Ford City ~ a great name for a rodeo town 

It sounds like it came straight off of "Gunsmoke";  a wonderful western show I used to watch that highlights the lives of characters Marshall Dillon and Miss Kitty.  I’d watch for the story line, but also to see how to get on a horse,or how to stop, tie and back a horse.  So when I got online to see which rodeos had call ins for the weekend, I knew I was going to call in at Ford City; a very western sounding venue.

I've been on the phone for about 70 minutes trying to get through to the Central Entry System.  I try to make good use of time so I take my cell phone while I go out hiking.  I just hit END after the call rings busy, then SEND, SEND and my Verizon wireless phone redials the call-in number. The walk along our beautiful creek is relaxing and soothing.  The water proves how powerful it is; cutting deep grooves and puddles in the soft slate rock.  The scene is breathtaking. “Hello.” I heard someone answer.

Photo by Contiphotography

“Hi, I’d like to enter Ford City please.” I excitedly announced. “I’m calling in for my daughter too.”

“OK, card number?” she asked.  After I gave her our card numbers and told her our preference to run in slack she gave me a confirmation number and said good bye.

 It takes a couple of days for the books to be finished and the draw to be posted.  I can call back in two days to get the order of go. As I look up the ravine wall covered in pretty white flowers sparsely covering the dark green waxy leaves underneath I decide that's what I'll do. I wonder what the pretty plants are. This spot right here is so serene, I'll have to remember to revisit next summer.  This view is just as pretty as my other favorite scene.  You know the road or trail that has trees along both sides bending into a canopy overhead?  We have one horse trail along the eastern ridge of the creek, it has pines on both sides, the long bows of the trees hang low overhead.  Each spring we have to go trim the branches so they won't interfere with our ride.  I just love that type of route. There is a road like that in a nearby village with willows flanking the left and right of it.  When I was a child these trees were strong and tall creating a sort of tunnel to drive through.  Now, the trees are tipping away from the road due to erosion of the ditches along the farmers fields that run along both sides, but I still drive this road and remember.

I had to look Ford City, a western sounding town, up on a map, and found that it is less than three hours from home.  Calculating the cost of diesel fuel, camping fees, entries and food I realized that I still have enough in my fun-money-stash to sign up.  I convince my daughter Kaylin to go and encourage her to bring anyone else along so we could split fuel costs.  Unfortunately, our other rodeo friends were going to make it to two other rodeos before hitting Ford City, so we end up going-it-alone.  Well, that is us girls, Wrangler (Kay's blue heeler), CAZ and Leyna (our horses).
          Kaylin and I just love traveling and enjoy being trapped in the truck with nothing more to do than get to know each other better through the in depth conversations that occur while coasting down the highway.  We travel down routes 60 and 90 in New York and then go south on 79 in Pennsylvania.  The trip is an easy one until you get close to the Ford City Rodeo grounds.  When you are about 5 miles away, you end up taking a few turns here and there in order to climb the hill up to the Armstrong Horse Park.  As we pull in we look around to get our bearings.  We can see the attendant at a closed gate about a quarter mile into the park and we head in that direction.

The gate attendant asks our names and crosses them off the list, we ask if there are any restrictions to parking, and he says there aren’t.  We excitedly scan the area and find the barn with stall rows that we want to house our horses in.  I temporarily park our rig, so we can jump out and check out the stalls.  We have arranged to rent stalls for three days, so we can allow our horses to move around and lay down before and after their races.  After walking past about twenty stalls, we find two empty stalls at one of the barns and decide to claim them.  We are especially happy with the location of the stalls because right across a dirt road and under some trees there are several spots for horse trailers.  Some of the rodeo staff and specialty acts are already there and have set up camp.  We choose a level spot and drive the trailer around the wooded area and enter the woods from the back.  Our truck is facing the barn and the stalls that we have chosen. 

It is hot out!  Our horses are probably thirsty, so even though we are still just wearing shorts and tank tops; we throw our cowboy boots on and pull our horses off the trailer.  Around the rodeo campground you don’t really need to be worried about your attire.  You run in to all kinds of crazy outfits, including men wearing make up!  You know; the rodeo clown. One of my favorite sights is a rough and tough bulldogger walking around with his cowboy hat and boots, cut off jeans and an open western shirt.  The best part is the stark whiteness of his legs and chest compared to the dark tan of his face and forearms.  So funny!

So to make everyone have a good laugh we don our cowboy boots with our shorts, not to make a fashion statement, but to protect our feet from the sharp, heavy hooves of the horses that we lead over to a hillside of grass.  As Kaylin holds the horses, I go grab our kinky green garden horse.  It is the one we use to bathe our horses while traveling,  it's easy to empty and store. Caz and Leyna are sweaty and I want to hose them off.  I love the smell of a sweaty horse and just love lathering up their summer coat with some Orvis horse shampoo. Orvis comes in a wide mouthed plastic tub and when it’s cool outside it gets pasty thick, but today it’s clear and liquid.  I put some on a dandy brush and start scrubbing.  My horse loves to have his chest and behind his ears, all the way along his mane down to his withers, scrubbed.  He acts like a cat stretching into the brush that I lay against his neck. I make sure to rinse him off really well, throwing a little apple cider vinegar in a bucket of water to help cut the soap suds and provide protection against bugs.  After I finish rinsing him I use a sweat scraper bent into a half moon shape to sweep him from top to bottom.  The water, warmed from his body heat, falls to the ground.  I check to see if there is any soap residue, seeing none I leave the wash rack to Kaylin and her sweaty gray mare, Leyna.  Caz is so happy to be clean and cool; he enjoys some blades of grass on the hillside waiting for his girl, Leyna to join him.

                        

                           * * * * * *

“Big pocket!”  Kaylin encourages trying to raise her voice above the crowd.

The announcer begins, “Miss Lori, c’mon we’ve got three barrels left to do, we’ve got a horse race on this Saturday night!”

“Big pocket!” Kay yells out again hoping that I can hear.

“We’ve got a Fredonia, New York cowgirl here turning some quick barrels.” Again the announcer tries to get the crowd excited for the big run home after the third barrel.

“Go, go, go! Big pocket, easy hands,” Kaylin’s coaching does not actually reach my ears but her sentiments reach me another way like when bunches of people all pray for the same thing, the heart and soul she pours into her encouraging reminders reaches me.  Somehow.

“Time just in for that cowgirl is a 15.981, a 15.981 is in our lead!” is announced.

 Like all rodeos, its not just the show and the racing that I love.  We were graced with the presence of our good friend Chelsea Drake at Ford City and even though we've been camping for days she pulls out her fancy camera and we get our horses and selves all dolled up for a photo shoot.  What fun!  Just don't look too close, or you may see some dirt under our fingernails, smudges on our cheeks and grime on our clothes - unless we sneakily cover it up with a cowboy hat!

Kay is getting Bugged Out!