We were lucky that the annual rodeo was held on the weekend of our camera club field trip to Reefton. A family occasion, the rodeo had good access for spectators and plenty of action. For example, the bull riding:
I loved this shirt (Ikamatua is a very small village about 30km south of Reefton, with a population of under 200)
There were bucking broncos, of course:
For the kids, there were sheep to ride:
A boy standing next to me, he looked about 7 or 8, gave me a running commentary on the bull riding. “That one was pretty antsi (?)” he said at one stage. “Those Angus – Friesian crosses can be like that”. I consluted him refquently on the finer points of the rodeo.
For the equestrian types there was barrel racing:
Earlier that morning, I came across this group heading for the rodeo (they explained there was a competition for the best fancy dress).
They found the arena rather hard going (as did Darth Vader):
