A long long way from Canada . . .
Someone had enough of a sense of humor to bring me to my first rodeo !! There’s a saying down here that all true ‘gauchos’ are born on horseback . . . once you get a chance to see these Argentines riding you might just start to believe it !! 
The riders range in age from six years old (on shetland ponies) to late fifties – and this is definitely not the easiest pass time you’ve ever witnessed.
I dunno that I had the courage to do this when I was six . . .and if I could show videos on here you’d really be blown away – those are tough ‘lil kids !!But there is a master of ceremonies
– and he tends to keep things more or less in control . . . most of the time. About 2 minutes after I took this picture: 
that fence she’s sucking on got destroyed by one of the bronking horses (don’t worry, she wasn’t hurt – but I have it on video – AWESOME !!)
These gauchos, or Argentine cowboys, ride in traditional gaucho costume: 
which can vary a bit depending on what kind 
of gaucho you are – you’ll always notice that they carry a knife somewhere on them. True gauchos, and many Argentines, eat off of wooden plates that sort of resemble our cutting boards with a sharp knife, and that’s it. Most frequently they eat grilled steak, bread, potatoes, and maybe a touch of lettuce and tomatoes – no sauce. 
And you wonder why I loved Argentina so much last summer ? 
The gauchos at this rodeo rode in socks – putting their feet in round wooden discs with slit in the middle – imagine a flat, thin, wooden plate/disc with a horizontal slit in the middle . . .if you’ve ever ridden you can imagine this would be far from comfortable. 
But boy 
do 
they stay on . . .
for a little
while anyways !! Anyone planning on coming down this August – there’s a rodeo going on the last weekend of August, FYI 
. If you’ve never been to a rodeo in person – you have to go – it’s truly amazing what these guys can do !!
