Opinion: Pearl of the Panhandle shines again

Every now and then, all communities – large and small – benefit from copious infusions of bright, frisky All-American youth. Clarendon College delivered just such an infusion last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

Thanks to creative administration, faculty, staff, and students, Clarendon College once again blessed this community and region with a superlative college rodeo competition, better known as the Clarendon College Stampede. If you weren’t there, you missed a wonderful opportunity to watch America’s youth at their best, competing for personal and institutional glory.

Late last Wednesday, and early into Thursday morning, you may have noticed that beautiful downtown Donley County began filling up with pick-ups, horse trailers, and a cornucopia of college kids, enthusiastically spending their money at our local businesses. There were hundreds of them, dressed to the nines in Western wear, and eagerly looking forward to competition and excitement – ‘twas a lovely sight indeed.

They represented 16 colleges and universities from Texas and New Mexico. Watching these college kids going about their business with determination and spunk renewed my faith in America’s future. My generation may be jaundiced and jaded, but folks, many of our young people are bubbling over with optimism and the can-do spirit that made this country great. Their promise runs deep.

When the rodeo actually started, and the competition turned serious, these young people exhibited the character, self-discipline, and determination needed to lead this great nation into a prosperous and long-term revitalization.

Watching them competing against each other and the rodeo stock provided by Bad Company Rodeo was an entertaining reaffirmation of all that is good in rural America. I continue to believe that rural America is the primary keeper of our most precious traditional democratic values. Values like hard work, self-sufficiency, responsibility, and determination were on full display during the various competitions. I don’t really care who the individual winners of each event were. To me, they were all winners simply because they chose to dedicate themselves to being the best they could be during the hard fought competition.

The bucking horses, for the most part, were majestic and gave the riders all they could handle. The young bulls, as pesky and ill-tempered as my ex-wives, were quick to shed their riders and send them frantically scrambling for safety. I can only imagine the courage needed to voluntarily sit astride 1,000 pounds of meanness, massive muscles, and menacing horns. Even the pick-up horses looked askance upon the young bulls and did their best to stay out of their way when it was necessary to help the contestants safely get off the backs of the furious beasts.

The barrel racers were easily the most graceful contestants. With braided manes and tails, and fully adorned with plenty of bling, the horses made a fashion statement of their own as they responded to the commands of their nubile riders, riding hell-bent for glory.

Perhaps the most unusual event, excepting the double mugging – in which the contestants generally had the crap beat out of them by the stock, was the goat tying. What in the world were those tiny little goats thinking as those huge steeds bore down on them at full speed, only to veer away at the last minute? Then the agile young riders jumped off their steeds, using Newton’s laws of physics to accelerate as they ran towards the goats, sometimes biting the dust, sometimes busting their bums. Anyway, when the young women finally got to the startled little goats, they commenced to pick them up, slam them down onto their backs, and vigorously tie their feet together.

I’m fairly certain that the little goats were not willing participants in this event. While observing the goats being led to their holding pen for the event, and exhibiting the characteristics the crack journalist that I aspire to become, I noticed that the goats locked all four of their legs as they were pulled, plow-like through the area dirt, leaving nice little furrows behind them.

Now before the animal rights people get their panties in a bunch, please note that the little goats were not hurt in the slightest manner, other than having the crap scared out of them as they observed the steeds charging hell-bent for leather towards them. I’m not even sure they were scared. I’m simply projecting how I would feel onto them. Truth be known, I would have gone through several rolls of toilet paper.

I don’t know who was most responsible for bringing this Stampede to Clarendon College. Whoever it was deserves a pat on the back. I feel certain that the Stampede pumped a generous amount of cash into our local economy while providing the contestants with a wonderful opportunity for much needed competition. That, folks, is what is known as a win/win result.

Clarendon College, the Pearl of the Plains, continues to provide enormous benefits to our town, our region, and our youth. We best not forget that.