It was rodeo time this past week as some of the best bull riders, bronco busters, ropers, steer wrestlers and barrel racers in the world came to compete for points at a national level competition.

Rafter 3 Rodeo Company out of North Carolina brought some of the top bulls and wild horses in the rodeo circuit to the Braxton County Fair.  It was an IPRA sanctioned event so the professional riders were able to get points for the big national rodeo.  Local barrel riding legend Tony Holcomb Meadows competed with some of the best and came out on top, winning the event. She is one of the better riders on the barrel riding circuit and is the daughter of Larry and Carma Holcomb, who in her own right is one of the best in barrel racing.

If you have never been to a rodeo, you owe it to yourself to go. It is Americana at its finest. The bulls were nothing short of bad to the bone intensity. They were ready to take on the meanest individual to have enough grit to get on them. Most of the time the bulls won the match, but thank goodness for the clown and pick up men who looked in the eyes of pure hate and smacked it right in the face so that the riders wouldn’t get mauled. The horses were tough to stay on, and the calf roping was also tough for some of the cowboys and cowgirls that competed. It was a two day event that had different riders each night. On Friday night it was fan night, and they had a calf scramble for the kids, and a long horn milking competition and steer wrestling competition for anyone brave enough to enter. It was good to see some age old American west traditions still being kept alive by men and women who have the grit to get in the ring with some of the meanest bulls and horses in the world.  Go and catch a rodeo in action. West Virginia has a high school rodeo circuit and they need supported.  If you like horses, a lot of bull, and the fresh smell of ranch life, be sure to attend a rodeo soon.