Keith Rodeo

Tony and Jennifer, who did an exchange in the Okanagan in 2014.

Pink Lake.

The rodeo in Keith.

Opening ceremonies.

Barrel racing,

Bull riding,

Steer roping,

Cattle wrestling,

and bare back horse riding.

Saturday, November 5^th.

I had breakfast with Jenn and Tony before continuing northwest from Ballarat up to the same region I was in last weekend. On the way north I came across a pink lake. This is apparently caused by algae in the salty water. This would be the kind of place to find flamingoes, but none in sight. I drove past the two deserts from last weekend and back into South Australia. I stopped at Bordertown where I had prebooked a motel because there was nothing available in Keith because of the rodeo.

I arrived in Keith about two. This is a small farming town that used to host a rodeo for years but hadn't for the last couple. Then their hospital was closed down and they were trying to figure out how to put themselves back on the map and decided to start up the rodeo again. I paid my admission and entered the site. It was like a community fair, with a couple of rides, game booths, food trailers, a bar and inflated jumping places for kids. Behind all of that were the animal paddocks and the ring where the events occurred. I watched the amateur and local barrel racing events and listened to country music. Then they took a break and I wandered around the whole fair. At 4:30 they started with an opening ceremony introducing the pros. There were riders from Australia and elsewhere. Some of them were world champions and had just returned from the Canadian and American rodeo circuit. I watched the barrel racing, bare back bronco riding, bull riding, and steer roping events. It was great because you could get up close to the fence for a good view of all the action. I had some squid and chips for dinner and a couple of beers. I drove back to my motel in Bordertown when it got dark.