The 25th annual Greene County Livestock Association and Greene Country 4H Pro Rodeo appeared at the Greene County AG Expo Center Apr. 26-27 on Weldon Smith Drive in Greensboro.
Huge crowds packed the center Friday evening with events including saddle bronc riding, commonly referred to as the classic event of rodeo, steer wrestling, bareback bronc riding, team roping, breakaway roping, cowgirls barrel racing; tie-down calf roping, and of course, bull riding.
For children 5 and under there also was a stick-horse race, which begins at a starting line with children astride their “horses” and on the word “Go!” they take off riding to the finish line. The first to finish won a trophy and the others received ribbons.
The calf scramble is a great and fun event for children 12 and under in which the stock contractors turn out two calves with ribbons on their tails and the first child who gets the ribbon off the calf gets the prize.
Saddle bronc saddles are lightweight with no saddle horn and the cowboys use a long thick rein attached to a halter on the horse’s neck to hold on. These riders rely on strength, timing, finesse, and skill to master an extremely difficult event. They dismount with the help of a pick-up man who rides alongside them on another horse to help them to the ground.
One of the more exciting events is steer wrestling, in which the cowboy drops down from a galloping horse onto a running steer, stops and throws the steer to the ground and ties its legs. Meanwhile, also riding alongside the steer is the hazer, who has a split second to foresee any problems that may develop and happen.
Another exciting event is bull riding, which attempts to tame eight seconds of lightning wrapped in bull hide! These riders quite literally tie themselves to the backs of raging beasts and use just one hand to hold on. They cannot touch themselves or the bull with the free hand; if they do, they get no score.
The annual Greene County Livestock Association is a great, fun event that leaves fans already looking forward to the next one.