A Real Live Rodeo

Lately our family as been into the Canadian TV Show called Heartland. We love it! (Except Liberty who hates the "2 boys liking one girl" kind of shows) We like to watch an episode almost every night. With all the horses and cowboys, we feel more Montanan all the time. ;)

So... we were way excited to take a break from working on our new home and show the family a real live Rodeo. The Payne Family joined us for the evening. We had a great time watching all the different events. I took a zillion pictures but I'll just share a few of our favorites. We sat behind the bars so it was tricky to get shots between them. But we got some really fun ones, I think.

East Helena Parade and Rodeo

Phone: (406) 458-8124

East Helena Rodeo Grounds

Manlove Ave and Hwy 282

East Helena, MT United States

The East Helena Rodeo- Celebrating 50 years of the East Helena Parade and Rodeo! This is a weekend of rodeo action you do not want to miss!

Calf Roping, also called Tie-down roping, is based on ranch work in which calves are roped for branding, medical treatment, or other purposes. It is the oldest of rodeo's timed events.[13] The cowboy ropes a running calf around the neck with a lariat, and his horse stops and sets back on the rope while the cowboy dismounts, runs to the calf, throws it to the ground and ties three feet together. (If the calf falls when roped, the cowboy must lose time waiting for the calf to get back to its feet so that the cowboy can do the work.) The job of the horse is to hold the calf steady on the rope. A well-trained calf-roping horse will slowly back up while the cowboy ties the calf, to help keep the lariat snug.

Breakaway roping – a form of calf roping where a very short lariat is used, tied lightly to the saddle horn with string and a flag. When the calf is roped about the neck, the horse stops, the flagged rope breaks free of the saddle, and the calf runs on without being thrown or tied. In most of the United States, this event is primarily for women of all ages and boys under 12. In places where traditional "tie-down" calf roping is not allowed, riders of both genders compete.

Team roping, also called "heading and heeling," is the only rodeo event where men and women riders compete together. Two people capture and restrain a full-grown steer. One horse and rider, the "header," lassos a running steer's horns, while the other horse and rider, the "heeler," lassos the steer's two hind legs. Once the animal is captured, the riders face each other and lightly pull the steer between them, so that it loses its balance and lies down. This technique originated from methods of capture and restraint for treatment used on a ranch.

Barrel racing – a timed speed and agility event. In barrel racing, horse and rider gallop around a cloverleaf pattern of barrels, making agile turns without knocking the barrels over.[14] In professional, collegiate and high school rodeo, barrel racing is an exclusively women's sport, though men and boys occasionally compete at local O-Mok-See competition.

Steer wrestling – Also known as "Bulldogging," is a rodeo event where the rider jumps off his horse onto a Corriente steer and 'wrestles' it to the ground by grabbing it by the horns. This is probably the single most physically dangerous event in rodeo for the cowboy, who runs a high risk of jumping off a running horse head first and missing the steer, or of having the thrown steer land on top of him, sometimes horns first.

Bronc riding – there are two divisions in rodeo, bareback bronc riding, where the rider is only allowed to hang onto a bucking horse with a type of surcingle called a "rigging"; and saddle bronc riding, where the rider uses a specialized western saddle without a horn (for safety) and hangs onto a heavy lead rope, called a bronc rein, which is attached to a halter on the horse.

 “Mutton Bustin” Mutton busting is an event held at rodeos similar to bull riding or bronc riding, in which children ride or race sheep. Description[edit] In the event, a sheep is held still, either in a small chute or by an adult handler while a child is placed on top in a riding position.

Bull riding – an event where the cowboys ride full-grown bulls instead of horses. Although skills and equipment similar to those needed for bareback bronc riding are required, the event differs considerably from horse riding competition due to the danger involved. Because bulls are unpredictable and may attack a fallen rider, rodeo clowns, now known as "bullfighters", work during bull-riding competition to distract the bulls and help prevent injury to competitors.

The kids were in love with the horses. Justice plans to own a horse ranch when he grows up. So fun to watch them with the horses!