Fort Worth: Visiting the Stockyards rodeo with children

It’s not illegal to go to Texas and not see a rodeo, but it is a little bit criminal. That’s because they feature so many elements of Texana: hardy cowboys, skilled cowgirls, kid-friendly silliness, cold beer and lots of “God Bless America”.

Everybody stands and says the Pledge of Allegiance. This is no time for irony

The thing is, it can be difficult to catch a touring rodeo wherever you’re going to be. So do what we did: Visit Fort Worth, aka Cowtown USA, and you can see an honest-to-goodness, rooting-tooting rodeo every Friday and Saturday night at the Stockyards Rodeo. We saw the Stockyards Rodeo on our trip to Fort Worth this summer and it’s a kid-pleasing family outing.

I love the rodeo and it’s a pure distillation of how southern America likes to think of itself: patriotic, athletic, meretricious, traditional, family-oriented. There is no room for cynicism here. It starts with a mouted rider circling the darkened ring with a spotlit American flag while the crowd stands and sings the national anthem, hand on heart. I’m pretty cynical these days about American and world politics, but in this relatively small stadium, sitting in the dark watching this spotlit rider going round and round, I was filled with emotion for my home state.

Then it’s on to the cowboys and cowgirls.

 

A cowboy bolts out to rope the calf

Some of the highlights of the rodeo

The cowgirls do barrel racing, in which they ride their horse in a pattern around three barrels in a race against the clock. It’s athletic and impressive and the rides are over in seconds. It’s the only event in which we see the women compete.

Next up, the bucking broncos try to unseat their riders as the cowboys hold on in an attempt to beat the clock. Then there is the big glamour event: Send in the clowns — the rodeo ones — because it’s bull riding.

For endless minutes a group of cowboys gather around a metal stall at one side of the corral. What are they doing? What’s the commotion? Are they all going to ride the bull? No, but obviously each of these guys — all wearing white hats — has an important job in wrassling one rangy guy onto one big angry slab of muscle. A signal is given, the gate is flung open and the rider gives his best impression of a rag doll while the bull kicks up a storm.

At my first job I worked with an editorial assistant who was also a rodeo bull rider. He would come in in slings, in casts, but always with a smile on his face because he loved it so much. Make no mistake, these rides are dangerous. One of the bulls got worked up, rounded on the rider so the rodeo clowns had to jump in front and distract them. Then the bull chased one of the clowns who took refuge in a barrel. Classic rodeo scene.

In between 2 stints of bull riding, we got calf roping — I can’t explain the rules but it’s fascinating and based on the traditional roping cowhands would do on the farm.

And best of all, the rodeo includes a bit of impressive trick roping as well as some bizarre crowd activities. For example, during the Calf Scramble, children ages 8 to 14 gather in the ring and chase after a calf with a piece of tape stuck to its back. (I’ve also seen this done with a bit of ribbon tied loosely round its tail.) The kid who pulls off the tape gets a prize. Everyone else just runs around like a maniac. Here there was a version for younger children called the Mutton Scramble. Same rules, same bizarre and humorous spectacle.

 

 

This rodeo was shorter than other ones I’ve attended — about 2 hours all in. That was good news for the kids, who got a taste of real rodeo action but without long lists of contestants all doing the same event. My daughter was full of questions about how the events worked, whether calf roping hurt the animal, whether the bull riders ever got injured and so on. It was a great opportunity to talk about cowboy life and why events like calf roping exist — they showcase skills cowboys would really use on the ranch when it came time for branding.

Often the cowboy element of my Texan heritage must seem like faraway stories to the children, as we visit metropolises like Austin, Houston and San Antonio. Here we experienced a little bit of the roots of Texas culture during a solidly family-oriented evening out. I can guarantee she was the only one in her class who chased a calf this summer.

Jenography Tips for attending the rodeo:

• Wear proper shoes (not flip-flops). If children enter the ring for the mutton or calf scramble they’ll want closed-toe shoes
• If you’re prone to hayfever or are affected by dust, pop an allergy pill before you go. The animals do kick up dust
• Bring a little spending money to buy an ice cold beer to drink ringside
• Buy a programme, which describes the events and names the contestants. It’s a nice way to keep up with the action
• If you have one, wear a hat, or buy one at one of the stalls set up opposite the building, to really get into the spirit

Info: Cowtown Coliseum, 121 E.Exchange Avenue, Fort Worth. TX 76164 stockyardsrodeo.com

Find out more at www.fortworth.com/things-to-do/attractions.

Jenography was a guest of Fort Worth tourism. All opinions are my own.