating in this uniquely-American sport.
We were able to take in the 2017 Utah High School Rodeo Association (UHSRA) State Finals on June 3; even though none of our grandsons were performing, there were the kids of rodeo friends in the finals and for the most part, they made a good showing. At least two of the boys who bull-dogged with our grandsons will be going to the National High School Rodeo finals in Gillette, Wyoming (one trip there last year was enough for us!). The State Finals takes place in beautiful Heber City - always a pleasure to go there.
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| Grand Entry (6:00 p.m.MDT) |
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| Sunset (8:54 p.m. MDT) |
On the 20th of May Shannon's parents drove out here from Sparks, Nevada hauling Shannon's three rodeo horses. She had enrolled in a summer class at Utah State University (where she will be starting her junior year) and also has employment in Logan so she decided to have her horses housed here at the Diamond A ranch and do some rodeoing with Ty for the summer. Once she completed her class at the end of June, she began coming down each weekend and has been, as I mentioned above, traveling to rodeos around the state. She participates in breakaway roping and barrel racing while Ty is entering the steer wrestling in as many RMRA rodeos as he can. We don't go to any of the out-of-town rodeos (kind of had our fill over the last 30 years!) but we did take in the 72nd Tooele Bit & Spur Rodeo at Deseret Peak Complex on July 3rd. Both Ty and Shannon were entered in that night's performance and Ty managed to split 3rd and 4th place in the steer wrestling - with his buddy who happens to haze for him!
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| Shannon's breakaway run; caught but with a figure 8 loop which is an illegal catch. |
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| Ty throwing his steer in 6.4 seconds. |
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| Shannon returning from the third barrel; unfortunately, the ground was bad (there hadn't been any raking before) and she didn't want to push her horse especially since three racers who preceded her had taken falls during their runs. |
The crowd at the performance was unusually large - in fact, the grandstands were full. It was great to see so many folks out for the hometown rodeo. Here are a couple more photos from the evening:
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| Two of the Bit N' Spur Rodeo Grand Entry Girls posting the colors. These thirteen cowgirls have been riding with the Bit N' Spur Rodeo for 18 years (some of them) and have been in high demand for state-wide rodeos. The team was nominated and selected to perform at all five performances of the 2017 Days of '47 PRCA Rodeo, which is truly an honor for them and for Tooele County. |
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| Sun going down in the west. Brilliant! |
Once Shannon had finished her barrel run, she and Ty (and Ty's hazing partner) headed back to the ranch for a few hours sleep before leaving at 3:30 a.m. July 4th for the slack at the rodeo in Salina. That evening they headed to Mt. Pleasant for the rodeo there; they are certainly getting a taste of the rodeo life! But, they are young and energetic, and at least for now, are having a blast.
July 4th, Independence Day, Clare and I puttered at home as it was VERY hot. At 10:30 we drove over to a place where we could watch the fireworks display at Deseret Peak (after the rodeo) from a little distance. I haven't figured out how to capture good photos of the fireworks but suffice it to say, there were plenty of celebratory displays going on around the valley, "ooh and ahh" worthy!
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| Rango's summertime style. |
We are taking these dog days of summer slowly and surely - hope your days are as happy as ours!
Bye for now!
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