Another rodeo, but not the same as the other rodeo

Clicking the pics well make them bigger but it won't bring back the bulls.

The sun rising over the Fairgrounds this morning.

I've never been to this particular rodeo that the Fairgrounds is having this weekend before, so I didn't know what to expect, but since it was a school rodeo I assumed it would be just like the rodeo last week.... But it wasn't.

After I'd been at the rodeo this morning for a couple of hours, I first noticed there were a lot of really young kids here, like elementary school and maybe even earlier. Then I noticed that no older kids were wearing their bronc riding vests. Kids riding rough stock have to wear protective vests in case their stepped on, and a lot of the kids wear them around all day so that everybody can see they ride rough stock; it's like a badge of courage. But I didn't see any of them.

Curiosity got the best of me, so I walked around behind the announcer stand at the back of the arena to see what was in the pens where they keep the bulls and the broncs... Lo and behold, there was no rough stock, and that's when I knew it was going to be a horse riding and roping rodeo.

All that removed about 90% of my interest in the rodeo, so I took a few pictures of the goat roping and many photos of the barrel racers. And oddly enough, they actually had young boys barrel racing; that's the first time I had seen that.

But anyway I had a good time watching the things that interested me and taking pictures of the people and their horses. But the rodeo is not as interesting without  bareback and saddle bronc riding, and definitely not the same without the bulls and the brave kids that ride them.

Theboondork

The outdoor arena where the barrel racers are riding today. I took this at 8 o'clock in the morning, the girls were already racing.

A few of the horse trailers at the rodeo today.

Kids of different ages were barrel racing today. Some were too young to even be in school.

Another strange thing, there were even boys barrel racing today

These girls are obviously very good at this, and must've been riding since they were little kids.

So how young were some of the kids that were barrel racing?

How about this young? If these kids have been riding the barrels this long, I can see why there so good when they get to be in their teens.