It’s been a shocking night. As Ian’s back was giving him
such a hard time he was extremely restless, which means that neither of us get
a great deal of sleep. This, of course, given his ongoing back condition, is
not unusual - what was remarkable, however, was Miss Kiddle’s behaviour in
(what we believe to have been) a direct response to his suffering. Usually she
shares her affections between the two of
us, this time, however, she stuck to him like glue. Before we turned out
the light she sat on his chest, attempting to groom his face, his hair and
whatever else she was able to grab ahold of. After the lights went out she went
straight underneath the doona and squashed up as close to his body as
physically possible. Whilst this was rather restrictive for Ian, who was in
such great discomfort already, it was so incredibly sweet that he didn’t have
the heart to move her out of the way. It seemed like she wanted to look after
him in whatever capacity she was able. She is a much loved and very loving
little creature who, we are sure, thinks of herself as another human member of
the family. Ian has given her a new name - she’s now called his little Night Nurse!
Never one to give up, Ian decides that we must carry on
regardless of his by now extremely limited ability to walk. So we decide to
visit Great Western, a small township that is holding their annual Eastern
Rodeo – an event for which riders come from all over Australia. Because the
Stawall Easter Gift, that attracts tourist from all over the world is also held
on the East weekend, the rodeo is very well attended. As this is the sort of
thing we don’t usually do, it is terribly exciting for both of us.
We are lucky and find a relatively comfy seat on a hay bale
from which we have a pretty good view of the arena and so enjoy, over the next
couple of hours, a number of rather impressive events.
One such event is bronco riding. This is a competition
where cowboys ride unbroken horses that are none too pleased about this and
tend to buck like crazy to get rid of the uninvited guest on their backs. The
cowboy has to stay on the horse for a little while (I’ve forgotten for how long
exactly – but approximately 10 seconds) whilst only allowed to hold on to the
rope with one hand. The other must be raised high. Needless to say most cowboys
get thrown rather unceremoniously well before the allotted time has elapsed. Those
who manage to stay on are honoured with rousing applause.
Another event is bull
riding where the cowboys ride bulls instead of horses. As this is a rather
dangerous undertaking, as the bulls may attack the rider once they’ve shaken
him off, this event requires the help of rodeo clowns. Their job is to distract
the bull, thus helping prevent injury to the competitors. This seems a wild and
crazy competition where the cowboys frequently get hurt. We saw quite a few
guys being targeted by their bull and only narrowly escape being mauled.
Miraculously, only one of the competitors required medical assistance.
Those we admire most, however, are the Marshalls. These are two guys on horseback who ride along the
competitors. Their job is to steer the horses or bulls away from those cowboys
who’ve fallen off and then guide the horses back into their pens. They also
assist those competitors who’ve succeeded in staying on to transfer mid-ride
from their bucking horses or bulls onto the Marshall’s horses. These guys’
riding skills are awe-inspiring.
Although we’d had a rough start to the day, I am happy to
report that it turned out to be a good one in the end.
Tomorrow we are planning to attend The Stawall Easter Gift. Stay tuned….
PS I'd love to add some video footage of the Rodeo. If anyone knows how I can do this, please let me know!
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