IMPRA Rodeo – Pocatello – BlueRavenBirders

The Intermountain Professional Rodeo Association Championship Finals in Pocatello August 24 & 25.

I wasn’t sure I was going to attend this rodeo, but I got home from work on Friday and felt like taking the camera out on a date. So off we went. I used the large lens and over the course of the weekend discovered that I need to switch to the smaller one at night. I just can’t get the focus speed I need when trying to capture the movement of the horses. This rodeo was also held on Saturday morning and again on Saturday evening. Once again I had no plans for either but woke up with an unrelenting nagging in my head to go to the morning session.

The morning session was very hot, the temps were only in the high 60s and low 70s but with direct sunlight I was melting. A shower and a nap later and I found myself back at the rodeo for the evening. I got a lot of great photos and am only sharing a few of them here. If you click on any of the photos you go to my Flickr account where the rest of them can be found.

Opening Ceremonies

Youngster on a bucking pony

Another youngster

Youngster getting off a bucking pony

Iconic West

Calf Roping

Scratching that itch

Red Full Moon: caused by all of the fires in the west smoking up our air

Bucking Horses

Drastic Dismount

Fundraiser: A rifle was surprising, though after the rodeo that raffled a calf I don’t know why I’m surprised.

Entertainment: The first night I wasn’t sure about this guy, but on the second night he did some amusing things with his horse then orchestrated a round of musical chairs (or rather buckets) with the rodeo queens. Race to the bucket, get off horse and sit on bucket while holding onto horse. Then jump up, back on the horse and back across the arena to another shrinking row of buckets. It was great fun. And the women were awesome sports about it.