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| Above, a past Gallup Lions Club Rodeo. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
This month marks the beginning of rodeo season in the Gallup, New Mexico area.
The first rodeo of the season is the Gallup Lions Club Rodeo that will be held this year at Red Rock Park Rodeo Arena.
The rodeo dates are June 18 through June 20.
It is a great rodeo and I haven't missed it since I moved to New Mexico.
For more information, go here.
Rodeo season has opened in Gallup, New Mexico. I attended the rodeo last evening at Red Rock Park Rodeo Arena. It is the 75th year Diamond Jubilee rodeo.
As I've mentioned several times, this is my favorite time of the year in New Mexico. The rodeo last night also included a dance and fireworks. I didn't stay for them. But I did enjoy several events that took place.
The rodeo started at 7:00 last night.
Rodeo season here continues next weekend when the Best of the Best Rodeo featuring contestants from junior high and high schools takes place at the same venue.
Naturally, I took many pictures.
Here's some of them:
I can't think of any active big name boxers of today.
Foreman was a real class act. He will be missed.
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| Above, my George Foreman grill. I bought it when I still lived in California. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
These are the 45 Senators who voted against keeping men out of your daughter’s sports:
Incredible!
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| Above, Senators Ben Ray Lujan (left) and Martin Heinrich. |
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| Above, bull-riding at the 2021 Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
With many sports going "woke", such as football, baseball and others, there is one sport that prides itself as being patriotic without any hesitation: rodeos.
According to an article in Sentient Media, while circuses and marine parks are declining, rodeos are more popular than ever.
They begin with:
Today, rodeos big and small draw crowds across North America. Spectators looking to indulge in cowboy culture gather to watch man versus beast in a display of traditional ranching skills and techniques. Whether it’s a small town gathering, a massive event for millions or a traveling show not unlike the circus or professional wrestling, rodeos have evolved over time into a popular spectacle.
But the trend is not without controversy.
As a matter of fact, the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial opens this week and it includes a rodeo. A friend and I are attending the rodeo this coming Saturday evening.
To read more, go here.
Today at Red Rock Park Rodeo Arena near Gallup, New Mexico.
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| Above, from last year's Wild Thing at Red Rock Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
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| Above, the Gallup Lions Club Rodeo began with some bronco-busting. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Last evening, I attended my first rodeo of the year at Red Rock Park Rodeo Arena near Gallup. It was the 73rd annual Gallup Lions Club Rodeo.
It was a bit windy and the clouds threatened to rain on us. Fortunately, they moved to the northeast and we ended up with clear skies. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, rodeos proceed on, rain or shine.
I was able to see several different events, including bronco-busting, sheep riding (little kids, some as young as three years old), breakaway roping, calf roping and bull riding.
The rodeo was well-attended and the attendees were enthusiastic. When the rodeo sponsors (Gallup area businesses) were introduced, it was to a selection of John Wayne movie soundtracks including The Cowboys and Sons of Katie Elder.
An attendance to the Gallup Lions Club Rodeo would not be complete without having a barbecue beef sandwich from the concession stand. Those are quite good.
Naturally, I brought along my Canon Revel camera and took about 165 photos, some of which are posted below. To see a bull-riding contestant on video, go here.
I may go again tonight and see The Flash tomorrow.
The next rodeo for Gallup is the 8th Annual Best of the Best Rodeo - June 27-July 1.
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| Above, bull riding event from the 2022 Gallup Lions Club Rodeo. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
In slightly less than two weeks from now, the Gallup Lions Club Rodeo will be taking place at the Red Rock Park Rodeo Arena (just east of Gallup).
From the official website:
73RD ANNUAL GALLUP LIONS CLUB RODEO
YOUTH RODEO THURSDAY
JUNE 15TH 2023
OPEN SHOW FRIDAY JUNE 16TH &
SATURDAY JUNE 17TH, 2023
Here are the times:
73RD ANNUAL GALLUP LIONS
CLUB RODEO.
THURSDAY JUNE 15TH 2023
YOUTH RODEO START TIME 6:00PM
FRIDAY JUNE 16TH, 2023
OPEN SHOW RODEO
START TIME 7:00PM
SATURDAY JUNE 17TH, 2023 MORNING SLACK
START TIME 9:00AM
SATURDAY OPEN SHOW RODEO START TIME 7:00PM
This is one of the big rodeos that will be held this year. I have attended each one since I moved to New Mexico (except for the pandemic years of 2020-2021 when they were cancelled).
For additional information, go here.
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| Above, The Speed Merchants DVD signed by Vic Elford. |
Last evening after dinner, I popped in a DVD that was given to me from Russell Azbill, The Speed Merchants (1973) on auto racing (thanks, Russell).
It was an interesting look at auto racing in the U.S. and Europe. It was narrated by drivers Mario Andretti and Vic Elford (Elford signed the DVD case).
It has to be one of the best documentaries on auto racing during the bygone era of the early 1970s.
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| Above, yours truly at the 1985 Grand Prix of Long Beach. |
It reminded me that I attended two Grand Prix of Long Beach (1984 and 1985). I was fortunate enough to have been given tickets to those events from vendors I worked with in my job as a property insurance adjuster. One of them (1984) included a garage pass which allowed me to wander into the garage areas where teams worked on their cars. While inside, I walked past actor Gene Hackman while he was chatting with one of the drivers.
In 1984, the Grand Prix of Long Beach switched from Formula One cars to CART Indy Cars.
Mario Andretti won both the 1984 and 1985 races. I snapped a photo of Andretti in 1985 while he was sitting on a mini-bike and chatting.
I scanned some of my photos from the 1985 Grand Prix and they are below:
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| Above, a visit with President Reagan in the Oval Office in 1983. White House photo. |
For the past three nights, I've been watching Ken Burns' Muhammad Ali documentary. It has been an interesting three nights that brings back to life "The Greatest" boxer of all time.
It has been airing on New Mexico's PBS channel 5.1.
Tonight is the final chapter of the documentary. I reminds me of the late 1970s when a friend of mine, Frank "Captain Rowdy" Lunney, and many of us at work were following his bout with Leon Spinks and lost. Lunney was a huge fan of Muhammad Ali.
When Spinks defeated Ali, many at work needled Lunney. Ali eventually beat Spinks in a rematch.
It also brings to mind how revered Ali was in later years. I recall a supervisor of mine going to a Lakers game at the L.A. Forum in Inglewood, California and saw Ali there. He and others greeted him with, "Hey, Champ!" If memory serves, I think the onset of Parkinson's Disease had already affected Ali at the time.
For more on the Ken Burns documentary, go here.
The fourth and final event I watched last evening at the Bloomer Trailers Best of the Best Rodeo at Red Rock Park near Gallup, New Mexico was the breakaway ropers.
The first photo is a shot of the arena, followed by the event.
