Bull riding

This was the first time I saw bull riding in live so I was very excited.

When I arrived to the stadium, the first thing I noticed was not the game itself, but the enthusiasm of people. It was very common to see people dressed up with cowboy hats and boots, and I thought I must buy one of the hats before I leave Texas! Also, I love the response of the audience when they cheered out loud for the contestants. The atmosphere made everyone excited.

Another interesting thing was that a priest prayed before the game. Although some of the audiences were not Christians, they would still pray together for the safety of the contestants. Generally speaking, religion is more important here in people’s lives, comparing to Hong Kong, where we seldom have religious rituals in large public events.

The game itself was fantastic and intense. Sometimes, I worried about the safety of the contestants. After all, the bulls are very dangerous if they decide to attack someone. At the same time, I really admire the contestants because of their excellent skills and bravery to confront the bulls. Before I watched the competition, I did not understand why people would engage in such a dangerous activity. I noticed that the honor of winning a game is greater than what I have expected, so this maybe the reason why people ride bulls. Or perhaps, it is simply because of the large sum of reward the winner would get!

The Cattle Drive

Texas Longhorn Cattle Drive was a brand new experience for me.

The Drive was an opening parade of the annual San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, and was held last Saturday. The Parade started at 11:00p.m. and took place at Houston Street.

We arrived around fifteen minutes earlier before the parade. People on the street were excited, some of them were cheering, some of them were singing country songs.

The parade started with a group of Hispanic dancers. Their colorful traditional dresses were impressive and their joyous movement and smiles stirred up the excitement of the crowd. The cattle drive was then followed. I have never seen so many cattle running down the street. I could imagine in the old times where people, who were riding horses, led cattle through the hustle and bustle market.

It was fun to see one of the traditions of Texas, which were completely different from Hong Kong. As Hong Kong has scare land and most of them are used for commercial or residential development, there is rare opportunity for people to see livestocks, even trees and fields. It is good to see that Texans value their tradition which embraces the relationship of human with animals and nature.

I look forward to visit the rodeo which will be held next week.