Let's Rodeo!

About the time you read this, one of the greatest shows in Oklahoma will already be under way: The Lawton Rangers Rodeo. For 72 years a group of guys that call themselves the “Lawton Rangers” have been year after year putting together one of the big events for PRCA cowboys and cowgirls across the nation. For those of us who grew up here, it is a time honored tradition. It is not a matter of whether or not you are going to the rodeo. The question usually tossed about among Southwest Oklahomans is which night or nights. As a kid, I really looked forward to getting out of the hay field and going and saddling a horse to ride in the grand entry. It is always fun and a lot of times a rodeo in itself because a lot of those horses don’t get ridden until August. The grand entry is almost never without a blowout or a wreck.
One thing the Rangers have changed this year in their week long celebration is that they have discontinued the rodeo parade. I announced at their parade for many years and was always honored to help such a great group. But, I watched the numbers dwindle as the years went by. It seems a shame, but I think it is a reality in our modern society that people just don’t want to brave the heat. We have all become soft. As my friend Mike Fortney says “we all have air conditioner poisoning”. It is just harder to get people out in the heat to watch an afternoon parade. I am fully in support of the Rangers canceling that event. It is just kinda sad that they had to. I guess nothing is forever. In our fast-paced, air conditioned, internet society, it seems like people don’t have time anymore to cut a watermelon or watch a parade, or heaven forbid, wait for homemade ice cream from a hand-cranked freezer, which is probably another article in itself. Hand-cranked ice cream, which I am lucky enough to remember, tastes better than ice cream from those electric gadgets that make ice cream now. I’m not sure how to prove that but I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of medical fact. Even with the canceling of the rodeo parade, it won’t dampen the excitement at the LO Ranch when Charlie Throckmorton flips the switch on that microphone and welcomes the crowd before a big night of professional rodeo. Usually, by that time of evening, it is not quite dark but at least the sun has started down and it is starting to get bearable outside and whether you are a seasoned rodeo fan or a newcomer to Southwest Oklahoma, you are in for a real treat as pro cowboys and cowgirls try to make a check.
This being an election year just adds to the color and the personality of this great sporting event. Most of the candidates for elected office, whether local, county or state, will be at the rodeo grounds passing out literature, shaking hands and kissing babies. Everyone knows that a very high percentage of Southwest Oklahomans will be there. It is a great time for you to meet your candidates if you don’t already know them and put a face with the names on those signs that you see all over the place.
Another great part of the Lawton Rangers Rodeo is the fact that the Rangers have historically done a great job of honoring our military in Southwest Oklahoma. A lot of young kids in the army come here from all over the world and, for many of them, this is the first rodeo they have ever been to. It is a great time for them to experience some western hospitality that the Rangers are so good at providing. As a community, we have not always been as good as we should at honoring our soldiers but the Rangers have always properly thanked them. In fact, they always have one night devoted to the soldiers where they have their own section. For many of those young people who are in basic training, it is their first night on the town in several weeks for a little much deserved R&R. It erks me occasionally to hear somebody complain about military night when the lines at the concession stand are long and the seating is tight. Those same kids are probably headed to Iraq or Afghanistan somewhere in the near future to make sure we have the freedom to go to a rodeo. So, be courteous and be sure to tell them thanks.