Month: December 2023

After another stellar Patricia Rodeo, we hot-footed it home for a month of old friends visiting…… and added bonus of having the eldest home for her first viewing of our new home.

It was busy but great fun and wonderful to spend a little time with some of our favourite people in our new location.

A return to Writing -on-Stone for yet another seasons view of this spectacular park

Before we set out…we had another visitor …viewed from the kitchen window, we think likely one of the last sightings of the hawk for this year before they migrate to warmer climes.

Writing-on-Stone is an other-worldly landscape. Even compared to other badlands areas…this one is one of the weirdest.

It’s a lovely walk with an interpretive ‘storybook’ that gives some insight into the history and geography from each viewpoint.

I picked up the guidebook at the visitor center (which has great little museum) to narrate our journey and entertain the company… 😁

It was a perfectly clear, crisp day……

If you look closely at the next four pictures you will find a small group of mule deer who wandered out from behind the rock as we stopped at this lookout point and one wading across the Milk River.

…and the sky….in true Alberta fashion gave the perfect backdrop to the landscape.

It’s such a mesmerizing place…..

The artist was understandably inspired…..

It doesn’t take much persuasion to have us visit this park, it’s just up the road from us…….perfect for anyone else who might like to visit……. 😁

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Arguably, the very best thing about rodeo is the little people. These are some of the most amazing kids you could ever hope to see. They make ’em tough out here in Alberta for sure.

I HAVE to kick this off with the mutton busting…and all the dads lined up and ready.

….and here they come….

These little guys hang on like you would not believe….

……..even when they are sliding off…they are still hanging on…..

Then we have some barrel racing,. This class ranges from tiny little people with a bit of additional parental support…….to tiny little people on huge horses just givin’er…!!!!

I offer no apologies for the number of pictures I am posting cos these guys just impress me soooo much….!!!

These kids are totally focused as they steer some pretty big horses around….

I never get tired of watching them……they are all great hope for the future of our communities.

…….and then we get the junior version of the wild horse race….the wild pony race. For this one they don’t have to saddle the horse or ride it anywhere….just get somebody on it….briefly. These kids are fearless…….!!!

…and unlike the big guys….they only have one team out at a time to further reduce the likelihood of injury for the people as well as the ponies….!!!

..I know I have said it before….but these kids have grit…. (as well as the stuff now in their boots…LOL)

This next sequence was Scott’s favourite of the whole weekend…… 😁

(Editor. Oh to have such a rubbery spine, which recovered almost instantly)

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Patricia rodeo is such an overload of exciting events (and I mean real, edge-of-your-seat, adrenaline pumping exciting) that I decided to split this three-day experience into more manageable chunks….just so that my poor little brain can process it all.

Even though this is our third year at this event, I continue to be awestruck by the skill and care taken handling all of the stock at this particular rodeo. As always, my absolute favourite part is watching the pick-up guys work with such incredible respect for the animals they are managing, as well as the magnificent horses they are riding. Granted my rodeo experience is limited but this place has taken something (rodeo) I never expected to be interested in and made me a diehard fan.

Here we go again….6 teams line up waiting for the steed they have drawn at random to be released from the chute.

….and out they come…..these beautiful ….big powerhouses of wild horses.

These teams of three, using only the short rope on the halter, then have to approach this beast….

….put a saddle on him…….

….get a rider on that saddle…..

….then ride that horse once around the track……

without falling off……….Yup…that simple…….!!!!!

….and that is just heat one of four over the weekend.

Rinse and repeat…….these brave souls tackle it again…

There is a fair bit of dragging around in the dirt….

…..some scary moments as some of the horses run straight at the fence to unseat their rider….

….and some amazing tenacity as those guys grip on and stay on….

….and sometimes they don’t……

Here is another shout out to those pick-up guys doing their thing with amazing calmness.

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After the serene, silent beauty of the balloon festival, we had a three-day window to haul our backsides and the trailer back up to Patricia, Alberta for our most favourite event of the year….the Patricia Rodeo. (Woohoo…!!)

(This one has a lot of pictures…..if you want to be able to see the pictures better, by clicking on and enlarging them, first go to the main page at osteopraxis.com and open the post there)

A few changes this year as the rodeo has partnered with a professional rodeo organisation due to the dearth of volunteers stepping up to take over from the old timers….it’s getting harder to encourage people to turn out and give their time…….and with a skill set as specific as the rodeo…..inexperienced people like us who would happily give time……just don’t have the skills to help out safely.

The partnership has seen some improvements to the grounds. The arena now has a permanent light array which allows events to run later in the evening (previously the lights for evening events were generator run portables.)

We were thrilled to be here again and got ourselves set up in our regular camping spot.😁. This year we were joined by some airstreaming friends we met in a campground a while back who decided to take the plunge and accept our invitation to the rodeo.

…and so …the rodeo kicks off with a bit of bronc riding….

There were steers and bulls also….not sure if the photographer skipped out for a beer…!!! (Editor. It’s thirsty work)

…and the girls have to get in there too…!!

There are so many great pictures from this years’ gathering I have decided to make you wait…..

The Wild Horse Race craziness and the kids’ events have been separated into different posts …….. so….next we have a bit of highly skilled team roping. We had seen team roping for the first time at Writing on Stone……lots of practice required. Very few teams manage to get both the head and the feet.

Calf roping just one competitor trying to rope the calfs’ head.

…a then change of pace with some heavy horse events…

Barrel racing is mostly girls ….and they are fast…!!!

In between sections…..the draught horses come and harrow the arena. Those big beautiful horses, amazing to watch them work.

…and then it’s time for the chariot racing. The speed those teams take off at is breathtaking…

(Editor. For the photo above and the couple below I was trying out a new vantage point, when this guy went by, I could swear the sleeve of his jacket just grazed me….it seems it is possible to be too up close and personal)

…and the big broncs under the lights. You have to hand it to these guys……the horses in their determination to buck their passenger off……and the sheer grit of the guy hanging on……

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