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Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
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Enjoying the ride at the rodeo
THE dog seemed to be smiling. If you've noticed, most dogs seem to almost be able to smile at one point or another -- when given affection, on a walk, a head out the car window, tongue flapping in the breeze. But this dog wasn't hanging its head out a car window. This dog was riding a horse.
Everyone loves a rodeo.
THE DOG WAS a mini dog, a Paris Hilton dog, what Christopher on "The Sopranos" once referred to as a "pocket dog."
But of course this dog wasn't a Paris Hilton dog. No way. This dog was a cow dog, a horse dog. A rodeo dog. This dog mingled freely among its four-footed brethren, smiling happily. One of the gang. This dog put its two front paws up on the fence to take in a better look. Closer to the action. At home in the dust.
Ah, the rodeo. A pleasant day, yesterday, at the Hawaii Women's Rodeo Association jackpot at Kualoa Ranch. A rodeo. The sights. The sounds.
The smells. The -- oops!
Well, let's not get into that.
Beautiful. Cool breezes. Warm sun. Chinaman's Hat in the distance. Horse trailers all over the grass.
It's easy to dream, around horses. We always do. Suddenly we're 3 again, with a vest and a hat and a badge.
Cowboys. Kids always want to be cowboys.
And that was the best part, yesterday, the kids. Two girls giggling together on horseback, their mounts side by side. One would ride so fast out in that dust you'd always worry she'd bounce right off her saddle. But she never did.
A tiny tike of a boy in a Matt Dillon hat. He had his own mini stirrups, up on a real horse. The kid was perfect. And he had the best cowboy name of all time (edging out "Tuff Hedemann") -- Stoney Boy Joseph.
Of course the shame of it was this was just a small event, just horses, barrel racing, pole bending. No bulls, no broncos crashing, no roping, no wrestling, no leaping from horses for bulldogging of any kind. Dang.
Still, it was a rodeo, hoof beats and dust, small kids in cowboy hats. Horse racing is the sport of kings. Rodeo is the sport of jeans.
There was another dog there, another mini, pocket, Paris Hilton dog. No, this one wasn't riding a horse. It had a John Wayne bandanna around its neck.
Everyone loves a rodeo.