Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
If you drive into Sequim from the east one of the first stops newcomers should make is at this building. It’s at the end of town on East Washington. The Chamber of Commerce hosts a visitor center here where Chamber members may display literature. There are free visitor guides, maps, and brochures for accommodations, events, and places of interest. It’s a useful place to find out what’s happening in Sequim and is staffed by volunteers who can get you pointed in the right direction.
Here’s another of those “Guy Thing” rodeo activities, an eight second ride on the back of an uncooperative horse and a surefire way to need a chiropractor. The cowboy must hold onto the leather and rawhide rigging with only one hand and keep his feet in the correct position when the horse hits the ground as it bounds out of a chute. The rider is disqualified if he touches his equipment, himself, or the horse with his free hand.
Another rider stays nearby during the ride and helps the bareback rider off the bucking horse at the end of his ride, which in itself qualifies as a mighty feat in my book. The riding is beautiful and skilled.
This is an event that I can only classify as “It’s a Guy Thing,” riding an angry bull barebacked. The rider tries to remain forward or “over his hand” at all times; leaning back can result in getting him whipped forward and back when the bull bucks.
The bull doesn’t cooperate and the rides are quick. Most of the riders at the Sunday Rodeo were off in less than 7 seconds.
Riders try to fall away from the bull’s line of sight so it doesn’t come after him. I was surprised that this fellow was able to get up, dust himself off, and walk away. Notice the two men on each side of the photo, in yellow and in red. They’re rodeo clowns.
The rodeo clowns are there to distract the bull, keep it away from fallen riders. If they’re successful they can truly be in harm’s way. They were in constant movement during the bull riding event. One clown had to jump a fence to escape a particularly annoyed bull.
Shannon, I think this is why everyone warned you away from petting that beautiful bull whose picture you posted some months ago!
The cowboys and -girls who participate in rodeos give us a glimpse of the beauty of horse and human partnerships when they ride — in both riding events and in watching the support riders as they follow participants in events like bareback and bull riding. The horses and riders are an elegant team that we don’t often get to see in this kind of action. In barrel racing riders and horses race full speed in a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels and then sprint out of the arena.
Barrel racing is performed on American Quarter Horses. Riders trip an electronic eye as they enter and leave the arena, so the race is fast from start to finish. This race lasted just over 17 seconds.
The horses are well trained and it’s fascinating to see their focus mirror that of their riders as they go through their paces in the race.
The Clallam County Fair offers a rodeo on two different days. Tomorrow: Bull Riding.
The Clallam County Fair in Port Angeles was Aug. 18-21. It was blessed by perfect weather and had many typical county fair events and offerings: animal shows, demonstrations, entertainment, and everyone’s favorite: fair food! The 4-H kids prepared outstanding exhibits and readily answered questions about their exhibits and animal husbandry.
What’s a fair without a carnival?
Fair carnivals specialize in bright colors, lights, and plenty of action. The Clallam County Fair also hosted a Demo Derby. . .gosh. . . we left too early and missed that.
The County Fair was declared a success. Attendance, gate receipts, concession, and carnival proceeds were all up over last year. And a new event, the Clallam County Variety and Talent Show was a first time hit with a 68 year-old woman yodeler in a pink cowboy hat taking top honors.
Tomorrow I’ll post photos from the Rodeo. To see more Fair photos also check out the Port Angeles Daily Photo: http://portangelesdailyphoto.blogspot.com/.