rodeo

Heading to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Heading to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

12 Photos

Members of the Sam Houston Trail Ride made their way down a highway in Tomball, Texas on Tuesday, heading for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. More than 3,000 riders from 13 trail rides will converge in Houston Friday for the event. The riders will take part in the downtown rodeo parade on Saturday.

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The Howard County Fair’s All-American Pro Rodeo

The Howard County Fair’s All-American Pro Rodeo

41 Photos, 1 Video

The Howard County Fair upped its game this year, moving from the ‘Bull Blast’ to a full on rodeo. Participants competed in several competitions, including bareback bronco riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle riding and bull riding. Spectators were treated to seemingly off-the-cuff performances from the rodeo clown. (Photos by Jon Sham / Video by Jen Rynda)

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The life of a rodeo cowboy

The life of a rodeo cowboy

19 Photos, 1 Video

“There’s no injured reserve for bull riders,” said Chip Ridgely, the owner of Rockin’ R Western Productions, which put on the Bull Blast at the Howard County Fair Monday night, and will again on Thursday.

We took look into the life of rodeo cowboys, who travel around the country in groups for weeks on end to entertain crowds at fairs and other events. Most people are aware of how dangerous the sport can be, but few may realize what bull riders go through from day to day.

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Behind the scenes of a cowboy monkey rodeo

Behind the scenes of a cowboy monkey rodeo

17 Photos, 1 Video

Aberdeen IronBirds fans attending Thursday night’s game against the Batavia Muckdogs got a special treat during and after the game: a performance by Tim “Wild Thang” Lepard, and his team of sheep-herding, Border Collie-riding Capuchin monkeys.

Lepard’s show included one of his monkeys “throwing” the first pitch of the game, teaser performances during the third and after the fifth innings and a longer performance at the end of the game. A group of sheep were released from a pen and the monkeys, riding their respective Border Collies, rounded them up.

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Bull Blast rodeo at the Howard County Fair

Bull Blast rodeo at the Howard County Fair

25 photos, 1 videos

After 16 years, attendees of the Howard County Fair finally got to see some bucking bulls.

With a new event called “Bull Blast” held Monday night, the fair launched itself back into the ring with professional riders putting on a show for about 2,000 cheering fans.

“We’re going to see some spills, some falls, maybe a couple cowboys getting bucked off real good,” said Justin Howard, of Rockin “R” Western Productions, which produced the show. “We’re going to have some fun.” (Story continues below video)

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Carroll cowboys try their luck at the ‘Battle of the Beast’

Carroll cowboys try their luck at the ‘Battle of the Beast’

21 photos

Armed with a flat braided rope, riding gloves, spurs and a protective vest, cowboys at the J Bar W Ranch in Union Bridge, Md., engage in one of rodeo’s most dangerous events: bull riding. Riders attempt to stay on a bucking bull for eight seconds without touching it with their free hands, as the animal jumps, twists and turns.

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