Around the World in 8000 days: Calgary Stampede

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Calgary Stampede - Rodeo (Throwback post)

Calgary Stampede

Our second day of the Calgary Stampede was the finals of the main rodeo. We had been to a rodeo once before, back in 2008 when we were in Las Vegas. We had enjoyed that, but this was better, perhaps because we were seeing the best competitors.

Calgary Stampede

We were particularly impressed with one guy, who had broken his arm in the earlier stages, but was still competing with his arm in plaster and using his other hand to ride the horse and the bull.

Calgary Stampede

They got us started of with a bit of pre-show entertainment, in the form of motorbike stunt riding. That was good enough to keep us amused while the stadium filled up.

Calgary Stampede

The main events don't have any female competitors, but the ladies did get a brief spot at the barrel racing event. The men's events were steer wrestling, tie down roping, saddle bronc, bareback riding and bull riding.

Calgary Stampede

In the events with the calf, I couldn't help rooting for the little fellow, and was quite pleased when one managed to evade the lasso.

Calgary Stampede

Of course, like most people I suspect, the events that I enjoy watching most are the riding ones. The horses and bulls that they ride can be worth huge amounts of money, as they are carefully bred to have the strength and will to buck the rider.

I do, of course, have some reservations about the rodeo, in regards to whether it is OK to have animals used this way. I know that some people will say it is not, while others will be strongly in favour.

Calgary Stampede

I suspect that, if you discount the two extremes, the answer probably depends on the policies and behaviours at the specific event.

Calgary Stampede

Here at the Calgary Stampede, they work with the Calgary Humane Society, to try to minimise the risk to the animals. Changes have been made, in terms of the particular events they hold, the event rules and the equipment used.

The changes have certainly improved the welfare of the animals, including limiting the number of times they can perform in an event, so I think that, on balance, I am OK with it here.

Calgary Stampede

Which is good, because I did enjoy it. It was fun to see the riders being thrown around like ragdolls. The support staff were pretty good about trailing them so that they could do a quick rescue if required - and on occasion, it was.

Calgary Stampede

Around the World in 8000 days

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Calgary Stampede - Rodeo (Throwback post)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Pages

Blog Archive