trailriders

It's rodeo time again and we greated the Spanish Trailriders in the Sears parking lot where they stopped for the night. They had been on the trail for about two weeks, I believe. Their ride culminates at Memorial Park on the Friday before the rodeo starts. They spend the night at the park and then participate in the rodeo parade on Saturday morning before they head back home.

It was a little less exciting this year since we weren't there with our big group of friends waiting for the trailriders to get there until we found some nice people in the back who gave the kids a ride on their horse, which was all the kids wanted to do! Poor Reesey though. She doesn't do well with horses - her allergies flared up within 10 minutes of being on that horse. I had even given her some allergy meds before we went. She ended up crying the whole way home with itchy, red, watery eyes, sneezes, and itchy legs. I felt so bad for her. She did have fun on that horse though, just look at that smile!

Matson loved his ride! I tried to get the kids to wear their cowboy boots, but the opted for flipflops and bandanas. ...ah, these city folk! :)

We ran into Jaden, a classmate of Reese's, so the girls go to ride together. They thought that was the coolest! 

The Carriage Boss let the kids climb in the cool carriage and we learned about the mulls who pull the carriage and where they stand and how they are hooked up to the carriage. Apparently most of the trailriders on this route have been doing it for 20+ years - they are like family. One gal who gave me a lesson on horseshoes has been doing this ride for over 30 years!

All in all this got us excited about rodeo 2012!