Paraiba Valley

PARAIBA VALLEY






Partial view of the mountainous areas of Vale do Paraiba.


The Paraíba Valley is a region that includes socio-economic part of the eastern state of Sao Paulo and the western state of Rio de Janeiro, and it stands out by concentrating a considerable share of the GDP of Brazil. The name is due to the fact that the region is the initial part of the watershed of the Paraíba do Sul should be noted that the name, strictly speaking, is commonly used only to refer to a region with certain social characteristics -economic, corresponding roughly to the upper river Paraíba do Sul, since this river also extends along almost the entire length of the state of Rio de Janeiro and separates part of the state of Minas Gerais. Generally, the term usually also include the northern coast of São Paulo, which is adjacent and closely linked.

Location

It is located on the banks of the Presidente Dutra highway (BR-116), exactly between the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, within the megalopolis formed by the two capitals and their main urban axis following the route of the Via Dutra. Although highly urbanized and industrialized, the region also has important natural reserves such as Mantiqueira Mountains on the border with Minas Gerais, which contains some of the highest mountains of Brazil, and Ridge, stronghold of the Atlantic that also includes small towns ranches and historic and architectural interest.


GUARATINGUETÁ



Guaratinguetá is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, located in the Paraíba Valley region, home to one of the micro and sub-regional centers of Brazil. His micro is in the process of urbanization and can be elevated to the Metropolitan Region. The city is one of the most important of the Paraíba Valley and is a tourist town, industrial and commercial.
Born in the city several celebrities such as Frei Galvão, the first Brazilian saint, Pasquale Cipro Neto, Portuguese language teacher, Dilermando Reis, musician and guitarist, Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil, Euclides de Jesus Zerbini, cardiologist and pioneer in heart transplantation in Brazil.
In the land of Guaratinguetá was found the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida, the site gave rise to today's city of Aparecida. It is known in the region by the traditional celebration of Carnival, the city initiated by the Portuguese tradition of Shrovetide. Currently the city has samba school parades and block canavalescos.

Overview


Street in downtown Guaratinguetá.

Guaratinguetá is an important center for commerce and services in the region from the bottom of the Paraíba Valley, attracting people from neighboring counties and in southern Minas Gerais. It is also the second best economy and one of the largest cities in the region with respect to the population. Furthermore, it has the best index of income distribution in your area and low crime rates. Stands out, too, for being one of the most industrialized in their region, and for having been a pioneer in this economic activity. It houses the largest chemical complex in Latin America, BASF. In addition to the chemical industries, the most important industries in the municipality of sectors: textiles, food, dairy products and metal-mechanic. Although the industry to highlight the city, it is not the industry that employs more in the city. The sector of trade and services is what generates the greatest amount of jobs for the population. The city gained prominence for being an important tourist spot of a religious character, along with the neighboring city of Aparecida. Together handle a large number of tourists during the year. Guaratinguetá, along with its neighboring municipalities and Aparecida Cachoeira Paulista, developed the Circle of Faith, in order to expand its tourism industry Tourism also has been diversifying over time, the city today, also offers tours Urban Historic and EcológicosÉ differentiated by its rich history, has been in the past, called the Athens of the Paraíba Valley because of its important social and cultural weight, mainly exercised in the period 1920 to 1960. The council after the installation of the Normal School in the 1920s, began to attract teachers and students from various regions and the state of Minas Gerais, which generated a large growth of art spaces, cultural and social in the city.] has several representatives in branches of painting, poetry and especially music. It was one of the major coffee producing districts, and has been a major dairy regions of the country. She also has many mansions of colonial times, which contrast with the buildings and homes today. Your city has virtually every urban area in the plains, being cut in some neighborhoods by hills and mountains. The main river that cuts the city, the river Paraíba do Sul, has been responsible for disposing of coffee production in earlier times, today only serves to draw the political boundaries and administrative.
The city is intersected by the President Dutra Highway, which is responsible for economic recovery around the Paraíba Valley, is also cut by highways as SP-171, which connects the city of Guaratinguetá Cunha, SP-62, which connects the town to Lorena , BR-459, from Lorena, linking the city to the south of Minas Gerais, among others.

Etymology



Monument of the Three Herons.

Of indigenous origin, in Tupi-Guarani Guaratinguetá means "Land of White Herons (maned = heron, white and tinga = eta = very).] Many confuse the meaning of the name to" Meeting of White Herons, "what's wrong . It was named for the great quantity of herons in all fields of the county. Guaratinguetá, better known as "Guara", is also easily confused with the city of Guara in northern Sao Paulo.

Nicknames
Guaratinguetá during its 378 years of existence, has received several nicknames, some as:

• Capital of the valley bottom
As it is called in your area for being an important commercial and industrial hub, supplying commercially neighboring counties and the southern mines. In addition the city is one of the region's largest both in population and in economic importance. The high social indicator also contributed to this title.

• Athens the Vale do Paraíba

Was the title given to the municipality being 1920 and 1960 mainly because of the installation of the Normal School, then a few of the interior of Brazil. With that other educational institutions have settled in the city, bringing teachers and students to the county. Another factor that influenced this nickname was a lot of cultural events that existed then as the Literary Club, the serenades, cabarets, the Social Centre, the Guild House, the Hippodrome, theaters and cinemas.

• Culture

It's like Guaratinguetá is known by many. Being the oldest city of the Paraíba Valley and home to many artistic personalities such as kings and Dilermando Bonfiglio de Oliveira, Guaratinguetá is considered the richest city in culture in the region, so it got its nickname:
.-Guara
As the name of the city is great: Guaratinguetá, to make it easier to talk, residents and visitors preferred to speak only maned, which often causes confusion with the city of Guara, northeast of Sao Paulo.

-Crane Valley
Heron Valley is the nickname given by the municipality of Guaratinguetá lot of white herons in the city. Today that name is also connected to the city football team which earned the nickname of the city: The Crane Valley.

History

Since the beginning of its settlement in 1600, had Guaratinguetá in its territory a large number of herons that marked the landscape. The Indians dominated the land in the municipality until the arrival of whites, they come to town in 1628 by donating to Jacques Felix and his sons, of land in the Vale do Paraíba. Around the old chapel of St. Anthony's Cathedral in the city today, is that developed the town of Guaratingueta. In the year 1651, the Village was raised by Captain Luiz Domingos Leme., Guaratinguetá became one of the main towns of the Province of São Paulo.


.


Museum Frei Galvão.

In 1914, the city began its industrialization process, with the founding of the "Company Factory Blankets and Spinning and Textiles Guaratinguetá. Six years later, Monsignor Filippo, founding the "Union of Catholic Workers," and even the "Company Workers Guaratinguetá.
From 50 years, industrial activity grows in Guaratinguetá with the opening of the President Dutra Highway in 1951 and the arrival of mining families, coming from Mantiqueira, old farms turned into cattle ranches. In the city's industrial park, along with the dairy industry, spinning and weaving, develop industries chemicals, heavy machinery, paper, among others.
In the educational area, arriving in the city SENAC "Nelson Mathídios Antonio dos Santos," the FATEC (Technological University), is the creation of the Museum Frei Galvão "and
"Museum Rodrigues Alves. " Also in this decade is created School of Aviation Specialists, giving great impetus to the city's economy.

XXI Century

At the beginning of the century, with the canonization of Frei Galvão in 2007, tourism began to increase in the county.






From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Hi Solange,

As promised, I was able to get out and take some photos of the flowers around my house while we had a little sunshine today! Yesterday we had so much rain my backyard flooded. It looks like a pond (a little lake).

But we know that the rain is needed to encourage the flowers to begin to grow and bloom. Last autumn (fall) before the winter snow started, I planted a lot of early spring perennials we call daffodils. They need to be planted in the fall so that they can be cold set by the winter weather. That is why spring is called the season of hope...because a gardener has to have faith and hope when he/she plants things in the cold hard ground just before winter. When spring arrives we are rewarded with the most beautiful blooms! Mine are just getting started.  

This is the front yard of my house. It is in the shade for most of the day except for early morning. Everything is a little droopy because of the force of the rain we had yesterday. We even had hail!!!! You can see the daffodils (yellow flowers),the hyacinth (blue flowers) and I don't really know what the purple flowers are...but I will find out! 

 
These are views looking at my house from the back yard. Things are just starting to bud-out" now that there has been a lot of rain and a little sunshine!

This pretty yellow flowering bush is called forsythia. It will soon be a bushy green when the flowers fall off later this spring.

Paraiba Valley

Partial view of the mountainous areas of Vale do Paraiba.

Hey Solange...Is this near Guaratinguetá? It is lovely!

I will help you post the information you sent me in your email. You were able to post one of the pictures so I am sure you will be able to do more with a little help!

The Iditarod - An Amazing Race!

What is the Iditarod?

Iditarod is a magical word not only in Alaska, but also in the US nation and in many other parts of the world. It is a word that raises a variety of images and emotions in different people. To the oldest Alaskan Natives, it recalls the approximate name of a 19th century Inuit (Athabaskan) village on a small river now also called Iditarod. To "Sourdoughs" and others familiar with the State's history, Iditarod refers to a now-abandoned Gold Rush town and its associated mining district in south-central Alaska. To the historian, Iditarod refers to the 1910 Seward-to-Nome mail trail surveyed and cleared by the U.S. Army's Alaska Road Commission. Today the name Iditarod, above all in the National and International recognition, symbolizes the dramatic, long distance sled dog race between Anchorage and Nome held each March since 1973.

 Nome & Iditarod History
Nome was an important town during the Yukon Gold Rush (1896-1906).

 


Nome, Alaska in 1907

Nome, Alaska in 2010

In 1900, from January to May, 2,000 miners went down the Yukon to Nome, and ships sailed from Seattle for the Nome gold beaches with up to 20,000 passengers on board. Throughout the summer of 1900, thousands descended on the Nome beaches to dig for gold in the sand. 

Gold miner panning 
for gold

Miner with his pack dog

From 1901 through 1904, big things happened in Alaska and in Seattle. In 1908, the Alaska Road Commission began an effort to open an overland route from Seward to Nome. This overland route, called the Iditarod Trail, was completed in 1911 by hardy crews working through bitter minus 50⁰F (-46⁰C) winter temperatures. Within a year of its completion, thousands of gold-seekers hiked or “mushed” along this government trail to the Iditarod gold fields, and gold-carrying sled-dog teams became a regular sight along the trail.

From November to July, Nome is icebound and inaccessible by ship. The only link to the rest of the world during the winter was the Iditarod Trail. This trail begins in the city of Seward in the south and runs 938 miles (1,510 km) north across several mountain ranges and the vast Alaska interior before reaching Nome, in the north.

In 1925, an epidemic of diphtheria had broken out in this gold rush city. The townsfolk were greatly concerned because there was not an adequate supply of antitoxin serum to treat the infected children. Unless some additional medicine could be found and transported to Nome, many would die. 
 

Dr. Curtis Welch, Nome’s only doctor, frantically telegraphed Fairbanks, Anchorage, Seward and Juneau asking for help in getting the medicine. Anchorage responded that they had enough serum. However, once the doctor located the serum, he had to figure out a way to transport it to Nome in the shortest time possible. It was not an easy task to get things to Nome rapidly in mid-January! Nome was extremely remote. Even though it was located on the coast, the sea was frozen eight months of the year and there was no access by boat. There were no railroads or conventional roads linking the small community to the rest of the state. The few airplanes located in Anchorage were unavailable to fly. The only means of getting the serum to the dying children was by dog team. Weather permitting, sled-dogs were dependable, but they typically travel only six miles (9.6 kilometers) per hour.

Once they decided to use the dogs teams, the serum was packed into an insulated container and sent as far as it could go by train, to the end of the line in Nenana, but there was still another 674 (1078 kilometers) miles to Nome. It normally took a single musher an entire month to cover that stretch of trail. To speed up the delivery, they decided to organize a relay team of mushers. The first musher took the insulated cylinder serum 52 miles where he passed the life saving cargo to a second musher who then traveled thirty-one miles before handing off the cylinder to yet another musher. From musher to musher the relay continued until a total of twenty sled dog drivers and their teams cooperated to get the medicine to Nome despite brutal weather conditions of blinding snow and temperatures as low as -64⁰F (-53⁰C). The serum arrived in Nome at 5:40am on February 2, 1925 barely a week after leaving Anchorage. 

The Last Great Race on Earth
Today, the Iditarod, now in its 32nd year, commemorates this 674-mile relay race from Nenana to Nome. You can’t compare it to any other competitive event in the world! A race over 1150 miles of the roughest, most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. She throws jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast at the mushers and their dog teams. Add to that the temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod. A race extraordinaire; a race only possible in Alaska!

Iditarod History / The Beginning

The idea of having a race over the Iditarod Trail was conceived by the late Dorothy G. Page. In 1964, Page was chairman of a committee working on projects to celebrate Alaska’s Centennial Year in 1967. She was intrigued that dog teams could travel over land that was not accessible by automobile. She recognized the importance of an awareness of the use of sled dogs as working animals and of the Iditarod Trail and the important part it played in Alaska’s colorful history. She presented the possibility of a race over the Iditarod Trail to other enthusiastic mushers in the area. The Aurora Dog Mushers Club, along with men from the Adult Camp in Sutton helped clear years of over-growth from the first nine miles of the Iditarod Trail in time to put on the first short 27-mile (43 kilometers) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1967. Contestants from all over Alaska and even two contestants from Massachusetts entered that first Iditarod Race, but a newcomer, Isaac Okleasik, from Teller, Alaska, won the race with his team of large working dogs. The short race was put on again in 1969.

The US Army cleared and reopened the trail as a winter exercise in 1973, and the decision was made to take the race the 1,000 plus miles to Nome. Redington and Page were instrumental in getting the first long Iditarod on its way to Nome in 1973, in spite of comments that it couldn’t be done. There were many who believed it was crazy to send a bunch of mushers out into the vast uninhabited Alaskan wilderness. But the race was on! Twenty-two mushers finished that year. To date, there have been over 400 finishers. Mushers have come from Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Japan, Austria, Australia, Sweden and the Soviet Union as well as from about 20 different states in this country.

Know as the “Mother of the Iditarod,” the late Dorothy G. Page once stated that, “To keep the spirit of the Iditarod the same. I don’t ever want to see high pressure people getting in and changing the spirit of the race. We brought the sled dog back and increased the number of mushers. It is really an Alaskan event. I think the fact that it starts in Anchorage and then ends in Nome has opened up a whole new area for people in Alaska. I think they appreciate that. It puts them in touch with the pioneer spirit.”

Next Week --- The Iditarod Today

The History of the Canadian Eskimo Dog

The Canadian Eskimo Dog is one of the five indigenous dogs that Canada is proud to call their own. About 2000 years ago, the Arctic regions of Canada became home to the Thule culture of Inuit people. The first Canadian Eskimo Dogs were called “Qimmiq” (which simply means dog) by the Inuit.

The land was cohabited by the Inuit and their dogs. The dogs were an important and vital part of life. These dogs were extremely versatile, used for transportation, hauling sleds and packing. They also assist in hunting. They were capable of locating seal breathing holes. They served as a protector by attacking and holding musk ox and polar bears at bay. The dogs were a vital part in everyday survival of the Inuit people and their families. 

This breed has survived in the harshest terrain in the world. A Canadian Eskimo Dog can pull twice its weight through the harshest weather and terrain with very little nourishment. This is why this dog was in high demand in the early 1900’s as the dog of choice for expedition use. These dutiful dogs have stood at both north and south poles, serving nearly all the famous explorers of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. With such a rich and proud history, they have been commemorated by appearing on postage stamps and coins.

In the 1950’s it was estimated that 20,000 Canadian Eskimo Dogs lived in Canada’s North. Later, the introduction of new inventions like the snowmobile gained popularity, Canadian Eskimo Dogs quickly started to vanish. Other breeds of dogs came to Canada’s north, carrying many diseases and illnesses.  The Canadian Eskimo Dog had never been exposed to these diseases. Many died and many crossbred with other breeds.

 

In 1970, the Canadian Eskimo Dog was on the verge of extinction with an estimated 200 pure dogs left in the North. In 1972, a project was initiated to try to save the breed and re-establish its numbers. William Carpenter and John McGrath with assistance from the Canadian Kennel Club and the Canadian Government began the Canadian Eskimo Dog Research Foundation Kennel Club. In 1986, the first dogs from this project were registered with the Canadian Kennel Club. The collaborated efforts were instrumental in creating the foundation stock of the registered breed. Unfortunately, the number of pure Canadian Eskimo Dogs in existence is still dangerously low. There are only 279 registered Canadian Eskimo Dogs in existence today.

Information courtesy of http://www.canadianeskimodog.com/history.htm

Native Americans: The Inuit of the Artic

   

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples. In North American, they are often also referred to as Native Americans, Aboriginals,  First Nations, and (by Christopher Columbus' geographic mistake) Indians, later called Red Indians and by unique tribal identifications (Algonquin, Sioux, Cherokee, Navajo, etc.). Native American peoples are located throughout the United States.

Hawaiian and Alaskan indigenous peoples are also considered Native Americans. Native Americans are a diverse and culturally rich. There are 562 tribes officially recognized by the federal government. With about 4.5 million individuals who self-identify as having American Indian, Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian ancestry. Each group has its own language and social customs.

The Inuit (The People) 

One of these Native American groups is called The Inuit. The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Artic regions of Canada, Greenland, Siberia and Alaska. Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language. An Inuk is an Inuit person. The Inuit language is grouped under Eskimo-Aleut languages.

The Land of the Inuits

The Inuit have lived in the Arctic for thousands of years. Some areas formerly occupied by the Inuit are no longer inhabited. The lands where the Inuit live is cold and harsh.  They have long cold winters and short, cool summers. There is a lot of snow.  On the average there are between 15 and 90 inches of snow each year.  The snow doesn't melt until spring, and winter storms can force people to remain inside for days at a time. 

Inuit Territory

Inuit Travel

For transportation Inuits use kayaks, umiaks, snowshoes and dogsleds.

The kayak is a boat that can carry only one person. It is quiet for hunting. It is small and covered in seal skins. Around the edge it was slightly raised so the passenger could fasten his coat to the rim. This way the man and the boat could be one water proof unit. The kayak’s paddle is a long stick which has a paddle on each side. 

The umiak is a larger and more open boat.  It is covered with animal skins. It was made to carry large loads: an entire family or a two-ton load of blubber. The normal length of a amok was 35-40 feet. But for its size it was quite light, light enough for two men to carry.  

The best known transportation was the komatik or dogsled. The komatik has a light but sturdy frame on runners with reins. The reins are hitched up to six or so huskies.

Snowshoes are racket-shaped platforms which have leather straps across the frame which tie on your feet.

Kayak

Dogsled / Komatik

                                       

Umiak

Inuit Houses

The word igloo actually means any type of house, not just a snow house. The snow-block house that we usually think of when we hear igloo was not used by all Inuits.  There were no snow-block houses in Alaska.  The Alaskan Inuits lived cabins made from driftwood and covered with soil.

To make an igloo, hard-packed snow was cut into blocks with a long knife made of bone, ivory, or metal. A man could build an  igloo in an hour. In the igloo, Inuit slept on a low snow platform covered with twigs and caribou furs. Each igloo had a skylight made of freshwater ice. When summer arrived the igloo melted, and the family had to move into tents made of animal skins.

 

Inuit Food

The Inuit people hunt for their food.  They eat primarily fish, sea mammals and a few land mammals. They hunt seals, especially, the ring seal.  Inuit know a great deal about how seals live.  They also know about ice that covers the sea in the winter.  They know where to go on that ice to find the seals.

 

The Inuit people hunt seals during winter through the frozen ocean ice. Seals are mammals and must breathe. Seals scratch a holes through the ice as it begins to freeze.  Seals come back to these holes for air. The Inuit hunter stood with a poised harpoon over these breathing holes, waiting for the seal to surface. Often the hunter had to stand this way for several hours in the bitter cold.  Harpoons are still used, though rifles are also used..

In the spring and summer, when the ices melts, seals are hunted from boats called kayaks.  The kayak holds only one hunter.  It  is covered all over with sealskin or caribou skin. The hunter sits in it, dressed in tight-fitting waterproof clothing made from seal or walrus intestine. The kayak moves silently through the water.  The hunter can get very close to seals without being heard. 

Hunter in kayak 
with harpoon

Caribou

Caribou are also hunted for food, as well as for their skins for clothing and antlers for tools. 

Inuit Clothing

Only fur clothing was warm enough in such a cold place.  The Inuit preferred the fur of the caribou, though they sometimes used fur of other animals such as seals and polar bear.

Clothing consisted of coat, trousers, stockings, shoes or boots.  In very cold weather two of each garment were worn.  The inner one had the fur against the skin, the outer one had the fur outside.  

One Inuit garment, the hooded coat called the parka, has been adopted by skiers and others who spend time in the cold. An atiqik is a Inuit parka made with goose down. 

 

Boots are called kamiks.  They are made from sealskin because it lasts long, is warm,  and isn't hurt when it gets wet. 

Kamiks

FAMILY & WORK

Men and women do different things.  Men are the hunters and home builders, while women preparethe food, work on skins and make the clothing.  Men and women need each other.  Every Inuit gets married.  Inuit are fond of children and orphans live with relatives and are well treated.  In a land where there were no vegetable foods or roads, a mother nurses her children and carries them everywhere on her back until they are 3 years old.

Information courtesy of http://www.ih.k12.oh.us/ps/Inuit/Maininuit.htm



 

This week, I'd like to blog about the eleven companions I have living with me at my house. They came from many different places. I rescued my two dogs from high-kill animal shelters and my cats came from many different litters and feral cat colonies. Below you will find their pictures. I have listed them from the oldest to the youngest in the chronological order they entered my life along with a brief bio about each of them.

 
Stinker is the feline friend that I have had the longest. She is a twelve-year old black Manx Cat. A Manx is a tailless cat that originated on the Isle of Man off the coast of England. I rescued her from a garbage pile in 1998. She had lost almost all her hair because she was allergic to fleas; but after a visit to the vet and a thorough flea treatment, she became a friend for life.

Cleo is an American Bobtail cat. She is seventeen years old and weighs about 15 pounds. She is a regal looking cat with long hair. She came to me in 2001 from a rescue group that kept rescued cats in foster homes until the right family was found to adopt them. Both Cleo and Stinks sleep with me at night.

 

Sweet Pea is a three year old mixed-breed dog. I adopted her in 2008 from a high-kill shelter in another state. She is part Rat Terrier and part Chihuahua so she is a small dog. She is very energetic! She grew up with cats, so she is very friendly and gentle with them.

Tubbs taking a nap!

In the summer of 2009, I found a little 6-week old, long-haired, white and gray kitten in my yard. The little thing had no hair on his tail. He looked like a fuzzy little rat! He came from a litter of kittens in the feral cat colony that live in the house next door. He was fat and happy so I named him Tubbs! 

 

 
Not long after, I decided that Tubbs needed a playmate. The two older cats, Stinks and Cleo, were too old to play with him. I didn't think that a kitten should be alone. That summer was the summer of kittens because Tubbs got three more playmates:

Houdini  - Jumping Jack Flash - Baby Girl

Houdini (my little escape artist!)

Having four kittens all under the age of 6-months really kept my house in chaos! Cats, especially young ones, are very curious creatures and get into EVERYTHING!

Sweetie loved playing with them, but as she got bigger, she was too rough when she played with them. She really needed a canine companion to play with.

Another dog of her size and with lots of energy is what we needed. I began looking for another dog that would be a good match for her. It also had to be a dog that was OK around cats. It wouldn't be a good idea to have a dog that didn't like cats join the menagerie! I looked and looked for a small dog with the right personality. Finally, last year at the end of the summer, I found one. His name is Beauregard. Beauregard is a two year old, wire-haired Jack Russell Terrier.

Beauregard  

(My bouncing Bo-Bo!)

This past summer, I got the urge to add one last kitten to my menagerie. I specifically wanted another Manx cat. I looked and looked and finally found two sisters that were litter-mates.

One sister is a short-haired, black and white, tuxedo rumpy named Rumpy, and the other sister is very different. She is a long-haired, solid black (except for a small white dot on her chest), stumpy named Stumpy!

Stumpy

Rumpy

All About Rodeos !

What is a Rodeo?

By Joseph Stutzman

Rodeo is a popular sport in the United States that aims to showcase the skills and speed of the cowboys and cowgirls to participate in the events, which usually involves horses and other livestock. The sport is derived from the working practices of cattle herders in the US, Canada, Australia, and South America.

Today's modern rodeos typically take place in an indoor or outdoor fenced dirt arena that contains bucking chutes and roping chutes at either end. Most rodeo champions receive rewards in the form of prize money along with a rodeo belt buckle, which is one of the most recognized trophies in the world. Other rodeos give out prizes in the form of horse trailers, hand-tooled saddles, and vehicles.

There are many different types of rodeo events. Each event features its own rules, rewards, and styles. Standard events in most rodeos include bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc, tie-down roping, barrel racing, and bull riding. Bareback riding, saddle bronc, and bull riding care considered roughstock judged events, while steer wrestling, barrel racing, tie-down roping, and team roping are considered timed events.

<  Bareback Riding

  

Bull Riding  >

  

<   Steer Wrestling

Team Roping  >

  

 <  Tie-down Roping

   (also called calf roping)

 

Barrel Racing  >

Roughstock events are dangerous events that often draw the largest crowds. Competitors compete against one another in these types of events. Each competitor ride is called a go-round. The horses and bulls that are involved in these events are usually brought into the arena only once each day, but some competitors can ride them more than once. Prizes are given out for each go-round and for an overall winner. To score in a roughstock event, the competitor must use only one hand to ride the animal. Scores range from 1 to 25 points for the cowboy and 1 to 25 points for the animal for a maximum possible score of 100 points. In contrast, timed events are scored only by the lowest time.

The rodeo can be a fun spectator event for the whole family to enjoy.

Here are links to some interesting information and videos about rodeos. 

They Call This Thing Rodeo

So you think Barrel Racing is Easy? Think again!

A tip of the hat to the vaqueros

Brazilian Rodeo a Mix of Moos and Music
What is a Rodeo Clown?