Down the road AT Dogpound!

I am sure that out there in blogland there are sceptics that really don’t actually believe we are really at a place called Dogpound. I thought I would take you along for a little cultural exploration of our most famous celebration.

The rodeo has been going on for a lot of years and is always on the Wednesday following the last day of the bigger, but 6 year younger exhibition, the world famous Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. Now the Stampede hosts Rodeo’s Richest day on it’s Showdown Sunday but Dogpound is a must see for the true rodeo fan. At the Stampede the best view is probably on the big screen over the infield seats, at the Dogpound Rodeo you need to make sure you are not kicked by a bull raging by. Or a trick rider leaning out over the spectators.

Shelby Cumming a local girl living her dream.

The rodeo goes Wednesday afternoon but Tuesday evening there is a Ranch Rodeo where some of the local real cowboys show off their skills in a team style competition consisting of Branding, Doctoring, Sorting, Penning and of course the local favourite, the Rustling competition, where the cowboys get a steer loaded in a trailer out in the open field. Our favourite was the team with our neighbour and the Rodeo President, Billy Leask.

Hey this is an RV’ing blog so I thought we ought to see both cowboys and RV’s.

My favourite event is the Steer Wrestling, although I can never figure out what would make a cowboy jump off a perfectly good horse running 25 miles per hour just to wrassle a steer to the ground. Seems like that is what they make corrals or ropes for.

I usually don’t hang around for the bull riding event but this one had a local girl competing. Aaron used to run the ice cream shop in town but I guess she needed a little more excitement in her life.

Me I think scooping ice cream looks like more fun.

Dogpound like all rodeos has winners and losers and probably the biggest winner at this rodeo was this fellow who won the 50/50 draw to the tune of $1273.00.

Although I couldn’t get a good picture of him I am sure that he was grinning pretty widely, in fact I know he was, as it was my youngest son Matt, back from Albania, and his good old Dad bought him the ticket.