Tired of the doom & gloom, here are some positive shots for y'all, lol... taken at the Mescalero Rodeo on tribal land. Nice venue, the covered stands were packed with people and the arena itself was fairly large. My cheesy Canon cam makes it look smaller than it really is, and I used zoom on many photos in an effort to get closer to the action. I sat high in the stands, as seating was hard to find when I arrived. The good news is that I got in for free when I gave some older crippled Mescalero Apache a ride from the entrance kiosk to the arena... I guess the Apaches don't have to pay on tribal land, lol. I get along alright with most Native Americans, the ones I've met ever since the Army are generally decent folks, honorable as men (or women) of their word, treat 'em with respect and you'll receive respect in return. And those Apache riders in the arena exhibit ability and a solid work ethic... let any who talk smack about 'em get out there and do the same. 
Oh, yeah, in these shots (which I'll have to break into two sets), you'll see some riders being ejected & launched, while others hung tough and made the buzzer... I liked my overall view from the high stands, but pic quality suffered a bit due to the distance. I liked the arena, it had a great layout, but there were heaps of folks there: the crowd in the stands, folks in the lot and folks in line at the concession stands, the event staff, competitors and their support crews, EMTs and their ambulance drivers, the whole nine yards. Riders came from Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and of course New Mexico, there may have been other states represented. I don't have a problem with crowds at these events, but I like to find a seat and remain there (so I don't lose the seat, lol). Meh, I still had a blast and met a new friend, a bonafide member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe. And I saw some very impressive riding & wrangling straight out of the Old West...
Some outfit called W/A Rodeos provided livestock for the show, these critters were spirited too, lol... I guess W/A takes notorious bulls & bucking broncos and breeds even feistier bulls & bucking broncos out of 'em. Many riders lost their hats right out the gate, with the critters bucking like nobody's business... for instance, in that last pic, you can see some hand at upper left picking up the rider's hat, back by the gate, lol. The good news is that this particular rider put up a good show and made it that far, lol... others were not quite as fortunate, as you'll see in the next round of pics. I gotta say, some of these riders were tougher than dollar steaks, but I was also impressed by two guys (and one gal) whose job it was to round up the runaway broncs after the horses tossed their riders... a dangerous job at times, with the runaways tearing along at top speed. That shot with the church in the background shows the ladies waiting their turn for the calf roping event.
Oh, yeah, in these shots (which I'll have to break into two sets), you'll see some riders being ejected & launched, while others hung tough and made the buzzer... I liked my overall view from the high stands, but pic quality suffered a bit due to the distance. I liked the arena, it had a great layout, but there were heaps of folks there: the crowd in the stands, folks in the lot and folks in line at the concession stands, the event staff, competitors and their support crews, EMTs and their ambulance drivers, the whole nine yards. Riders came from Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and of course New Mexico, there may have been other states represented. I don't have a problem with crowds at these events, but I like to find a seat and remain there (so I don't lose the seat, lol). Meh, I still had a blast and met a new friend, a bonafide member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe. And I saw some very impressive riding & wrangling straight out of the Old West...
Some outfit called W/A Rodeos provided livestock for the show, these critters were spirited too, lol... I guess W/A takes notorious bulls & bucking broncos and breeds even feistier bulls & bucking broncos out of 'em. Many riders lost their hats right out the gate, with the critters bucking like nobody's business... for instance, in that last pic, you can see some hand at upper left picking up the rider's hat, back by the gate, lol. The good news is that this particular rider put up a good show and made it that far, lol... others were not quite as fortunate, as you'll see in the next round of pics. I gotta say, some of these riders were tougher than dollar steaks, but I was also impressed by two guys (and one gal) whose job it was to round up the runaway broncs after the horses tossed their riders... a dangerous job at times, with the runaways tearing along at top speed. That shot with the church in the background shows the ladies waiting their turn for the calf roping event.
