April 8, 2025

Dubious Choices
Sells, Arizona
2025

Bronc riders choose that even knowing that they are probably quite often going to be thrown violently onto the ground by an unappreciative mount. Steer wrestlers on the other hand choose to intentionally throw themselves from their horse, counting on a steer (hopefully not its horns) to break their fall. Me, I wouldn’t choose either, even if I were still young and stupid. (Being old and stupid comes with a bit more caution in most cases.) Once in my twenties I jumped on the back of a larger donkey thinking it would be docile enough to ride bareback. He immediately advised me otherwise and I found myself dumped on the ground. Even after all these years, I still remember how much that hurt. If I had any ideas about how exciting it might be to participating in rodeo events (which I didn’t), that fall would have taken care of any such notions.