Another event that hasn’t happened for the two covid years is the Anahim Lake Stampede. It got off to a dramatic start with the horse rearing backwards right out of the chute.

After the bucking broncos came the calf roping. The rider has to lasso the calf; he then throws himself off the horse while the horse stops dead and keeps the rope taut, then the cowboy has to tie three of the calf’s legs together.

The one that got away.

More bucking horses.

Steer wrestling is where a rider has to throw himself onto the steer and wrestle it to the ground. The second rider is to help keep the steer pointing in one direction. I’ve seen this achieved in other years, but none of the contestants succeeded this time.

Ladies’ breakaway roping means that contestants merely have to lasso the animal, not hogtie it. There were a lot of contestants – quite a few succeeded.

Wild cow riding was a popular event. Many contestants were volunteers on surrounding ranches. The announcer kept stumbling as he could not read or pronounce their names. In all these events, the rider who stays on for the required 8 seconds gains points if the animal bucks harder.

Teamroping is where the first person lassos the head and the second has to somehow snag a back leg. A much harder target. In the second picture, two back legs are held – not sure if this is allowed.

(Apologies. I don’t know why some of the pictures are coming out so small.)

More cow riding. I’m including this sequence as I am fascinated by the progress of the hat.

Well and truly hatless.

Now for the wild cow milking. A bunch of cows and teams of three are turned into the arena. Their goal is to get a squirt of milk into a jar. It is absolute chaos.

Next kids under 10 took to the arena. A calf was let loose with a ribbon tied to its tail. The goal was to get the ribbon!

Almost.

And finally the bull riding. The bulls and the bucking horses are rodeo professionals. They do the circuit along with the riders. Points are given to the rider if he keeps one hand in the air. The man in the white hat is the “clown.” His job is to distract the bull if (when) the rider gets thrown.

Trouble is, even if you last the very long 8 seconds, there is only one way off.

It didn’t rain much, or snow; there was little wind, it was not too hot, and there were few bugs. Perfect conditions for such an event.