Dave
Well-known member
I know it is a long ways from the vast majority here. We went to the Jordan Valley Big Loop yesterday. This isn't your normal rodeo. This isn't professional rodeo cowboys. It is cowboys and ranchers from buckaroo country getting together for a fun weekend. Jordan Valley (population 130) is the one small town in the Owyhee. All the roping events they don't allow rubber wrapped saddle horns. They are all leather wrapped horns. When you dally it is 2 or 3 wraps and at times the smoke is flying. Team roping isn't 450 pound roping steers. It is 650-700 pound wild yearling mulies who have never been roped. They get a bit western on the end of the rope. They have a horse roping with the big loops. The horses are 3 year old future bucking horses who are for all intents and purposes wild horses. There is a 20 foot minimum on the loops. The horses are headed and front foot roped. They don't come tight and trip the horses anymore. There a several acre outdoor trade show of saddle makers, silver smiths, braiders, rawhide weavers, etc. A couple hundred free range ranch kids who all seem to be swinging a rope catching anything that moves. The wife noted that she only saw one girl wearing jeans with holes in them. If you are ever in this part of the world the third week in May on highway 95 about 70 miles south of Boise or 100+ miles north of Winnemucca (it is the only thing between those two)be sure to stop in and see a bunch of by God Real cowboys.