Fort Worth Rodeo

ByD'Ann Mateer
8 Comments

I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. My dad generally wore boots, jeans, and a cowboy hat, even though he wasn’t a rancher. Most of the guys I knew drove pickup trucks. And every year we attended the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. 

Jeff and I have lived in Dallas for almost 40 years now. I haven’t been back to the rodeo in Fort Worth probably since when my kids were little. Or before they were born! So long ago that I can’t remember when it was. 

Now we have a son and a daughter-in-law who live in Fort Worth. And for Christmas, they gave us a night at the rodeo—with them! 

We had such a fun night. Mexican food at the Fort Worth Stockyards, then off to Dickies Arena for the rodeo. This is a far cry from the years I spent sitting in bleachers at Will Rogers Coliseum to watch rodeos in my past. Comfy seats all around. And for the first time in my life, I actually got to wear cowboy boots with my jeans! Yes, last summer I finally got my first pair. I’m hard to fit because of my narrow foot. It’s a long story, but I have some now. 

It was the first weekend of the rodeo, which meant it was the Ranch Rodeo finals. This was something I’d never experienced before. This rodeo is real ranchers competing as teams to win both cash and a stock trailer for their ranch. This included events like Wild Cow Milking—which was hilarious!, Double Mugging—much like calf roping, Vet—which required culling out a certain calf from the herd, Bronc Riding, and Barrel Racing. No bull riding, but my son and dil are going back this week for a whole night of just bull riding!

We were there on the final night, so it was fun to watch the champions get their prize. It was also fun that one of the ranches competing in it was the Drummond Land and Cattle Company. Yep, that Drummond, as in Ree and Ladd. IYKYK

We rounded out the weekend with church, then brunch at the wonderful Bowie Hotel in Fort Worth. 

It was fun to embrace my inner cowgirl and revisit the past, but even better was just spending time with our grown-up kids. It’s such a blessing when you like the people you raised–and the people they’ve married! 

When was the last time you attended a rodeo? Professional? Local? Ranch rodeo? What’s your favorite event?

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Inspired by novelist Eugenia Price, D’Ann’s dream of writing historical fiction with an element of faith began in middle school, though her serious drive toward publication took a bit longer. D’Ann is the author of four historical novels and one novella, as well as a contemporary short stories in a compilation volume. D’Ann and her husband of 30 years can be found in Austin, TX when they aren’t touring historic sites or visiting their grown children.

8 Comments

  1. I grew up in Kansas, but my dad and almost every other man I knew wore cowboy boots and cowboy hats, and went to at least one rodeo every year. I loved this post but the only disappointment is that you didn’t show us a picture of your cowboy boots! 🙂

    1. You can barely see them in the picture of the four of us! But you are right–I should have taken a close-up of them. Sorry about that!

      1. That photo didn’t load when I first logged in. I see it now! At least I can see the pretty color you chose! 🙂 But yes, I want to see the whole things! 🙂

  2. I used to attend a lot of rodeos. I was in a horse drill team that performed at many of them. I always LOVED wild cow milking (watching it, not doing it). I’ve only seen it at small rodeos, never at a major event like the Snake River Stampede. But wild cow milking is always hilarious. Not all scary as bull riding. I hold my breath a lot during bull riding.

    1. When I used to go to the FW Rodeo, it was just professional rodeo. I’d never seen the Ranch Rodeo competition. It was fun. And yes, the milking was hilarious! Although I did miss seeing the bull riding, even if it is scary!

  3. What a fun weekend, D’Ann! Looks like you had a blast! My last pair of boots bit the dust last year, and I haven’t bought a replacement yet. I have some faux boots, but I need to get a real pair again. I’m glad you were able to find some to fit! And I agree that spending time with grown children is such a blessing!

  4. I live in southeast Virginia and we have a local rodeo every spring, which my husband and I have enjoyed attending several times. I’d love to see a bigger rodeo in Texas, true cowboy country! I like watching the bull riding, even though it scares me to death and gets my adrenaline pumping! Last year, one of the riders was trampled beneath the bull, and that was horrifying. I was so glad we didn’t have our grandkids with us that time!

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