It's Gonna Fog

That's what the locals told the rodeo announcer in Orick today when he asked if it was going to rain and did he need to cover his speakers: "No rain, but it's gonna fog."

And fog it did: I woke up dreaming about rain, and went outside to see everything dripping wet. But the wet start to the day did not dampen our desire to attend Orick's rodeo. See?

"Rodeo—the No. 1 homegrown American sport." Huh. Isn't that NASCAR?

Greg and Noah, post-bbq, waiting for the rodeo to start. Greg's wearing his "blending in" hat.

The first event was the animal scramble: a truckload of hens, roosters, bantams, goats, geese, and a piglet is let loose in the arena. Whatever the kids can grab they can keep—or sell to the spectators immediately after the scramble. Some of the goats went for $50 or more!

The next event was mutton bustin'. That's right: parents strapped their children to ewes and pushed them out the gate to see who could ride a sheep the farthest. Seven-year-old Austin of McKinleyville won the event. Some of the kids mutton bustin' were as young as four!

That's me, enjoying my rodeo Sunday in Orick.

I love the flashy colors favored by Western riders. Lots of roans, palominos, paints, and tobianos at the rodeo...including these guys taking a break between events.

Again with the flashy colors, plus coordinating purple tack, Orick's cowgirls...

...and cowboys. I'm guessing that liver chestnut is a Quarter Horse or Quarter Horse mix, though a fair number of Arabs were in the arena, too.

Hangin' at the rodeo.

Show us your class, Orick!

But the event most people want to see is the bull riding, so they do that one last. I'm fine waiting til the end of the day. I'm partial to bareback bronc riding myself, and Greg likes the steer wrestling. Really, though, everyone likes bull riding:









Even though most of the riders did poorly this year, nobody left in the ambulence. So all in all it was a pretty good day of rodeo.