Joanne, David and I were fortunate to have the chance to go to the Houston Rodeo last week – what a fantastic show.

It is staged in the Reliant Stadium, an indoor arena which seats 71,500 where the Houston Texans, the local NFL team, plays their games (i.e. Murrayfield stadium plus 4,000 seats indoors). The Houston Rodeo runs every day for 3½ weeks, involves a full livestock competition, a vast exhibition, and the show itself, and is attended by over 2 million visitors during that time. The event is organized by volunteers predominantly – over 23,000 – and it has raised over $125m for local charities since its inception. It is supported by a wide array of corporate sponsors, but the sponsorship was much more subtle compared to a lot of the sports sponsorship in the US.

The show started bang on time with the Opening Parade, and then proceeded through the whole gambit of rodeo events: Calf Roping; Bare-back riding; barrel racing; bull riding; etc.

The event highlights for me were:

·         Bull riding – incredible bravery of the cowboys to get on the back of a 4 ton enraged animal. After 6 attempts it was Bulls 6 Cowboys Nil. The seventh rider managed to stay on for the required 8 seconds, but was then catapulted 12 feet in the air dismounting with an inadvertent full back somersault. The bull was distracted by the Rodeo clowns before it had the chance to gore the rider. Spectacular!

·         Calf Scramble – 30 agricultural students lined up in the middle of the arena, and then 15 large calves were let loose in the arena. The point of the game is to catch, tether, and lead a calf back into the centre of the arena (size of a rugby pitch). A slightly more dangerous variation of musical chairs. There were some truly hilarious slapstick moments of students being dragged round the stadium by the calves – in a sort of Roman voyeuristic way. I hope the selection team members for the next cohort of Saltire Fellows don’t get any ideas.

·         Mutton Bustin – time to involve the kids! 5 & 6 year olds dressed in cowboy gear wearing visored helmets trying to ride fully grown sheep as far a possible – this is apparently the breeding ground of the future rodeo stars – I can fully believe it.

Overall the main highlight, with my major event organizing background, was the slick organisation of the Houston Rodeo. The transitions from one event to the next were seamless; the rendition of the US national anthem by the Rodeo Choir accompanied by a full ‘indoor” fireworks display was stunning; and there was a quiet confidence about every part of the event. With our concentration fixed on the last of the rodeo events, a huge stage was quietly towed out and erected in the middle of the arena, so that the 1 hour concert finale to close out the evening could start on the dot of 9pm as scheduled. The band finished bang on time at 10pm (more fireworks) as a large pick-up truck pulled up next to the stage to transport them out of the arena to great acclaim.

If you are ever in Houston in March - this event is a must-see. We had a hugely enjoyable evening, and we were able to witness event staging of the highest calibre – a well-oiled machine – I will certainly aspire to that level of organisational perfection. The cowboys that run this event have every reason to swagger, because they do an awesome job.