National Western Stock Show Redux

Yesterday was the last day of the National Western Stock Show, and so I decided to drive out to Denver's Coliseum to take advantage of the reduced price ($10.00) tickets and take a few more photographs of the event.  I started with the Stock Dog Trials, where these trained dogs try to maneuver sheep through a preset course that ultimately winds up with them entering a pen, which is far harder than it seems.  And what I took away from this event is that sheep are often not the docile creatures that you might expect, and often fight back against these dogs that are trying to round them up.  There is some sort of political message in all this, but at this point in time I am trying to ignore it.

The last day of the National Western Stock Show is very popular, because of the reduced price.  And the reason they reduce the prices is because a lot of the animals are gone after the major competitive events.  However, there are still animals to be photographed, such as the sheep in the photo on the right.  After taking this photo, I went further into the livestock pens and found that there was only a single cow remaining.  Which I think is a wonderful thing for it, since it's fellow cattle have probably been sent off to the slaughterhouse.  Lonely but alive is sometimes not a bad thing.

In any case, I spent about 3 hours at the show, and I must say, it is a lot of fun just watching all these families having such a great time together, looking at the animals and just enjoying the day.  And it is also a great joy to see all these farm families having such a great time at what is probably the highlight of their year.  They come from Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, and probably other states I can't remember, and show that this strong, proud, rural American community is still strong and well.  And as I was leaving the coliseum, I noticed that the Cattleman's Grill was sadly empty, the crowds all gone, waiting for next year to roll around.  And I for one am anxiously looking forward to it.