Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Only in Texas!

Most kids get papers from their schools about Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Soccer, Baseball, etc. Well, here in Texas we get all of those papers and then some! We get Mutton Bustin. What is Mutton Bustin, you ask? Well, the flyer has a picture of a sheep on it and it says this:

Stock Show and Rodeo!

Dear Parents,

Once again it's Mutton Busting time. This event is scheduled for every performance of the Rodeo. We will select two children to be contestants by drawing names. Your child must be 5 to 8 years old and not weigh more than 50 lbs. Entry deadline ... etc, etc, etc


This is from wikipedia.com:


Mutton busting is an event held at rodeos similar to bull riding or bronc riding. In the event, a sheep will be caught and held still while a child is placed on top in a riding position. Once the child is seated atop the sheep, the people holding the sheep let go and the sheep then starts to run in an attempt to get the child off. Often small prizes or ribbons are given out to the child who can stay on the longest.
The children are on occasion injured by the sheep. Parents are often asked to sign waivers to protect the rodeo from legal action in that event. Anti-rodeo groups such as SHARK
describe the practice as child abuse. Organizations such as the ASPCA also discourage the practice on the grounds that it does not promote kindness or respect of animals.
Yup, only in Texas folks. Only in Texas!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So does Kenny want to enter his name in the drawing?! Think scrapbooks and future blogs! Mandy

Amy said...

You know I considered it! But he weighs about 52 lb. Chase said I should put him on a diet just so that I can enter him!!

Anonymous said...

Or you could cut his hair! :-) Those darn Mutton Bustin' weight limits!

Amy said...

We made him go weigh-in and he is 58.5 lb now. I know he has a lot of hair, but not 8.5 pounds!!!