Feature

by Diane Peterson

The bareback riding was the first event of the night, and the crowd was pumped with energy.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index
Previous Features | Send mail to The Voice

Portland Rodeo A Change of Pace From City Life

Rodeos use a large variety of horses including broncs, cow horses, reining horses, barrel horses and trick ponies such as Triscuit, the editor's pony pictured above. --Alyssa Brown, photo

Downtown Portland, Ore., an area known for its nightlife of sports, clubs and shopping, welcomed a small-town rodeo to the Rose Garden Arena, Feb. 19, 2005.

On a clear, warm night in the middle of winter, people traveled by car and by Max to stand in line for tickets to the rodeo, unless they had already purchased them earlier.

The sounds of an announcer for the Winter Hawks hockey game grew as people approached the Rose Quarter. The speakers for the hockey game blared outside the Portland Coliseum where the second half had just started.

Outside the Coliseum, rodeo fans stood in three lines, except one individual who cringed at the thought of voluntarily paying to watch such a small-town event -- a college student who loved the big city. That city girl happened to be me. I have always loved the city with its bright lights, crowds and sophistication.

I stood in line to buy a ticket for $14 outside an arena that normally hosts sports games, concerts or the like. I would have enjoyed these events; instead, I attended a rodeo. Everything about a rodeo goes against who I am.

Upon entering the building, I was assailed immediately by the odor of animals -- it smelled like a petting zoo or a barn. Some man in a cowboy hat who worked for KUPL AM -- a country music radio station -- handed people pieces of paper so they could make paper airplanes.

The first few moments, I thought I would be sick. When I entered the arena where the rodeo would take place, I didn't know how I would last through the night. Luckily, I went with two of my friends: one who had been to many rodeos and loved them and the other who, like me, had never experienced a rodeo. They were my support group, and rodeo-expert and friend Amanda Hewitt helped me understand what was going to happen in the rodeo.

Our three tickets placed us in the 200 section. We were close enough to see well; unfortunately, the smell became more familiar.

As Hewitt and I conversed about rodeo, a man seated nearby kept interrupting and explaining rodeo terms because I knew nothing about them. Chris Steenson, 23, had grown up engulfed in the cowboy way of the rodeo. "Usually cowboys come from the small towns because that's all they've got," said Steenson, whose hometown was Sandy, Ore. He knew how to do a few roping tricks and has been to rodeos across the Northwest.

Prior to the rodeo's 8 p.m. starting time, country music blared over the sound system. Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn and Dwight Yoakim were a few of the singers. Two Dodge trucks, one red and one yellow, sat atop the golden-color dirt that covered the floor. Children sat on ponies as adults walked them around, and vendors sold peanuts and cotton candy.

A few minutes before the rodeo started, the trucks drove out, the lights dimmed, and the announcer appeared in a spotlight on the dirt floor. He began the night by asking the crowd to cheer on the cowboys.

Apparently rodeo fans are loyal to their sport because when the announcer asked who had gone to rodeo finals in Las Vegas, the crowd cheered loudly.

The announcer concluded his talk by explaining the history of the rodeo. "The rodeo came from the Mexican western culture," the announcer said. Steenson told me how the rodeo branched out of Mexico, where the cowboys focused more on tricks before "our culture Americanized the rodeo," Steenson said. During the first act of the rodeo, the American and the Mexican cowboys, or Chabos, were introduced. The Chabo rode his horse sideways and backwards, and he spun in circles. He showed off his rope trick skills.

When the Chabo had finished his performance, the crowd -- filling a little more than a third of the stadium -- went wild. "It takes the Chabo years and years to learn and perfect those tricks," Steenson said.

The bare-back riding was the first event of the night, and the crowd was pumped with energy.

In this event, the goal is for the cowboy to earn the most points possible out of 100 by staying on the back of a bucking horse by riding it through the center of the arena. Or he can lie straight back on the horse and stay on when the horse does high back leg kicks. A good score hovered around 78 points.

After the first program, a truck pulled an actor dressed as Elvis on skis as he sang "Blue Suede Shoes." Next on the agenda was team roping and then steer wrestling. This involved the cowboy jumping off the horse, grabbing the steer around the neck, and turning the animal upside down on its back. The cowboy who does this in the fastest time wins.

In any event, if a rider breaks the barrier of a yellow rope line, a 10-second penalty is added to his score. Saddle back was similar to bareback riding; however, in this event the cowboy has more control. The rider gets a rein stirrup, but he can only use one hand to hold on. Steenson said he balances himself with the other hand.

"I was a bad kid growing up," he said. "I partied and never told my parents what I did growing up."

Steenson had come to the rodeo with a friend he had known since they were in T-ball together. His friend ended the night drunk. "Alcohol goes side-by-side with the rodeo," Steenson said, who also bought several drinks.

The next event was the first half of bull riding. In this event, the cowboy must support himself on a bucking bull for eight seconds.

In between bull riding, calf roping occurred. A cowboy rides in, lassos the calf's neck, jumps off his horse and grabs the calf, tying three of its four legs together. The cowboy with the best time wins.

One cowboy, in the process of trying to push over a calf to tie it up, accidentally roped one leg instead of the neck. The calf's leg looked as if it was almost broken. The cowboy could have been a lot more forceful about the event but went gentle on the calf. The winning score was 85 points.

The lights dimmed as the announcer asked the crowd to salute the cowboys and workers for their efforts.

Underneath the tricks, cowboy hats, fans and competitive events lie good hearts, regardless of their background.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index
Previous Features | Send mail to The Voice