Ernest Hemingway, the Nobel prize winning American writer, once described bull fighting as an art form and dedicated many short stories and the novel ‘Death in the Afternoon’ to extolling it’s supposed virtues as practised in Spain. In fact, he was famously quoted as saying that “auto racing, bullfighting and mountain climbing are the only real sports-all others are games”. The fact that this ‘sport’ always involved the bating and tormenting of a bull by a matador in the full view of a large number of spectators did not disturb Hemingway as he expressed an admiration for the ‘spiritual enjoyment of killing’ and praised the ‘nobility of the kill’ which although decadent was, he felt, an art form in every way. I have only been a witness to one such bullfight some years ago in Granada, in Spain and I must admit that I found the ‘sport’ totally devoid of any redeeming features and an exercise in cruel and sadistic manipulation of goaded and largely defenceless bull. I have to admit that I did not wait until the end; such was my sense of disgust at this cruel spectacle which had resulted in the death of at least five bulls before my departure from the spectator arena.
It was therefore with a great sense of relief that I witnessed a much more humane ‘sport’ in the United States of America where bulls are ridden at Rodeo shows and no harm at all befalls the bulls taking part. In fact, it is the bare back rodeo riders themselves who risk life and limb in trying to ride these bulls for even a full minute. I first witnessed one of these rodeo shows when visiting New York State many years ago but it was at the famous Cheyenne Frontier Days that I enjoyed the greatest spectacle of ‘western’ sporting activity. I first travelled to Cheyenne, Wyoming after finishing a business trip to Denver to enjoy a weekend break before returning home to Ireland.
Even Denver Airport itself is a fine gateway to lovely Colorado. I was hugely impressed by the airport’s main terminal building, which is rightly famous for its soaring white tepee style roofs which stand out as magnificent silhouettes in the surrounding landscape and seem to proudly announce the western context of the Colorado State itself. Denver city is a lovely mix of high rise and low rise buildings which nevertheless retain an essential human scale and ready accessibility. Like most American cities, Denver has a wealth of retail, cultural and historic sites but as an architect I really loved the Denver Arts Museum, designed by Daniel Libeskind, because its distinctive geometric shapes enclose and define a wonderful range of exhibition spaces showing the history of the American Indian in particular. The town of Boulder seemed to personify the charm and intimacy of a true American small town, where you can wander along pedestrianised streets and eat at lovely sidewalk cafes and restaurants. But the most unusual experience for me as foreign visitor was the Spectacular Cheyenne Frontier Days Celebration which seems to run for a full week each year.
Although I had time to spend only one day in Cheyenne, I witnessed a carefree carnival like atmosphere of relaxation and enjoyment with a full programme of horse riding, cattle roping and of course, bull riding. This was accompanied by a large range of exhibition areas including fun fare rides, an Indian village and of course, in the true American tradition, a vast eating complex containing every imaginable type of ‘light’ food snacks. I enjoyed my visit so much that I began to consider the possibility that I might return some day to try my hand as an ‘Irish’ bull riding cowhand. Although my good wife pointed out on my return that my advanced age and somewhat delicate knees might preclude such an eventuality, I have not as yet totally ruled it out.
I’m pleased to relate that my daughter Marina flew in specially to accompany me on my weekend visit when we drove a famous Ford Mustang car from Denver airport to reach Cheyenne. We both loved the Frontier Days Show as the photos accompanying this blog entry will testify. So if like me you would like to have enjoy a great opportunity to ‘get on your pony and ride’, you could do a lot worse than travel to Cheyenne and become a true cowboy for one day a least.
Shucks! As John Wayne used to say:’ A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do’. Hell! Yes!!
This blog post is mainly for family enjoyment and is set down as a treasured memento of the lovely time my daughter and I shared at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
It was therefore with a great sense of relief that I witnessed a much more humane ‘sport’ in the United States of America where bulls are ridden at Rodeo shows and no harm at all befalls the bulls taking part. In fact, it is the bare back rodeo riders themselves who risk life and limb in trying to ride these bulls for even a full minute. I first witnessed one of these rodeo shows when visiting New York State many years ago but it was at the famous Cheyenne Frontier Days that I enjoyed the greatest spectacle of ‘western’ sporting activity. I first travelled to Cheyenne, Wyoming after finishing a business trip to Denver to enjoy a weekend break before returning home to Ireland.
Even Denver Airport itself is a fine gateway to lovely Colorado. I was hugely impressed by the airport’s main terminal building, which is rightly famous for its soaring white tepee style roofs which stand out as magnificent silhouettes in the surrounding landscape and seem to proudly announce the western context of the Colorado State itself. Denver city is a lovely mix of high rise and low rise buildings which nevertheless retain an essential human scale and ready accessibility. Like most American cities, Denver has a wealth of retail, cultural and historic sites but as an architect I really loved the Denver Arts Museum, designed by Daniel Libeskind, because its distinctive geometric shapes enclose and define a wonderful range of exhibition spaces showing the history of the American Indian in particular. The town of Boulder seemed to personify the charm and intimacy of a true American small town, where you can wander along pedestrianised streets and eat at lovely sidewalk cafes and restaurants. But the most unusual experience for me as foreign visitor was the Spectacular Cheyenne Frontier Days Celebration which seems to run for a full week each year.
Although I had time to spend only one day in Cheyenne, I witnessed a carefree carnival like atmosphere of relaxation and enjoyment with a full programme of horse riding, cattle roping and of course, bull riding. This was accompanied by a large range of exhibition areas including fun fare rides, an Indian village and of course, in the true American tradition, a vast eating complex containing every imaginable type of ‘light’ food snacks. I enjoyed my visit so much that I began to consider the possibility that I might return some day to try my hand as an ‘Irish’ bull riding cowhand. Although my good wife pointed out on my return that my advanced age and somewhat delicate knees might preclude such an eventuality, I have not as yet totally ruled it out.
I’m pleased to relate that my daughter Marina flew in specially to accompany me on my weekend visit when we drove a famous Ford Mustang car from Denver airport to reach Cheyenne. We both loved the Frontier Days Show as the photos accompanying this blog entry will testify. So if like me you would like to have enjoy a great opportunity to ‘get on your pony and ride’, you could do a lot worse than travel to Cheyenne and become a true cowboy for one day a least.
Shucks! As John Wayne used to say:’ A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do’. Hell! Yes!!
This blog post is mainly for family enjoyment and is set down as a treasured memento of the lovely time my daughter and I shared at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
How can anybody not be ready for the 2011 Frontier Days.
ReplyDeleteGreat lineup --- Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, and the Charlie Daniels Band are just some of performers that will be in Cheyenne in July 2011. Cheyenne Frontier Days never get old. Love the Summer fun.
Cheyenne Frontier Days