Last night I took a nostalgic trip back into the days of my youth where one memory stood out above all the others. My heart tugged with fondness as I thought about dear Mom. She loved the rodeo and she took us to the fair any time she could. Our family was simple country folks. Mom was more western than most, though she never traveled further than Ohio in those early years. The rodeo was born into my mother’s blood and I learned to love the show as much as Mom.

I remember listening to her stories about riding horses as Mom fantasized about being a rodeo rider. She shared how she loved watching them mount to ride in hopes of staying on for those eight seconds. We even rented the movie by the same name to reminisce. Western movies played a large role in my growing years. With famous actors like Clint Eastwood or John Wayne, it was easy to watch all these great classic movies.

I seem to remember each one had a wild horse scene in which one cowboy with sheer determination was able to break the untamable horse.

I secretly wished that I had lived in those days so I fantasized about the lifestyle on the road riding horseback across the wild lands to explore an unsettled country. The idea of being the first to lay eyes on a mountain or to be the first to forge a trail across a prairie appealed to my adventurous spirit. In fact, I traveled most of my adult life trying to satiate that desire to experience something close to the adventure of those early pioneer explorers. The closest thing to that peak excitement I found at the rodeo.

If truth be told, Mom rode some horses in her day on the farm growing up, but she never made it to the rodeo ring on horseback. One event did render her a champion though. Mom was a champion hog caller at the rodeo fair. I didn’t learn that until she was in her late sixties because Mom swore dear old Dad to secrecy about my mother’s wild and secret youth.

As I grew older, I savored those trips to the fair in hopes that I would see some great horse riding or that I would get to watch those cowboys master one of the wild bulls. It was so exciting to even think about. I remember telling myself that riding bulls was a dangerous and somewhat crazy stunt, yet I longed to watch just the same.

There is just something about human nature that brings us to witness danger or catastrophe while standing on the very edge of safety. Rodeos are filled with that same sense of wild and dangerous excitement. Fans can watch from the safety of the bleachers or stand outside the corral while cowboys and cowgirls mount wild untamed animals for a contest of wills. In those critical few seconds in time, it is a clash between human and beast as one tries to conquer the others will. Fascinating sport! And it’s a battle of wills between human and beast that dates back to our primal beginnings.

Can you imagine your most ancient ancestors mounting the back of a mammoth for the first time while the village watched with wide eyes and baited breath? I’ll bet that was one of the greatest rodeo rides of all time!