dogs and horses and bulls, oh my...

I LOVE this time of year and it is not because it is winter or that it is the season of long weekends.  It is not even because my birthday is right around the corner.  It is none other than the National Western Stockshow!

This phenomenon comes to Denver every January for two weeks of events that are unlimited for the western enthusiast.  Andy and I look forward to it every single year!  This year, it was extra special because we had my mom and Howie in town for the festivities, which has been something on our bucket list.  

My stepdad, Howie, is the ultimate cowboy and has a wealth of knowledge about anything to do with cattle dogs, horses, rodeos, and much more!  They pulled the trigger this year and bought rodeo tickets for the last day of the Stockshow and the plans were in action.  

They arrived by car on Thursday evening and we enjoyed a nice dinner and conversation.  We were able to enjoy beautiful sunny and warm weather by our backyard firepit, eat fabulous meals, and just hang out.  

We headed to the NWS on Saturday for a peak at the cattle dog trials.  On our way to the trials, we mosied through the draught horses area and marvelled at the magnificent animals.  Some were 18 hands high!  (For those of you city folks, horses are measured by hands and 15 hands would be considered a tall riding horse)  As we made our way outside, we watched the cattle dog trials. 

These are the best of the best cattle dogs in the United States and they were amazing!  They herded three cows around a pen as their master gave them signals with a special high-pitched whistle, each command different than the next.  At one point, they had to get one of the three cows to separate from the rest and get them all into a trailer.  It was awesome how smart these little dogs were!

We were entertained by all of the animals, especially this very determined horse who was obsessed with getting out of his pen!  

We decided to head indoors for some tradeshow action.  There is only one word to describe the booths...IMPRESSIVE!  There was jewelry, furniture, clothes, boots, farm equipment, hats, and anything else you can think of that you would ever need to be outfitted as a cowboy/girl.  We roamed around and all found some treasures before we called it a day.

The next day we headed back for the grand finale...the rodeo!  We had excellent seats and settled in for the show.  

  

Reality was definitely better than the dream.  My mom was kind enough to let us sandwich Howie and he was nice enough to answer all of our annoying, little questions.  He was ever so patient and informative!  


The little thing that I will take away from this fabulous weekend is that if you dream enough, they will eventually come true.  Thanks mom and Howie for making this dream of ours be a reality!