Calf Catcher!

Because Aniston is such a cowgirl and Anita had never seen a rodeo, we piled in Shawni’s car and went to the Evanston rodeo. It was really a fun well organized little rodeo. The bulls were especially impressive and the cowboys were amazing.

Rodeoing is the most dangerous sport in the world.  The next to the last bull rider was taken away in an ambulance after being steeped on in the middle of the chest by one of these huge bulls! Not a happy sight!

Bare back riders were also good. High scores for many but lots of guys went home without a penny for efforts.

The barrels racing was the best we’d seen in a long time.

 

We had a lot of fun (no, I am not drunk):

But the best part was the “Chicken Chasers” and the “Calf Catchers” because Elsie and Aniston were the stars!

Tons of little kids from the audience lined up on rodeo field and then the kids 2-4 were sent out to try to catch a chicken.  Elsie of course with should have won with all her chicken catching practice at home and especially with her expertise with her little buddy Ponyo.  BUT she was competing with about fifty little kids, many of them four year olds and there were only two chickens. She was like a deer in the headlights just trying to see where those chickens were! Funny!

She was so far away that we didn’t couldn’t exactly see where she was. I’m not sure she was in this picture but you get the idea.

BUT when it was Aniston’s turn, Aja gave her a few ideas about how sheep (which she chases every day on their farm in Washington) are a little different from calves and she went for it!

You can see the light in her hair as she flew around the arena.

She was smart enough to know that instead of running behind the calf like the other kids were, she headed one off from the front and was the first kid to grab a ribbon from a calf’s tail and win the prize…a T shirt and a gift certificate at a local restaurant.  She was so excited and we were all so proud!  

Hooray for rodeos!