As a horse lover, I had never been to the Saint-Tite Western Festival. I come from classical riding, and my favorite disciplines involve obstacle courses. However, at the front of a western saddle, there is a pommel. You don’t jump with a pommel; it’s in the way and is used to wind a lasso.
Don’t tell the cowboys, but I always thought their saddle was a big La-Z-Boy, and I often thought their hats were just for show, and other than protecting them from the sun, they didn’t protect them from much. I think back to my worst falls on horseback and prefer not to imagine what would have happened if I had worn a cowboy hat instead of a bomb.
It was literature that brought me to Saint-Tite, where crime writer Guillaume Morrissette has been running a literary kiosk under the big top on Place des Marchands for the past two years. Signing books on a barrel, wearing a fringed shirt, was a great pleasure for me. Until then, I had watched the cowboys with a little mocking smile, wondering if they too waltzed with danger and fear… I had never attended a rodeo before.
During the 56e edition of the Western Festival, which took place from September 6 to 15, the boots of more than 700,000 tender feet trod the streets of a village where, in normal times, nearly 4,000 souls live peaceful days.
As soon as I arrived on site, first of all, despite the excitement that was taking over me and the surrounding frenzy, it was important for me to take a moment to go and see the animals up close, their state of health and their living conditions: the rest of my weekend depended on it.
Set up behind the trailer and RV campground, in the heights of a field that looks like a small meadow, the animals were fine, peaceful and safe. I saw horses, bulls, steers and calves there, dazzlingly beautiful, with lively eyes. Bronco type or bucking horserodeo horses are naturally gifted at bucking. In the various disciplines presented at a rodeo (barrel racing, rider swapping, pony expressrescue racing, horse riding with and without saddle), the animals perform in disciplines that play to the strengths of their breed. Bucking means “to kick,” an instinctive characteristic that allows the horse to protect itself from predators, and a superpower that the foal acquires very quickly.
I, who believed that rodeo horses kicked because a strap was tightening them in an unpleasant place and that they stiffened in discomfort to try to get rid of it, understood pretty quickly that I was in the field. These sublime animals, with varied coats, very solid constitution, well fed and healthy kick because in addition to having this natural disposition, they are trained by encouraging them to do so. When they participate in a rodeo, they are playing, are aware of the spectacle. Their ears are straight forward, and not laid back (as when a horse is upset or feels threatened). They stop when the bell rings, announcing the end of the eight seconds that the rider mounts the horse, if he manages to stay in place.
I visited the place where veterinary tests, lameness checks and cortisol levels are done, like in equestrian competitions. I needed to inquire about these things, to see them with my own eyes and understand how they work. If this is also your case, know that these visits are open to the public.
Nearly 7,000 spectators take their places in the stands to watch the rodeo, an extreme and spectacular sporting event. There is music, a bit of pyrotechnics, and entertainers to explain what is happening. It is a ritual, a ceremony, with riders galloping and waving flags at the beginning. A singer sings the patriotic hymns of the cowboys who, gathered in a circle in the center of the arena before their performance, have removed their hats. Then, the cowboy prayer is recited in monastic silence while horses and bulls are gathered in the pens around the stadium.
Scarlet red a few seconds before his performance, a first cowboy ties his hand to the saddle as tightly as he can. The other hand must remain in the air. Several will be thrown from the animal’s back before the end of the eight regulation seconds; the others manage to extricate themselves from there by gripping as best they can the hindquarters of the mount of one of the two backup riders, always present in the arena. They are the ones who impressed me the most. Twins who, for several decades, have been moderating the intensity of the moment by escorting the horse towards the exit, by providing assistance to the cowboys, most of whom leave limping.
I saw three rodeos during my weekend in Saint-Tite. It’s frenetic, captivating, with no downtime. The only moment I didn’t enjoy was the calf roping, a discipline that is set to evolve, which was held at the last rodeo on Sunday, only during the grand finale. Cowboys who practice it should take a page from the way cowgirls do it: they simply lasso a runaway calf without stopping its run, while men go so far as to tie its legs together (they are untied in the next second).
It is not necessary to go that far; what matters is the demonstration of agility in the lasso. We do not care about the ability to tie, it is not impressive. Yes, there are women. In the horse environment, there are always some. And in rodeos, they supplant their counterparts in the speed disciplines because, being lighter, they slow down their mounts less.
I return from Saint-Tite with a full heart, on a big highand I can’t wait to go back. There’s a reason why this festival is so popular: it touches our roots. We put on a hat, boots, a fringed shirt. We ignore social classes and political allegiances… We go through the looking glass. This festival is our carnival, for us North Americans.