Rhapsody of a Rodeo Rookie

Thrills and Stills from the Wet Mountain Valley Stampede

by by Vahaken Mouradian,
The National Review

(Editor/GG: Many thanks to Mr. Mouradian and The National Review for this excellent article on our rodeo and Custer County and for their permission for us to reprint the piece. The National Review is a
top-notch conservative magazine that has been around a long time.
A subscription is well worth the money.)

Bareback bronc doesn’t look as fun as it sounds. A fearsome sight: lurch, rear kick, 180-degree spin, thump-thump-thrash. If one hoof is touching the ground, at least two aren’t. The mad undulation of a runaway seesaw. We’re not even three seconds in yet. Lightning punctures the somber Sangre de Cristo slopes as if it’s part of the show. No need for pyrotechnics. Look away if you can: A crash-test dummy is demonstrating Newton’s second law of motion while hitched to the back of an equine bodybuilder. The beast has a neck like Ronnie Coleman’s left quadricep. Who taught it to perform superman push-ups? Buck-spin’s the move: The cowboy’s center of gravity momentarily shifts to some-
place over equatorial Asia. The timer goes off; his chaps take wing —— horizontal ejection. Godspeed and good night. Hearing the thud alone makes me slip a spinal disc. It’s my first rodeo.
“Son of a biscuit!
“Is he all right?”
He’s all right. He gets up, gestures to the crowd. Clamor and cheers. He shambles away. Bob Edmonds on horseback relays the score: “Seventy-nine for Bill Tutor.” Frequent-flyer points
for the gentleman’s eight- second journey. Calculated by some mystical formula in the judges’ booth: a raised shed sponsored by Beach Redi-Mix and Tony’s Mountain Pizza.
“I told you, he should’ve extended his legs.” The old boy next to me demonstrates by holding out his arms at 45-degree angles, palms facing the ground. “Spurs in”.
Prompted by his accent, I ask. He left West Texas for Westcliffe last year and is now retired.
A volunteer rodeo sage, then.
Prompted by my accent, he asks. I explain.
“No kidding.”
“None at all.”

[ continued]

PDF of the reprinting in the SDC Sentinel  HERE

See the full article and photos at the National Review @ https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/09/rhapsody-of-a-rodeo-rookie