The fairgrounds were really more just a big pile of midway rides - woefully underutilized because of the weather, but every now and then you'd see one damp child in a rain jacket, shorts and sandals, skin almost translucently pale, looking incredibly cold, determinedly spinning around in a giant teacup or something equally arbitrary. Couldn't help but feel sorry for the kids, and for the fair, which must have been losing money hand over fist.
We spent some time looking at the animals they had on display - everything from goats to chickens to horses to my favorites - the llamas and alpacas. Ohhh such unfortunate hair-cuts on those alpacas. You just know that they will be getting their own back on someone, someday.
But the highlight? THE RODEO. Luckily the stands were covered from the drizzle, so the weather was no big deal. And heck, warmth was spread throughout the crowd as we were encouraged to join in a prayer of thanks - I guess the Lord doesn't get thanked enough for things as specific as horse breeding and cowboy safety, so who am I to judge? I forget we have a bible belt in BC. And as the three of us discussed, bible belts seem to be closely tied to agricultural land, which is maybe no surprise - success or failure is so dependent on "acts of God" (sun, rain, wind...) that at some level it makes sense, as must as anything ever makes sense I guess.
And though I have mixed feelings about some rodeo sports, I can't deny they are entertaining. There is something about watching men get tossed around like rag dolls on the backs of powerful, beautiful horses that is both horrifying and amazing. What compels someone to choose that as a sport, I will never understand - having been bucked off horses a number of times myself, it certainly isn't something I would choose to do for fun. But that's just me, a city gal with strong self preservation instincts.
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