Last night, we went to see a Costa Rican rodeo/bull riding. It was the craziest thing we've ever seen, the pictures really don't do it justice!! I'm starting to like the Tico way of life: here you're responsible for yourself, there aren't a lot of laws, police etc to save you if you do something stupid. There's no one to sue if you hurt yourself on a carnival ride or fall off rickety wooden bleachers or even if the fireworks show burns down the rickety wooden bleachers. You do everything at your own risk. Like this carnival ride Mark got on with no seatbelts or anything, you just got on and held on while it spun around and tried to bump you off! During one ride, a kid was standing up in the middle. It was hilarious watching them bounce around and try not to let go!
This is the rodeo arena. The stands are built out of rough wood and teak trees, then people stand underneath - don't think they would hold up to OSHA standards :) There weren't any hand rails, but every time a woman went up, all the men got up and helped them get up there without falling off the edge. So then there's the bull riding, I don't even know how to explain it. A bunch of guys (we call them big dummies) get into to ring and try to outrun the bull while the guy is riding it. Just watch and see if you think they're big dummies....
See?! Sometimes, they let a bull out without a rider just to chase them around for awhile. They act all brave until the bull looks at them, then they either climb up the fence or crawl underneath! Here's a video of a cowboy riding, they ride with both hands in the rigging and it looks like they spend the whole time just trying to get their hands out!
When he gets bucked off, they just let the bull chase the big dummies around for awhile before the cowboys come in and rope it and put it back in the chute. If the rider gets knocked out or injured (which is pretty often), a group of the big dummies run over to him, grab him up and take him to the medical window and shove him in!
No paramedics, no backboard or neck brace, they just grab them and stick them in the window!
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