On a warm, and golden, October Saturday I found myself on the road. I was on my way to the Wapella Rodeo! Another rodeo so close to the last one made me a very happy camper. What also made me a happy camper was the scenic drive that I got to take through the eastern part of the Qu'Appelle River Valley on the way to the rodeo. It was the perfect fall day for it since the sun was out, the weather warm, and the leaves golden in the hills. I couldn't help but stop to take a few pictures to share before I got to the rodeo itself. After the scenic pit stop it was off to the rodeo, which at this time of year is done indoor. The arena was packed with friendly people, and there was no lack of cowboy boots, or cowboy hats, among them. It was a great way to spend my Saturday afternoon. I got the pleasure of watching the Prime Time animals give it their all as they performed beautifully in the arena. The pickup riders did an excellent job handling the animals, and getting everyone off and out of harm’s way. The calves were having a great time running, and you could definitely see the feeling of disappointment on their face when they got caught. It was a pretty darn fantastic thing to watch while sitting in a ground filled hockey arena. The speed at which the animals moved was rather impressive that day. The blur in the pictures that I caught that day are testament to just how fast they were moving. And this time I had to save the pictures from my two favorite events for last.... team roping and bull riding. I have expressed before how much I love bull riding [those bulls just steal my heart every time]. But I don't think I have ever expressed how much I thoroughly enjoy watching team roping. It would be my second favorite event [nothing beats that cute bull face in my heart] due to the fact I am always greatly impressed by the skill it takes to get this job done. Now, I am impressed by all the skills it takes to do any event in rodeo but for me this one takes the cake. Probably due to the fact I lack any general ability to rope, but also because being a person that has done mostly solo sports I always find it impressive when I see people work as a team together. That day in Wappella I saw just that, excellent team work. It was impressive to watch as not only as the two riders worked together but to watch the riders work with their horses to have them be in the spot they needed them... then on top of that get that rope where it needed to be! I was impressed every single time! I was also impressed by: a) the bulls as they bucked with what appeared to be everything they had, b) the antics of the rodeo clown that day... he put on a great performance, and c) the great job the bull fighters did at keeping the bulls distracted and away from the rider. It is easy to say I was rather impressed the entire time, and Wapella rodeo will for sure be one I show up to in the future! I thought I would end this blog post with some pictures I stopped to take on the ride home. I will admit this was my first trip to the Wapella area, and so with that I decided to make a round trip on the way home to travel down some roads I haven't been down before. I am sure glad I did because I found these amazing windmill structures along the number one highway between Wapella and Moosomin. I quickly as I could found a gravel road to detour on, and had to go take a closer look. Now I have seen these amazing giants before, but I have not had the opportunity to get this up close and personal with them. So long story short I was a very happy little camper on that drive home. Then because that day could only seem to get better with every turn... I got to experience a beautiful sunset over the Qu'Appelle valley. It was the perfect way to see the day out. A perfect end to such an amazing day of going to rodeo. It was probably one of my favorite days of rodeo chasing I have done. I am very happy that I got the opportunity to do it, and hope that next year at Wapella rodeo it will show me the same great day [I have a feeling though that it will].
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