Oakdale Rodeo delivers authentic bucking broncos

By Kathleen Grohman

We call ourselves Broncos, but how many of us have actually seen a real, live, bucking bronco? Last weekend, my friends and I decided to take the two-hour drive to the Oakdale Rodeo to see what being a bronco is really all about.

With no idea what to expect, we woke up early on Saturday morning with the intention of getting on the road by 10:15 a.m. Unfortunately, we got off to a slow start when we had to stop at Safeway, Bank of America, Starbucks, a gas station and Jack in the Box (which was closed). But once we really got going, we cranked some country music and sang along all the way to Oakdale.

Seven hours later, we would be back in the car heading home chatting about how, in the end, we felt sorry for the animals because they can't be happy if they are bucking like that. Regardless, our trip earned us a new respect for just how dangerous it is to be a rodeo cowboy.

Upon arriving in Oakdale, we passed Oakdale Cheese and Specialty with a sign that said, "Have a gouda day!" When we spotted a big red truck filled with people wearing cowboy hats, we followed them all the way to the rodeo parking lot.

After paying our $15, we entered the rodeo. There were a few food stands where we could buy some fair food or Coors. We tried on cowboy hats at one of the booths and then made our way to the stands. The arena was pretty dusty, and the air carried a combination of manure, cattle and dirt. We enjoyed people-watching as we waited for the rodeo to start, especially trying to pick out the attractive cowboys preparing the shoots across the arena.

There were several hundred people in the crowd -- mostly families. The best-dressed cowboys wore a white cowboy hat, button-up shirt and jeans. Most people were dressed for the 90-degree heat in shorts and T-shirts or tank tops. But I did spot one skort, which I haven't seen since 1996.

Finally, the announcer got the rodeo started with a prayer and the national anthem. The shoots were painted red, white and blue, and we could almost see the cowboy's face as he straddled the gate above the bull. Then, in perfect time, the shoot opened, the wrangler pulled the strap around the bull's kidneys, and the bull burst into the arena bucking as hard as it could.

With each thrust of its hind legs, the bull kicked up more and more dust, so the cowboy, with one hand in the air, looked like a rag doll in a hurricane.

When the bull threw the cowboy, the crowd gasped as the bull fell, crashing right next to the cowboy who got up and ran away.

The ride only lasted eight seconds, but most of the cowboys in the first round couldn't make it. The cowboy must keep one arm in the air for the entire eight seconds. The score comes from the bull's level of difficulty and the cowboy's ride. My friends, who had never been to a rodeo before, were shocked at how close the bulls come to crushing the cowboys when they fall. To that, I quote Garth Brooks in response: "It's bulls and blood, it's dust and mud."

The rodeo clown stands in the middle of a barrel, taunting the bull to lure him away from the cowboy. "Hey bull!" he yells over his microphone. "Your mama's a cow and your sister's a heifer." When the bull comes near him, he retreats inside his barrel. The tension of the eight-second ride was heightened by the nervous man sitting behind us who kept shouting things like, "Stay on it, boy!"

After the bull riding, we watched bareback bronco riding, steer wrestling (when the cowboy jumps off his horse and pins the steer to the ground) and calf-roping (two cowboys ride horses on either side of the calf and then lasso it from two sides to tie its legs). But about two hours in, the 90-degree heat started to take its toll.

Sweaty, hungry, dusty and a little irritable, we decided to leave the rodeo for lunch in an air-conditioned restaurant. After hunting for aloe vera and sunscreen for our sunburns, we returned to the rodeo only to find that it ended just as we got back.

We had wanted to go to the rodeo dance that evening, especially because the cowboys that had ridden that day were going to be there, but the idea of hanging out for three hours in the heat made us decide to leave early. Exhausted, but glad that we experienced a real rodeo, we piled back into the car and headed back to campus.

This rodeo is an annual Oakdale event, and we could tell how important it was to the community, as even the announcer of the local radio station was talking about it.

We always thought of rodeos as a very American past time, but were surprised to find that there was even a cowboy from Australia and one from France. If you are ever looking for a fun day trip and want to authenticate your cheers for the Broncos, check out Oakdale's rodeo next year.

Contact Kathleen Grohman at (408) 5515-1918 or kgrohman@scu.edu.