Feb. 21, 2005 — Yesterday we were invited to a Sunday afternoon rodeo here in Bernal. It was a competition between this town and another one, all in preparation for the state fair later in the year. All the competitors were dressed to the nines, and it was clear that this really mattered to everyone involved. We saw some spectacular riding. The people-watching was great too.

Here the competitors enter the ring and ride around it:

An action shot. The horse they are chasing was very smart and got away a lot. We realized that the whole thing is a ritual where everyone knows their part, horses included!

This little boy was on a very big horse, riding back and forth for hours outside the ring, looking delighted most of the time. He’ll likely be quite a rider in the future!