Ranch Rodeo - LaGrange, WY

Today was the day of the Ranch Rodeo in LaGrange, WY.

LaGrange is a small town east of here – almost into Nebraska. It boasts a whopping population of 448 people. But it has the advantage of being smack-dab in the middle of ranch country, which means working cowboys. Guys that cowboy for a living on real ranches. And they like to have fun on a weekend, too. So they get together and have their own rodeos. Very low-key, small scale affairs. everyone knows someone, usually several of the competitors. Cliff knew several team members and one of the judges. Because they are our neighbors and friends. They come to the brandings on this ranch, and Cliff goes to theirs.

We went specifically to watch this team compete, since they are all neighbors and friends.

Mark Homner heading a steer for the calf-branding portion.

‘Branding’ the calf with cold irons.

The wild-cow milking portion. They have to milk a wild cow into a bottle – they just have to get enough so that they can pour some out. Sometimes it’s only a few drops! 🙂

Steer roping.

There are 4-man (or woman) teams, and each team has to complete 4 tasks within a time limit. In this case – 8 minutes for all 4 events. Each local ranch rodeo can be slightly different. The four events most ranch rodeos are made up of include:
Calf-branding.
Wild-cow milking.
Steer roping.
Trailer loading.

Keep in mind that the cattle are numbered, and they have to pick out their assigned bovine to work with. It looks alot easier than it is!

It was a real scorcher, for Wyoming. It hit 100* at 4 pm. But despite the heat, it was interesting to watch.