We recently had the opportunity to go to the Pendleton Roundup.  We were newbies….well not anymore!  :)  We are so glad we went!  The sites, the sounds, wonderful seats and the beautiful days spent at the Rodeo couldn’t get any better. Everyone was in a festive mood, ready for the promise of an amazing rodeo to come and boy oh boy that’s exactly what happened!!  This is a big rodeo with professional riders from all over North America coming to compete.
We were there for two days of exciting Bareback Riding, Calf Roping, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, Steer Roping, Bull Riding, Barrel Racing and Indian Pony Relay.  Plain and simple non stop action.  Yee haw!!!!

It wouldn’t be easy to pick a favorite event here……  The Ladies Barrel Racing, how they rounded the barrels with their horses nearly laying down, the speed they left those barrels, amazing!
Bareback Riding, 8 seconds would be a loooooong time to stay on these wild horses with one thing on their mind, throw the rider off with any means they had!  The brutality to the riders bodies in those 8 seconds, when they manage to stay on it’s a testament to their strength, skill and tenacity to not let the horse win this time.
The Indian Pony Relay was something we had never seen before.  The Indian’s use wild horses they have captured and trained to race in this event.  It is done bareback with only Halter and Reins.  The speed they race is unbelievable.   Four teams, one rider per team who changes horses at completion of each lap without hardly stopping to dismount and mount again.  You want to hold your breath when this happens as there is a HUGE chance of collision when the exchanges happen.  This is a thrilling event.

During our time there we became immersed in the Cowboy culture.  If you have an ounce of Cowboy in you, you owe it to yourself to make it to the Pendleton Roundup!

As they say ……..  Let’er Buck!

for more information visit the Pendleton Round-up site.

For more pictures see the Roundup Gallery