Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Xtreme Crowds

A family of five from New York told us they enjoyed their first rodeo so much at the July 4th Cody Stampede they stayed overnight and came back for the Xtreme Bulls event the next night. An extended family of seven from Mexico spoke little English but made it known they wanted to meet some pro rodeo cowboys and anxiously stopped by our booth area three or four times during the Cody-Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls hoping to get an autograph. They returned after the riding was completed and waited in line an hour before getting to meet bullfighter Dusty Tuckness of Meeteetse, WY and Wyoming bull riders Kanin Asay from Powell and Seth Glause from Rock Springs. Pictures were taken, hats and autograph sheets signed, questions answered.

‘Did you win?” more than one kid queried.
“No, but I tried,” said Glause.

One woman whispered to a friend. “My daughter likes country music so I want to get his autograph. I know he’s one of those singers,” she assured her pal. I passed this information on to Seth and he said, “Yeah, like I can sing.” He got a good chuckle out of the whole thing.

We only had two chairs therefore Kanin Asay was low on a stool during most of the fan gathering. That’s okay. He’s young. He also stood and signed and posed and laughed and answered questions for more than an hour. Then Kanin and his traveling partners headed up the road to the Calgary Stampede. They departed the Cody arena around 10pm.

A lot of new rodeo fans were made Sunday night in Cody. There was the group of thirteen from the UK and Australia attending their first rodeo. “How do you speak cowboy?” they asked our video man, Mike. Being a Casper, Wyoming native this was not a hard question to answer. “I don’t really know,” said Mike. “Just start every sentence with ‘Y’all’ and be sure to remove your hat when you first meet a lady. Also, don’t leave your hat on the bed. It’s bad luck.” .

You had to feel good watching all those folks waiting to meet our cowboys. And if you get the chance this year I hope you do the same. Rodeo people aren’t perfect but they sure are good. Manners matter to them. A handshake is a contract. And when they get bucked early, or miss a loop, they smile and say, “I tried.” And then they’ll try again.

Seth Glause and Kanin Asay may not have scored inside the Xtreme Bulls arena in Cody but they sure made some points with fans afterward. Our talented video person, Mike McCrimmon, has some highlights for you and they’ll come at you as follows:

1. Seth Glause in the Fourth of July Cody Stampede rodeo. He lands an 83-point ride and finishes in the money.
2. Kanin Asay staying on for 7.76 of the required eight seconds, July 4.
3. A batch of work from bullfighter Dusty Tuckness on July 4-5.
4. Kanin Asay and Xtreme Bulls ESPN television announcer Dan Miller (a Cody resident) before the competition on July 5.
5. Money-winning performances by Wheatland’s Tyler Willis and Casper’s Clayton Savage in the Cody-Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls championship round, July 5.
6. The fan gathering at and near our Wyoming Travel & Tourism booth after the Xtreme Bulls

event in Cody.

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