Which rodeo seats are best?

[tamarack]

Barry and I will be in Wyoming this year during the Sheridan rodeo and there are two options for seating. We will be buying our tickets pretty soon and I don't have much experience with rodeos, so I need some advice from some of you aficionados.

Reserved or Chute Side. Which is best?

When I called Sheridan today I was told that we would be buying a section, row, and seat, not just a section. We were talking about the stands at the time but I took this to mean that that's the way it is no matter where we sit.

There are big screens, so "you can't get a bad seat" and Chute Side sounds kind of interesting to me. It seems that you'd be able to hear what's going on among the cowboys if you were near the chutes. Have any of you sat by the chutes at a big rodeo? Is it as cool as it sounds or is it dusty and dirty and hard to see what's going on in the arena?

Which do you suggest?

[Front-Ranger]

I sort of like to sit opposite the chutes so I can have a good view of the riders coming out. I also like to take photos, so I usually try to sit on the first row if possible. However, this is not ideal because there are always people passing in front of you going to and fro. Dust has never been a problem that I can recall. You can't hear the cowboys talk because the announcer and clowns are always yakking it up over the PA system.

Last year for the first time I saw the Ten Sleep Rodeo, which is always held on July 4. It's one of the great local rodeos of Wyoming, IMO. I like the small rodeos better than the big productions, with the exception of the Cheyenne Rodeo, which I saw with friend Amanda. I'm sure she will have more information for you on seating, because she knows a lot about all things rodeo. 

[tamarack]

I've been wondering where you've been, Friend. I figured you had to have some feedback on this!

We aren't going to Cheyenne because of the timing of the rodeo, but their website makes it sound like a really great time!

It seems that we'll be able to do some riding while we're there. Right now we're planning a few hours on three different days  in the Tetons, the Big Horns, and the Wind River Range. I haven't been able to determine just how far up into the mountains we'll be able to go, especially since we don't want to go for more than half a day at a time, but we're hoping that they will each have their distinctions so that we really can get some good, different pictures each time. The Red Desert borders the Wind River Range and I think we'll get into a bit of that type of terrain, although both of us really prefer the green of the mountains, the high meadows, and drainages. We'll see.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I sort of like to sit opposite the chutes so I can have a good view of the riders coming out. I also like to take photos, so I usually try to sit on the first row if possible. However, this is not ideal because there are always people passing in front of you going to and fro. Dust has never been a problem that I can recall. You can't hear the cowboys talk because the announcer and clowns are always yakking it up over the PA system.

Last year for the first time I saw the Ten Sleep Rodeo, which is always held on July 4. It's one of the great local rodeos of Wyoming, IMO. I like the small rodeos better than the big productions, with the exception of the Cheyenne Rodeo, which I saw with friend Amanda. I'm sure she will have more information for you on seating, because she knows a lot about all things rodeo. 

Bear in mind, also, if you're inclined to take photos, that there could be fencing in the way, too. There was a fence between the arena and the bleachers at Ten Sleep. If you have a good telephoto lens (do they still call them telephoto lenses?), it might be a good idea to try to sit above the level of the top of the fence.

[tamarack]

Barry is very interested in taking photos and he has the lenses to prove it! Although Cheyenne has the events in the daytime, Sheridan rodeos at night so I'm not sure what effect that will have on his picture-taking. I wondered if they even allowed it at night or if it was too much of a distraction.

I'm guessing that people passing back and forth are a negative at Sheridan also, because when you go online to choose a seat there aren't too many seats in the very first row that are taken. At least that's the way it was a few days ago. I haven't looked since because we keep changing our minds about our itinerary so until we get that figured out we can't figure out which day we'll be in Sheridan.

The chute side seating is between the bull chutes and the chutes for the roping horses, the bulls being on a long side and the horses coming out on the end. The first section chute-side is for the families of the riders, and I was thinking that the section right next to that might be good, but I tend to think that your method of sitting directly across from the bulls might be the best bet, Lee. The chute-side seats don't seem to be filling up as fast. There has to be a reason for that!

[tamarack]

I found a couple of interesting rodeo movies on Netflix Instant. This one's a documentary and it was a pretty interesting story. It's called "Gidyup! On the Rodeo Circuit." Not too long; about 45 minutes.

Presented by MTV's Logo network, this insightful documentary from director Mitchell Horn profiles the men and women who make up the competitors of the International Gay Rodeo Association. Founded in 1985, the IGRA is the preeminent gay rodeo organization, which not only sanctions conventional rodeo events, but also sponsors dance competitions and other social country-and-western functions.

The other one is called "8 Seconds" and is based on the true story of Lane Frost, a bull rider. After I watched the movie I was so impressed with him that I Googled him and found a site dedicated to him (don't go there until you see the movie, though!) that answered a lot of questions about what in the movie was true and what had been changed. This was also a Netflix Instant choice.

Two very different movies but both interesting.

[tamarack]

There is also something that they call "slack" and it's in the mornings (at both rodeos) and free. They are the steer wrestling, roping, and barrel racing events. None of these will hold my interest for very long but it will be fun to see some professional-level riders and horses for a little while.

The horses can be very impressive when they are well-trained, which they would have to be to make it to this level.

When I was a kid (a long time ago!) there were straight barrels and cloverleaf (Lureen's event,) but I learned from a young rider who was staying at the same B&B as us up in Alberta that the straight barrels have now become the pole bending. She was down in the Calgary area with her horse for more training because she rodeos, so I guess she ought to know, but I still think there is an event that uses barrels laid out in a line. Maybe it's just not considered a rodeo event, but something that they do at gymkhanas.

[SFEnnisSF]

I say...

If you're mostly interested in the bull and horse riding events, definitely get the chute seats! 

I mean, if yer gonna do it, then do it right...and get in the middle of it all!   

[tamarack]

Well now, that was my first impression too, Eric. And I figured that it couldn't be too terrible if the contestants' families were sitting in a section there.

But then I started thinking that we'd always be looking to our right and I could already feel the crick in my neck!

Are you speaking from experience or from a (possibly) misguided desire to be a little closer to the action (like me)?   

[SFEnnisSF]

Are you speaking from experience or from a (possibly) misguided desire to be a little closer to the action (like me)?   

Both.