17th July 2016 - Jumping Pound AB - Kms to date: 5288

No kms today as Bill drove us into Calgary for the Stampede.

Pat cooked us a scrumptious breakfast and Bill took us on a tour of his property.  He owns a Section or 640 acres and runs 200 head of Angus cattle on it. He took us to the site of the school house his father Tom went to and then to the site of the school he went to. He rode to it on horseback like all the others kids.  We drove down a tree lined track called the Morley Trail which was an important route years ago but is now a farm track.

Some of Bill and Pat's cattle.

When we got back we were ready to leave for the Stampede.  Bill and Pat were going to the same rodeo were Joan and Val. It was a nice sunny morning so we were pleased with our seats near the arena.  To get to the stadium we walked through an area with food, shows, displays and all the paraphernalia associated with agricultural shows in Australia, but on a grander scale.


It wouldn't be Canada without the RCMP.

Bill talking to his friend - there are sure a lot of white Stetsons.

The rodeo was preceded by performances on a stage with bands singers and dancers. At one point the trumpets had flames coming out of their bells. 



Dancing girls, flaming trumpets the lot!

Here come the Indian Chiefs and dancers.

Hang on tight!

 There were tie-down roping, bareback broncos, steer wrestling, saddle broncos, barrel racing (for women) and bull riding. 10 contestants in each category vied for the top 4 scores to go through to the final. Bull riding was the most spectacular as the bulls would buck straight up in the air and the rider was thrown about like a rag doll.

Men in white hats watch the bull riding.

At the half way stage a big black cloud appeared and it rained continuously from then on.  We were exposed to the elements but Bill and Pat stayed dry.  The riders got covered in mud.  It got so heavy we both moved under the grandstand and watched the finals on CCTV.  The saddle broncos had a tie for first so they had a play-off.  The barrel race was won by a 67 year old grandmother by 1/100th of a sec.

Go Granny Go!

Only one rider stayed on the bulls as they brought out some specially wild ones for the final. Both rider and animal were scored and the winners  cheque was for $100,000. It sure was an experience not to be forgotten despite the rain.

We took Bill and Pat out to dinner afterwards and stopped by Jim and Gayle's house on the way home. This was a good move as Joan and Val were there and Jim plied us with whiskey and the Craic was very good!  We got to bed very late.