Second day of the rodeo

Please click the pics..... I'm too tired to write anything cute

So here's the old boondork forced to wake up, yet again, before sunrise. Because horse people get up before sunrise, and when horse people get up before sunrise, their horses get up before sunrise, and when horses get up before sunrise, EVERYBODY in the area gets up before sunrise, because horses have never heard of campground quiet hours.

I'm too tired to write anything today, it's been a long day of standing and walking, so all I have to give is pictures.

A bullfighter rushes to the rescue as the bull dances the Lambada on the bull riders helmet.... And this is why helmets and protective vests are required for junior and high school bull riders.

Most young bull riders have that moment of glory when mom or dad snaps that perfect cell phone picture they can show their friends at school Monday morning.

But if mom or dad are a little slow with the snapshot, all it will show is a bull rider getting yet another mouthful of arena floor.

The first couple of seconds of a bull ride is when the hero pictures are taken. All eyes and all cameras are focused on you. When you and the bull are in the perfect position to show the bulls athleticism and the bull riders skills.

But around the fourth second things usually start to come unglued for the bull rider and he starts to realize the only thing left of his heroic ride is yet another mouth full of bitter arena dirt.

Here's something you might not know.

The bull riders footwear is different from ordinary cowboy boots. This bull rider was kind enough to lay out in the middle of the arena so I could take a picture of his boot.

Bull riding boots are made much sturdier than regular cowboy boots because they take a lot of abuse. To keep the boots from coming off the bull rider will tie leather straps around the boots so they won't go flying across the arena during his ride.

As a side note, Saddle bronk riders do the exact opposite. They wear cowboy boots several sizes too big, so if their boot gets hung up in the stirrup their boot will come off easily, saving the rider from being drug around the arena by his foot until the horse gets tired.

The spurs are put on with much sturdier straps and the strap that goes across the bottom of the boot is made by the bull rider himself usually of twisted wire so it won't break.

And the spur itself, or more accurately the rowel, is made very dull with no points or sharp edges on it that could injure the bull.

Since so much of bull riding is based on luck it's not that odd a lot of bull riders are superstitious, and they seem especially superstitious about their boots.

Mucho thanks to this young bull rider who was kind enough to hang upside down on his bull while I took this picture so I could make a point.

You'll notice one of his boots is torn up, like I said before bull riders are tough on boots. And more than likely this is because he hasn't been injured lately and he attributes that to his lucky boots, and may not buy new ones until there's so little boot left he's strapping his spurs to his bare feet.

This kids hand is hung up in the bull rope... That's why the way bull riders tie themselves to the bull is called the suicide wrap.

The bullfighter is rushing to the scene, and not  to offer emotional support, he's always the one nearest the bull rider that knows how to get the kid loose before he's badly injured. The bullfighter's are the real heroes of bull riding.