Bending Branch Barn

Based on past county rodeos in Kansas, my expectations were low. However, to my surprise, this one was incredible!

It’s an hour fifteen drive from our home in Kansas City, to the fair grounds in Mound City, Linn county, Kansas. We stopped on our way in Paola for dinner. As we had very low expectations and didn’t feel we needed to arrive early to get tickets for good seats. That assumption proved very wrong!

We got there 15 minutes ahead of start time. There was a long line at the ticket booth. We seemingly got the last 4 contiguous seats in the packed bleachers. It was clearly a popular event.

Despite being hot (mid 90s), the crowd was loud and having a great time. The announcer, clowns, and support riders were top-flight. There was no shortage of patriotism, support for first responders and members of the military.

The event began with the national anthem and followed by a parade of sponsors. The choreography of horses was spectacular.

The bucking stock supplier was local to the area and provided excellent rides for ranked cowboys from multiple circuits across the United States.

The one-arm cowboy, a man who lost his arm after being in an electrical accident, was the halftime show. Apparently his brush with death claimed one arm, an eye, and burned much of his entire body. He survived and now entertains at rodeos. Here, he is moving his trained long horn cattle to the top of the the trailer in which they arrived.

As if that were not enough, he joined them along with his horse.

One segment brought all the under-12 year old’s out into the arena. When the call when out, they came like ants at a picknick, climbing over the fence and huddling in the center. After hearing the rules explaining they’d receive a $10 bill if they could secure one of the flags tied around a calf’s tail, they were off, a sea of kids chasing 5 energetic calves.

There were two events for the ladies. One I had not seen before, break-away roping. The other, was one of my favorites, barrel racing. It is great to watch these powerful horses accelerate like drag racers, stop and turn on a dime, and then race to the finish.

This is one of the best rodeos I’ve attended. It rivaled the American Royal rodeo held annually in Kansas City. It comes highly recommended if you are in Kansas in early August.