Nashville, TN

Yee…HAW! Thursday night I took my 2nd annual trip down to the Franklin Rodeo. Can’t you tell?
I really do love the rodeo. I didn’t grow up in the south, or on a farm, and I never went to a rodeo as a kid, but being introduced to it as an adult has really opened my eyes to whole new culture. It kinda makes me wish I had grown up a cowgirl. I don’t know what it is about the rodeo that I love so much. It’s obviously not the smell, or the style (though I do look pretty cute in a cowboy hat if I do say so myself! On the surface, some of the events seem cruel and unusual to poor, innocent little calves, in particular, the calf roping event. And if I told you how they get those bulls to buck the way they do, you might think twice next time you play tether ball…
I think for the most part, the rodeo represents to me, a form of Americana, a vision of life the way our settlers lived it. The rodeo events are all things every good cowboy and cowgirl must master. But they date back to earlier centuries and have carved a place in history that is alive and active today. Rodeo participants are proud of their heritage, along with the hard work and skill that it takes to preserve that heritage.

You can enjoy the Franklin rodeo tonight and tomorrow night beginning at 7pm at the Williamson County Agricultural Center. It’s $15 for adults and $8 for children.