Head Over Boots

We had the first day of snow on Friday! When I opened my curtains early in the morning I could not believe what I was seeing: the whole landscape was completely white! In a rush I got washed and dressed because I could not wait to get outside and walk through the fresh white snow. It was such a beautiful day, crispy cold but bright blue skies and sunshine!

Simultaneously to this sudden onset of winter there was a big event going on in Toronto called “The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair”. This fair is very big and famous. Farmers from all over the country come here to exhibit their products, compete their life stock and meet other people. This event also features one of Canada´s biggest horse shows. Similar to Hickstead in Great Britain, or the CHIO in Germany, this is Canada´s version of an international FEI horseshow. I have spent most of my childhood on horseback and I went to many horse shows before. Therefore, I know what all these competitions are about. But this Sunday the cowboys were in town! That is right, Sunday was Rodeo day! Apart from a few Reining competitions, I have never seen any real western riding before. Let alone a rodeo!

Naturally, I dragged Nadiya and Carly to the fair grounds early on Sunday morning. When we stepped off the streetcar the smell of straw and horses filled the air. This smelled like home! Luckily, the whole fair took place indoors, because it was fairly cold outside. The huge entrance hall was beautifully decorated! There were so many stalls, we did not quite know where to start. There were stalls selling all kinds of jam, like blueberry, raspberry and strawberry, ….. Others sold maple syrup, cheese, butter, eggs, and many other things. Of course, there were hundreds of food stalls, too. There were pancakes, vanilla ice cream with maple syrup and hot apple cider. We decided to have hot apple dumplings with vanilla ice cream for lunch. They were ever so nice (and sticky)!

While we walked further along the endless rows of stalls we learned a lot about how maple syrup is made, different ways of growing crops (nowadays it´s all modern and controlled by artificial lights), wool making and different breeds of cows, pigs and chicken. Also, some of the animal´s pens were open to the public. Therefore, we were able to visit price winning cattle and even stroke some of the oh so sweet calves. Farmers offered us samples of their maple syrup, jams, and cheese. There was even a butter carving competition. I did not know that people carved butter in their free-time and actually competed against others. It was really interesting to see and learn all those things. Afterwards, we went for a little shopping tour. Plenty of stalls sold clothes, outdoor stuff and riding gear. I really admired the cowboy boots on sale which were decorated with beautiful embroidery. Although I had to keep myself from spending all my money on horsey stuff, I did treat myself to a locally woven wool scarf.

We had to make our way to the Ricoh Coliseum shortly after, since the rodeo was about to start. The show was truly amazing! There were little pens in the arena that held the bulls and horses. One at a time a horse or bull would be led into a very narrow pen, guys would put all the straps on and pull them tight and the bronc riders would get on. As soon as the latch got released on the side of the pen the animal would go off bucking and kicking like crazy. There were several different competitions that day: Saddle Bronc, Pole Bending, Barrell Racing, Bareback Broncos, and Bull Riding.

In the Barrel Racing the riders would race around barrels and whoever was the quickest won the competition. The pole bending race is rather similar. The riders would have to zig zag through a line of poles at top speed. These kind of races require the horse to sit on his hind legs while turning corners in order to make a quick move. Also, the rider has to give clear signals at the right time. Obviously, this is very hard which is why some horses knocked over some poles. In the bronc riding competitions cowboys would ride a horse either bare back or with a saddle on. The rider is required to stay on 8 seconds. After that him and the horse will get a score and whoever got the highest score wins. To be honest, I have no idea what the scoring criteria are except for the rule that the rider is not allowed to touch the horse with his free hand. There are two more guys on horses who would chase after the bucking horse to keep him in check after the rider is thrown off or to help the bronc rider to get off the bucking horse after the 8 seconds are over.

The bull riding competition is probably the most dangerous one compared to the others. The riders would wear special helmets to protect them. Also, there would be guys on the ground chasing the bull off after the rider is thrown off to protect the rider from getting trampled. Those bulls looked terrifying, they were massive big beasts! I would not fancy climbing onto the back of one of those guys.

Before, I was very skeptical about rodeos and bronc riding. After all, it looked rather brutal. But I have to admit, I watched several videos on youtube and there are actually different techniques for riding those broncs. Although this is a pretty rough sport the animal´s and rider´s health and well-being are always considered most important. Therefore, there are certain ways of tying up the straps and grabbing the rope that are safe. Also, as I said before, there are always two accompanying cowboys on horses who would take off the straps immediately after the rider is bucked off. I guess the rodeo is just a traditional western sport that considers horses and bulls as working animal, not pets. Nowadays, these horses are bred for these particular events, after all.

It was great fun watching the competitions. The people would cheer the competitors on, there was loud music playing and it was truly exciting watching those lads getting kicked off the horses. During the break there were trick riders who performed tricks on horseback which looked pretty hard while galloping along at neck-breaking speed. Also, I started watching a series on Netflix called “Heartland”. Apparently, it is the longest running TV series here in Canada. It turned out, that the actor playing the main role was one of the special guests co-hosting the rodeo. At the end of the rodeo “The Canadian Cowgirls” performed a Canadian themed quadrille. I was amazed at their skills to coordinate their show while riding with a huge big flag in one hand and staying in perfect sync with the music and the other horses.I had a brilliant day at the Fair and I loved every minute of it! Even Nadiya and Carly really liked it, especially the Rodeo! Now that I have seen the rodeo, I wonder whether I could race the horses at home around some barrels…?