Clayton (part 2)

Independence Day dawned bright and beautiful and perfect for the traditional 4^th of July parade.  With only about 2800 residents, Clayton’s parade was not the longest, but it had plenty of gorgeous horses.

We’re guessing this piece of fire equipment was designed for prairie fires with those big tires.

Look at the lovely feathering on this magnificent horse.

Later we went back to the fairgrounds for the Lil Ears Junior Rodeo.  I think the flag would cover the entire ladder truck displaying it.

The rodeo consisted of three events and the kids competed in teams of four in four age categories from 3 to 15.

 

The first event was a relay where each child had to ride their ‘horse’ around the barrels.

Then things got a little wilder with the ‘cow milking’.  This one deserves a video.  Check out the expertise of the little guy who does the ‘milking’.

And for the final event, the teams had to herd the ‘cows’ over to the fourth team member who would then ‘brand’ them.  I kept taking pictures of the same team because they were just such darn cute little girls.

The adults had their own milking event with wild cows!  Check out this video.

But in my last post, I promised you some Mutton Bustin’.  The sheep are looking a little nervous.

Although it was fun to watch, the age of the typical participant was a bit shocking to us.  Just watch this little guy.

Looks dangerous to me, but this is cowboy country where kids are tough.

I think this was the winning ride, probably because he was the tallest contestant.

And here’s one more video showing a unique method which seemed to confuse the sheep.

There were more adult rodeo events after the kids, followed by fireworks, but we left after the kids were finished.  It had nothing to do with the fact that a huge storm was coming in.  (Well, not much.)