Peg's nephew James wanted us to experience some of the big events in Texas. He said we had to go see the Ft. Worth Stock Show and especially go to the rodeo there. We said okay and got on the road early today (Sunday) and headed for Ft. Worth where James lives. We arrived around 10:15am and parked our car and climbed into James' vintage Cadillac to ride to the stock show. It was a short trip and since James has been there several times, he knew just where to park for a short walk to the event and no charge to park.
We first saw the livestock barns and went in and out of all of them. We checked out the sheep, goats, rabbits, chicks, ducks and the cows. We even saw a new calf and its mother in one of the stalls (see photo). There were several bulls there as well. Every farmer was continually cleaning up after their animals. That is a big job in itself. Many were grooming their stock so they could be presented for awards and ribbons. We observed a cow judging in the arena near the stock yards.
After we wandered a while, it was time for the rodeo. I am not sure if I had ever been to a rodeo before, so we was looking forward to it. The rodeo lasted about two hours with no break, but the time went by rapidly. I took a few photos, but more video. These cowboys are a tough group and are gluttons for punishment! They even had a Future Farmers of America event where the kids went after cows to try and collect money. It was called Cows for Cash (see photo)! pretty funny watching them try to drop and tie up these calves. They all did pretty well though.
After the stockyard, we went to my favorite place to eat, IHOP. It was getting late, so Peg and I headed back to McKinney and to the motorhome. It was a nice day and we got to see something different and experienced some of the rodeo events that are so popular here in Texas.
