Mothers in law, mullets, and chickens were discussed at the Allendale Rodeo between Seth the Clown and the rodeo announcer Friday and Saturday as the Allendale Rodeo went off without a hitch despite a popup storm that passed through the area Friday afternoon and the threat of rain that evening.
But the only thing that happened Friday was lightning in the distance as the rodeo was able to proceed in its entirety.
Two bronc riders, Chase Gabriel and Chason Keifer, managed to get qualified rides in the bareback and the ranch bronc rides respectively. Seth opined that one of those horses ought to be used as a present for his mother-in-law, perhaps Rio Bravo, the horse who slammed in the fence on the first night.
The contrast between this area and Sedalia, a few hours away, was noted. The announcer noted that it hadn’t rained in Sedalia since the Reagan Administration, while this area had plenty of rain this summer. While Saturday came and went without any serious threat of rain, there was more rain in the area Sunday morning that lasted until the afternoon.
Mullets were another topic of discussion, with Seth recognizing everyone who had one, including one young man at the front who sported a particularly conspicuous one. One guy in the audience, who was picked out by Seth, was, according to Seth born with a suspended license.
Meanwhile, Dalli Overton set an early pace in the breakaway roping that could not be matched either night, getting 2.4 seconds. Heidi Bindl, who went right after her, seemingly got one in 2.3 seconds, only to have 10 added on for the broken barrier penalty. Everybody else whiffed, except for Alyssa Nelson, who came close but came up short at 2.7 seconds. Two contestants came close in the Saturday portion, but missed, while two others got the rope over the head, but not down under the nose like the rules require.
Gabriel Edwards won the calf roping with 10.2 seconds, followed by Billy Hamilton with 10.9 seconds. Many of the other contestants had a scramble, with calves running in circles around the horse to avoid being caught after being roped. Others were physically strong and the cowboys would successfully rope them, only to have trouble wrestling the calf down. One cowboy’s horse did not cooperate and managed to drag the calf all the way through an open gate, and it took four people to stop the horse and get the calf untied. One cowboy got tangled up in the rope and had to be rescued. Another was seemingly on his way to a 6 or 7 second finish, only for him to trip as the calf got away. Rich Baker got one in just over 14 seconds to win the Over 40 category Saturday.
Normally, the team roping event is one of the events where the contestants have the most difficulty, but there were several who were able to successfully do it Friday, capped off by Chad Day and Trent Schultz, who were encouraged to “give the onion” by Seth and successfully got the best score of the night with a time of 6.1 seconds.
Unfortunately, the mark did not hold up Saturday as Carson Hoepker and Dusty Goetz did the team roping in 5.7 seconds as the first team of the night. The next team whiffed, and the PA announcer played, “Put a Spell on You,” which seemingly jinxed most of Saturday’s contestants as only two more, out of the next nine, managed to get a time.
The event which the contestants had the most trouble with was the bull riding. Even the experienced contestants, who had successfully ridden bulls before, were no match for the bulls of the Grand River Rodeo Company. Out of 16 contestants both Friday and Saturday, none of them completed a successful ride. Most of the contestants were down in three seconds or less Friday. Logan Hockenberry was the lone exception, staying on for six seconds. On Saturday, there were three near-misses. Trent Nelson nearly had a qualified ride, but fell off at the 7.5 second mark; qualified rides have to be eight seconds. Abraham Pamba had an apparent qualifying ride, but was disqualified, allegedly for grabbing the bull with his free hand. Brody McReynolds stayed on for five seconds. The rest of them lasted as long as a Kardashian marriage according to Seth, who is seemingly more up on the lives of the celebrities than we are.
The bulls were seemingly stars in their own right, as Voodoo, who had a reputation of not liking anyone, threatened one of the rodeo officials and drove him up one of the fences before leaving the arena. Another bull, after the last ride of the Rodeo Saturday, went into the stalls as usual, only to come kicking and charging out into the ring again before the pickup men were able to get him back in for good.
The baseball races were Friday between the first section of the bull riders and the barrel races. Contestants had to strike at a kickball, weave through a set of cones, and kick the ball as far as possible, all with a set of goggles on.
Besides the bull rides, the event that the contestants had the most trouble with was the barrel races. Last year, the contestants were finishing their races in 13+ Seconds. One contestant, Tina Seltzer, handled the conditions well and won with a time of 14.227. She nearly crashed into the north gate, she was going so fast. But with the grounds slick from the Friday rains, contestants had trouble navigating the slick surface; one horse fell and threw their rider Saturday. Five different contestants Saturday knocked over barrels, taking a time penalty for that.
Saturday night saw Seth complaining that he stayed in Allendale in his trailer with gorilla sized hail while the announcer was back at the Ritz Carlton in Kansas City. In Sheridan that night, there was a lot of lightning on the way home, but no rain that night following the rodeo.
The most popular event of Saturday night was the stick horse races, which drew 70 participants, forcing everyone to divide it into two heats. They all had a good time, including a kid from Eagleville who ran three quarters of the way down the ring well before the start before realizing his mistake. He then made a new buddy between then and the start of the race, and they ran all the way down and back. One girl knew the Cotton Eyed Joe dance by heart.
The highlight of the night was the chicken races, or fight, depending on what one wanted to call them. Two folks, one in a mullet, came out to race each other wearing huge red chicken suits and goggles. They could push and trip each other, and the contestants were so anxious to begin that there were some premature fisticuffs thrown. It was all in good fun. Seth the Clown and the announcer had a disagreement over whether or not the event should be called a chicken race or a chicken fight, with the announcer worrying about legal liability if it were called a chicken fight. But even though Missouri passed a Constitutional Amendment in the 1990’s to outlaw cockfighting, one of the last states in the union to do so, and even though there were Worth County Sheriff’s deputies present, there were no arrests made as they deemed that everything was all in good fun, even after the two contestants got tangled up and fell in a heap at one point.
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