I don’t write about western disciplines much, and when I rode, I usually rode English style, so it may seem out of character for me to talk about cowboys and rodeo. But in another life (see Mary Kit Caelsto’s title, Roping Paige), I wrote romances that featured cowboys. And yet, in spite of me not following “western lifestyle” norms. I don’t wear boots. I don’t own a cowboy hat (I do have three riding helmets though!), I really do enjoy watching the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
When I searched for whether the Wrangler NFR would be on the Cowboy Channel (through Sling), I received mixed results, which is pretty normal honestly if you’ve followed the ways in which online searches have changed, and not for the better. (Sorry, had to interject with my geek hat on.) So you can imagine how happy I was when I checked the Cowboy Channel last night to find all the pre-round shows as well as Round 1 of the rodeo. Needless to say, I watched them all.
And so I shall for the next 9 nights, all the way to Round 10, which will happen on December 13. I’ll have to take breaks on both Saturday nights so spouse and I can have our normal Saturday evening television time, but I’ll be looking for replys and recaps to make sure I didn’t miss a single thing.
It’s a tradition in my house. I watch because of the horses, really. They’re all amazing athletes. There’s so little equestrian programming on television that I can find (and I’m afraid if I subscribed to a channel then I’d never get anything done!), so each year I watch the cowboys and cowgirls get their cowboy Christmas, and even if I really don’t do anything during the holiday season, well you can say that it’s my cowboy Christmas too.
Wishing all the best to the athletes and I can’t wait to see you on the TV.
