A date with the devil

We had the Muster today. It was good, not great. I did however get to see a sheep be sheared for the first time up close. I think the wizened old shearer thought he was a bit of alright when I happily sat there taking photographs!

All was going fine, we were wandering around, chatting with friends, until we saw the bull riding. That's when things took a turn for the worse. Hubby with all his bravado decided he wanted a date with the devil.

It was a really tense moment when hubby first walked over to the arena and saw him. The bull. Eyes locked. Who was going to look away first? It was a battle of wills. That mean looking bull had terrifying black beady eyes, his nostrils were flared and I swear the sun glinted off his frighteningly sharp horns. The bull stood his ground but hubby was going to be undeterred. He was going to ride that monster no matter what.

The crowd looked on in tense anticipation. Hubby took a quick look above and crossed himself. Pulled down his hat tight. Took one look back at me. And then strode over to the bull.

A stunned hush went around the crowd. I’m sure they wanted to see blood today. Hubby was just mere entertainment to them. But what about me? I cared. I didn’t want him to be gored or stampled and come back to me a mangled mess of broken bones.

He gently, ever so carefully lowered himself down and gripped those reins like there was no tomorrow and rode that monster without fear for a full 8 seconds.

The pictures are terrifying, so look away now if you must.