4th of July part 2

Lucky for us the rain stopped just in time for the sun to dry everything out a little. The ranch had a Fourth of July celebration planned on the rodeo grounds with food, horse races, and a firework show. We headed over a little early and helped set up. They served hamburgers and hotdogs and they were delish. How could hamburgers not be good on a cattle ranch? There were free treats galore- snowcones, ice cream, and popcorn just to name a few. After, they had the horse races. We had heard a little about them but because Keith doesn't have a trailer and his own horse he wasn't going to participate. Once we got there though, one of the guys he works with talked him into doing a few of the games and races with him.

The Egg Toss

Keith's on the right in the white hat

 He did the egg toss with our neighbor Keenan who is also doing the cattle internship. They didn't last long. The little kids had the right idea, throwing it and not being able to catch it so it landed in the soft dirt.

The Grocery Race

This is a three-man race on a bareback horse. They start standing and once they say go all three people have to get on the horse, ride it to the other end where there is a barrel with groceries on it. A watermelon, an egg, and a cup of water. Once there, they have to get off, get the groceries, and all get back on to race to the other end.

The dream team: Keith (back) Kennan (middle) and Samuel (front)

Here is Keith, watermelon in hand, boosting Samuel with his shoulder. "Push me on!"

 You can see they made it to the groceries before the other two teams, no problem.

 I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as when I saw Keith mount this horse John Wayne style. He claims he's never done it before but it was too perfect for a first time.

Of course they won and each got a hat and shirt out of the deal.

The Sweetheart Race

Sadly I didn't get many good pictures of the next race they participated in. It started getting dark so the lighting was bad. This is a two-man race. One of the two runs the length of the arena to the barrel where he climbs on top and puts on a dress and ties a bonnet to their head. Once dressed the other person on the horse has to go pick up their sweetheart! Keith was the sweetheart and the first boy man enough to put on the dress. Wise move because he smoked the girls to the barrel! Seeing the male-advantage other men were willing to play the sweetheart in other heats.

They won this round too, getting me a hat and a shirt! He makes a good sweetheart if I do say so myself. 

We ended the night with a firework show. We had a ton of fun and some seriously good laughs. It wasn't our traditional 4th of July but this one we'll never forget.