My First Rodeo(Jorjan Felder Neal) MY FIRST RODEO


When I entered my first rodeo I was five years old. It was more like a play day than a rodeo but to a five year old girl like me, I felt like I was at the NFR!(National Finals Rodeo) Barrel racing had been my life for the short while I'd known about it. I didn't know much about it, only what my Pawpaw had told me, but I was determined to enter the play day, and win the play day, ever since I was told that my not so much older competitive cousin Courtney would be there. This was my night to finally show her that I could ride a horse just as good or better, and do anything else she could do. She was in for a surprise!

Courtney always thought she was better. She always said her horse was better than mine, her saddle was better than mine, anything she had, she thought was better. Courtney had a Palomino horse named Buck. He was fast, and beautiful. My horse was a big Appaloosa named Zipper. He wasn't beautiful or flashy like Buck but he was kind and willing the please, especially willing to please the skinny little blonde girl that fed him sugar cubes everyday after a day of riding. That was the reason I knew we could beat Courtney, because we had something she didn't, a partnership, one we both respected. Buck was a mean horse at times. That's how he got the name Buck! He bucked when he got upset, nervous, or when he just didn't want to do something he was being made to do. I wondered how Buck would feel tonight, maybe he would be in a "bucking" mood, or maybe he would run fast like Courtney always bragged about. There is no telling lies tomorrow at school, I'm here to see it all this time. I have a front row seat on the back of my appaloosa Zipper. Let the best cowgirl win!

Our age group was, ages five through seven years old, then ages eight through ten and so on. As I watched the men in the arena set the three barrels up in their places, I felt nervous and a little scared for the first time that night. It was all about to happen, my first rodeo! The first chance to show everyone I was a real cowgirl, or I'd be just a little girl that wanted to be a real cowgirl. I was so scared and nervous, everyone knows that if you're scared or nervous your horse will know it, and you will end up blowing it, and you will look like a fool. Thinking about this only made it worse. I can't blow it, I can't look like a fool, not in front of my Pawpaw and especially not in front of Courtney! I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and just as I was letting it out I felt a warm familiar hand on my leg, it was my Pawpaw. He looked so handsome in his straw cowboy hat and his white button up shirt, both of which he didn't wear much, only for special occasions. He knew how I felt, he always did. It was a connection we always had but could never explain. He smiled at me, then said, "Are you scared or nervous? Or both?" I answered truthfully as always, there was no need in trying to play tough, he could see right through that act. "Both, but more scared that I am going to mess up." I replied. That's when he looked at me like he was confused, "You are not going to mess up, you know how to do this. It's the same whether you do it back at the barn or here in front of everyone. Even if you doubt yourself, how can you have such little faith in Zipper? He's worked so hard right along with you and you don't believe in him?" He said. That's when I realized Pawpaw was right! Zipper has been practicing just as hard as me and he also knew what he was doing. So if I messed up I knew he would be right there to correct me before anyone noticed. "You're right Pawpaw, Zipper and I can do this together! I've been scared and nervous because I forgot I'm not going into that arena alone, I'm going in there with my partner. Thank you Pawpaw." Pawpaw just smiled and said, "Now go warm up that pony and win me a trophy!"

Warming up your horse in the dark can be a little scary! There were no lights in the back but horses can see 10x better in the dark than we can. Pawpaw told me that a while back when I was worried about Zipper being in the dark pasture. (Five year old girls think about those kind of things!) Each time they called someones name butterflies danced in my stomach. Then Courtney's time came, I watched everything she did, trying to learn a few last minute details from someone experienced. As she entered the arena her horse bucked a little, but nothing like I'd hoped for. I had hoped that he would buck so hard she would come flying off and land right on her butt in front of everyone. Instead she took control and went right on in. As she ran she made it look so easy, yelling at her horse as she came close to each turn around the barrels. As she quickly turned the last barrel and ran home fast as she could make her palomino run. I then realized I was wrong wrong for hoping she would get bucked off and embarrassed. If I do beat her, it will be a true win and will mean so much more than winning only because she was thrown from her horse. As Courtney walked past me after her flawless run, she winked at me and said, "Now go beat that Zipper!" Beating a 19.991 wouldn't be easy but certainly not impossible.

As my name rang out over the speakers, the butterflies in my stomach danced one last time. Zipper and I eased our way towards the alley way of the arena. As we got close, I patted Zipper on the neck one last time and said, "Let's do this boy, before I change my mind!" With that said, I gave Zipper a good kick and we were gone! The first barrel seemed to come so quick, as we got there I gently pulled back a tad to slow him down so we could make the turn. Zipper slowed a little and made the turn like a pro. As we were out of the turn I got my butt up out of the saddle kicking as hard as I could towards the second barrel then slowing him down to turn again. The whole time I had completely forgotten there were people there cheering, I couldn't hear a thing, only the sound of hoofs pounding in the dirt and Zipper breathing. As we turned the third barrel and headed home to cross that timer, I realized I'd been holding my breath the whole time. As we crossed the timer and left the arena I gasped for air, panting like I had been the one running. The announcer came on over the speakers," Ladies and Gentleman, that was a 19.989! Your winning time of the night for the five through seven age group!" I don't think I totally realized I had won till everyone around me started congratulating me. That's when Courtney came over to me, she was still on her horse, she said, "Good job, I guess Zippers alright, but he's still ugly!" She laughed, and I laughed back and said, "yeah I know!"

I took Zipper to the trailer and gave him his sugar cubes for a job well done. I left him there to rest and went and found my Pawpaw. I found him sitting in his lawn chair to the side of the arena watching the next riders. When he saw me he couldn't hide his excitement. He smiled and pulled me on his lap. "Told you" was all he said. "Yeah I know." I replied. that night I took home a trophy bigger than I was. Pawpaw was so proud and I was proud of myself as well. I knew after that night I would never be able to go to a rodeo to sit in the stands and watch, I was hooked and I wanted to be the best.


When I was ten I lost My Pawpaw to cancer, life began to prove itself to be hard, unfair and nothing like I thought it would be. As time goes on and I get older, life has never been like it was back when Pawpaw was around. When life gets hard and I get scared, I remember what Pawpaw told me that night at the rodeo, "you're not going to mess up, you know how to do this." I look around, see my kids and husband, and I remember I'm not going into it alone, I have my partner with me, my husband, and I have faith in him when I doubt myself. Just like Pawpaw told me to do as a little girl, when my partner was an appaloosa horse named Zipper. Time has changed everything, and Pawpaw isn't here, but the lessons he taught me as a little girl were lessons that I will use the rest of my life. I'm still ridding in my first rodeo and I'm going to ride it to the end, cause I'm a real cowgirl! Pawpaw told me so.

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