Last night, I fell asleep in my jeans, one leg hanging off the bed, boots scattered in a reckless trail across the floor, my cowboy hat balancing precariously on my bed post, mascara smudged at the corners of my eyes, my wallet half empty, but my heart completely full.
Maybe 30 years ago that would have been indicative of a different kind of good time, but last night, it was indicative of the end of rodeo season and the start of the La Plata County Fair. There’s “dog tired” and then there’s “horse tired,” which I can attest, takes exhausted to a whole new level.
From the stands, rodeo may look like a sport where you set out alone with your horse but the view from behind the shoots of life offers a different vantage point. You see there is no “I” in rodeo. It takes a village to get these kids through the season and for those kids who do 4H simultaneously, it takes a village and a few rodeo clowns to see the season through.
It’s the time of year when rodeo season turns the third barrel and heads into fall, record books are handed in, sighs of relief are exhaled and excitement hangs in the air. For rodeo, 4H and FFA kids, this is the culmination of a year of hard work and determination. It is their time to shine.
For the support system of family that has been the rodeo Sherpa, fronted entry fees, worked the gates, busted their shins on trailer hitches, driven kids and horses to and from and back again, it’s time to revel in the moment as well. We all did it so they could do it and this year our local rodeo kids really did it up and I, for one, am one proud mama!
My kids and I have spent the spring and summer driving from practice to practice, day after day in the rain, snow or shine, from rodeo to rodeo along the way. We have crossed county lines, state lines and a few questionable lines along the way.
I can’t count the mornings that I have looked in the backseat and seen my son wrapped up in pajamas and a blanket, tighter than the gas station breakfast burrito he just scarfed on the way to some new dusty location. Half the time, he doesn’t even know where he is headed the other half the time he doesn’t care; he’s just along for the ride to support his big sister’s big dreams.
Rodeo takes family. Family takes sacrifice and sacrifice takes giving up something valued for a greater purpose. For those of us who love chasing barrels there us no greater purpose than doing it together.
My little buckaroo has gotten home at 1 a.m. and rallied at the crack of dawn to do it all over again; again and again. He has lived on Frito pies, Navajo tacos and his sister’s dreams. He has learned new swear words from some of the best rough stock riders this side of the West Pecos River. He has played Uno at 11 p.m. in a horse trailer tack room and learned to play poker in parking lot. He’s been the runner for lip-gloss and bobby-pins, defended his sisters honor and learned how to be a man. He’s shoveled manure and dished plenty back out.
Mostly, he’s been his sister’s biggest fan. There may not be champion belt buckles for little brothers, but there should be because Soren is certainly the high point winner in that event!
Rodeo isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s up early, home late and practice in-between. It’s driving endless miles and spending last dollars for someone else’s hopes and dreams. It’s living on a prayer and praying for another chance all at once. It’s learning how to listen for bigger lessons in empty arenas than hearing screams of encouragement from crowded stands. It’s knocked over barrels and tears and prize money the next go round. Its high points and buckles, and cheering on your competitors all the same when they walk with them instead.
Whether you are racing in the dirt, working the gate or just along for the ride, no matter where you are in the rodeo arena, you are a part of the show and it takes family for the show to go on.
If I have learned anything this last year, it’s that sometimes, the dust flies and sometimes it settles, but its always there waiting for you to get your boots in it and take in a new challenge!
Jenny Johnston is a fourth-generation Durango local, part-time rodeo announcer and full-time wrangler to two lil’ buckaroos.
