Strawberry Day's Rodeo

For those of you who have not attended a rodeo - you're missing out! I love summer and all the festivities going on all around. One of my absolute favorites are rodeos! The Strawberry Day's Rodeo, in particular, brings back moments of nostalgia and sweet memories of dad taking all of us children to the rodeo (every year) so mom could have a break. Mom was the best and always packed us a delicious lunch - hoagie sandwiches, chips (a rare treat growing up), carrots, and often a second treat like gummy bears or some other tasty-sugary-substance. :) Ahh!

Back to the present year :) Mr. took me to this year's Strawberry Day's Rodeo for a special treat! We sat just north of the announcer and were found by another family in our neighborhood who invited us to sit with them. I have to say that this was my first rodeo where I actually began to understand the scoring system (thanks to our wonderful friends)!

(Please note that NONE of the following photos belong to me. I, unfortunately, forgot my camera so these come either from utahvalley.com or flickr.com by a man who I cannot now find...)

As the American flag rounded the arena, I thoroughly enjoyed the very patriotic and inspiring monologue from the announcer. He showed high respect and honor for our country, our soldiers, and our flag. I definitely appreciated it.

 

Believe it or not, but of all the many times I have attended this rodeo, this year was the very first time I was actually able to taste the delicious and famed strawberries and creme. Can I just say, "yumm-oh!" I would definitely like to make that a tradition!

 

I have attended a few other rodeos in my day and I must say that the best clown-barrelman-entertainer I have found yet is this one: Mark Swingler. He is not crude and is quite funny at the same time. Love it!

The halftime show was performed by none other than Pro Tour FM. As a freestyle motocross team, D.J. Umphres and Brent Denton were incredible to watch as they rounded the arena multiple times increasing the difficulty of each jump as they went. I was very impressed with their work and especially loved the backward flip.

 

My favorite part this year was something I've never seen done before. At the very end of the show, they released all of the bucking mares and their foals into the empty arena. They quickly intrigued me as they moved around the south end of the arena almost in unison. With the grace of a river and the unity of a school of fish, they sped up to a trot, slowed to a walk, and changed directions as one herd. It was beautiful to watch and my desires to become a horse owner increased with each second the Mr. and I stayed to watch.