There really, truly is a code that rodeo men and women have you can't find anywhere else. There really is a code. It's a sense of tribalism.
I'm more of a rodeo type guy.
You might be a redneck if your sophisticated show-biz cousin is a rodeo clown.
I can remember sittin' in a cafe when I first started in rodeo, and waitin' until somebody got done so I could finish what they left.
I grew up with the Highwaymen, which was Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. Mom and Dad rode rodeo, so country music was always in the house and the car. They threw in some Dolly Parton, too.
From a distance, at a time of urbanization and connectivity, rodeo and ranching may seem anachronistic notions - quaint and sepia-toned from an America that no longer exists.
I wanted to be like my father, who was a cattle man and a rodeo roper. And that was - he was my hero, and I wanted to be more like him.
I guess I've always been a groupie. My first date was a bull rider called Tommy Lee Bryant. We'd go to the rodeo every Saturday and Sunday. The bull riders were the cool guys.
I want to be a Cowboy for life.
