Beth's Ponderings
My all-time
favourite time of year is early July, when for 10 days, the Calgary Stampede
thrills and excites people from all over the world.
I’m not really a
sports fan, and rarely watch any sporting events on TV, but all that changes
when it’s Stampede time! Rodeo is my
sport of choice, and the Stampede in particular because it features the best of
the best cowboys and cowgirls doing what they love best, and I try to catch as
much of the action as I can over the course of the 10 days.
I love watching the
chuckwagons make their figure-8 and race out onto the track. The bullriding, steer-wrestling, and tie-down
roping events always delight, as well as the other events. I cheer for all the competitors, while
cheering harder for my favourites such as Zeke Thurston.
And despite what
the commentators may say, or how many times the competitors have won (even at Calgary ),
there are no guarantees in rodeo. Especially
when you consider the unpredictable personalities of the livestock they are
competing with. Just ask Straws Milon,
who was (for all intents and purposes) dragged the entire width of the infield
by a very determined steer who did NOT want to be dropped. The competitor in the lead can easily end up
at the bottom of the heap in the space of a mere 24 hours, and the reverse is
also true, the worst luck can change with a single ride and vault a competitor
into the championship round.
While the prize
money does make for a bit more excitement, the real thrill is when you see a
competitor beat their own best time or score for the first time ever, and then
you watch them take that added boost of confidence into their next ride.
While most of us
aren’t going to be getting on the back of a bucking bull, or try to wrestle a
steer to the ground, we can learn a lot from the rodeo world on how to approach
our lives:
- do
your best and let go of the result as tomorrow is another day
- when you get knocked off your feet, get back up and try again.
Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua24/home/July%2020%2C%202018%20Chautauqua.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1
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