03/31/2023
Bulls Bay Rodeo 2023 is in the books, and we are already making plans for 2024! The arena is back to normal, and the parking lots are back to being pastures. Thank you to everyone that worked, attended, competed, volunteered, sponsored etc. We couldn’t do it without each and every one of you. Rodeo is and always has been a part of my life, and I’m glad to be able to share it with so many people who have never been to a rodeo. There is not a person in that arena working or competing who doesn’t love the rodeo life. We all take pride in the fact that we can show up and compete. Cowboys and Cowgirls do so much in the pastures and the practice arena during the week that no one ever sees, whether it’s perfecting that barrel run trying to get faster and smoother or cowboys working out in the pasture roping and treating cows for illness. The rodeo arena is a place for some to show off their skills and their horse’s athleticism. The stock contractors work everyday taking care of their livestock so they can perform at the top of their game. All the animals in that arena are cared for and treated as family members. Most but not everybody in that arena make a living with those animals. The rest of them it has cost them their living to be able to do it. The contestant parking lot is filled with $100k trailers and $80k trucks pulling those trailers and are full of horses worth $25k, plus running down the road burning $4 diesel. Some have bank accounts full of money that will never run out, and some are trying to win enough to buy diesel to get home or on to the next rodeo. We had contestants from all over and from all walks of life. We had kids as young as 5 running the barrels, and in their mind, even at a trot, they thought they running as fast as the wind. We had kids and adults in the stands that got to touch a horse for the first time in their life. We had a 12 year old trick rider performing tricks that it takes some longer than she has been alive to master some of those tricks that she pulled off with perfection. That’s what makes this sport so great. That bull or that horse doesn’t care what you drove to the rodeo or how much you have in your wallet. It is what you have inside you at that moment to bear down and dig deep inside to make the next ride. Some cowboys think about the last ride they had and some can only think about the next one. In life, we don’t know if the next one will be the last, or if we have already ridden for the last time. The same goes for our horse that we spend years of training and caring for. Was that last win or the last time we will get to ride that horse? Some think we are crazy, but most think we are dumb because we are inches from death. The rodeo arena is not a safe zone … yes things can happen and people can be seriously injured or even killed. Some of the best friendships have started with people that met on the same dirt in the rodeo arena. It’s one of the only sports I’ve witnessed with the competition cheering on their opponents. We all want to do our best and win, and we cheer for others when they beat our time or score just a little higher. I’ve seen cowboys miss the winning catch or get bucked off right before the 8 second buzzer and jump up run over and help the next guy and stand there and cheer for them. I’ve also seen the ones holding the lead do the same thing. I always have and always will think that a Rodeo is the best show on dirt! Thank y’all for taking the time to read this, and thank you for being a part of the sport of Rodeo. We prayed before we started. We stood with hat in hand and over our hearts for the National Anthem. We entertained you 2 nights in row with a good clean family show on the edge of your seats. God bless the cowboys, the cowgirls and the horses they ride. God bless rodeo, and God Bless America!
Jami Marchant
