As my second year at the Elizabeth Stampede passes by, I must
say wow, that was a good weekend. Great weather, food, music and of
course great rodeos filled my first weekend in June.
I didn’t have the chance to attend the opening night of the
Professional Bull Riders event on June 5, but through out the rest
of the weekend I had my share of rodeos and cowboys. This year I
invited my family to the Elizabeth Stampede. I am from a small town
originally, so I knew my family would enjoy the Stampede, and they
did. We started Saturday off with the parade followed by
Elizabash.
I was surprised at how long the parade actually lasted, over an
hour at least. As my brother, niece and nephew gathered handfuls of
candy, my mom marveled at the royalty girls and their horses — she
is a cowgirl herself.
Elizabash was definitely more than I expected. Booths lined Main
Street as well as food vendors and a petting zoo. After telling my
mom about Elizabeth for the past year, it was a great opportunity
for her to experience the heart of the town. My mom, who is a
sucker for unique shops like Chickadees and the antique shop, took
her time exploring the items on display as I chowed down on a
turkey leg, forgetting I was on the job, taking huge mouthwatering
bites.
While strolling down Main Street, I noticed the family
atmosphere the Elizabash brought to the community. Some kids are
slurping on free snow cones as other kids are petting baby sheep
and goats in the petting zoo all with huge smiles on their faces. I
remembered my childhood attending fairs and rodeos and loving every
minute of it. But even though I come from a small town in
southeastern Colorado, there is no place like Elizabeth.
The people, the hospitality, one man even helped my mom into the
truck, and the atmosphere of Elizabeth is hard to come by. The
Stampede was a perfect time to show off the one of the communities
I cover in Elbert County to my family.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association afternoon rodeo was
next on our agenda. For my 12-year-old brother and my 8-year-old
nephew the rodeo was where the real fun began. My bother wants to
be a bull rider and when those cowboys rode the bulls in the PRCA
rodeo on Saturday he could barely sit still in his seat. All the
while my mom is wishing he would forget that dream and switch to
tie-down roping or even bronco riding.
My nephew on the other hand had never been to a rodeo until the
Stampede, so his eyes were wide with excitement and amazement.
For me the rodeo is just purely great entertainment. I have no
desire to get on the horse and ride in an arena in front of
hundreds of people. Actually it makes me nervous just thinking
about it. I am not what one would call a cowgirl, but as my time in
Elizabeth continues I can not help but daydream about being a real
cowgirl, wearing the hat and the boots and even hopping on a horse
riding out into the beautiful sunset of Elbert County.
But that will not be happening anytime soon, I guess that is why
it’s is called a dream.
My second year at the Elizabeth Stampede was a blast and the
best part was enjoying it with my family. Not only did we attend a
great rodeo, but we also enjoyed a fun community event and the
great spirit of the Elizabeth community.
Full rodeo results will be coming soon to the Elbert County News
Web site, www.elbert247.com.
