Quotes & Sayings About Rodeo

If you're demanding a rodeo jester be thrown in the dungeons for mocking the king, don't pretend you support a free country. — Steve Stockman

I didn't really know who I was, but improv had taught me that I could be anyone. I didn't have to wait to be cast - I could give myself the part. I could be an old man or a teenage babysitter or a rodeo clown. In three short years Chicago had taught me that I could decide who I was. My only job was to surround myself with people who respected and supported that choice. Being foolish was the smartest thing to do. — Amy Poehler

His eyes are cold and restless
His wounds have almost healed
And she'd give half of Texas
Just to change the way he feels
She knows his love's in Tulsa
And she knows he's gonna go
Well it ain't no woman flesh and blood
It's that damned old rodeo


Well it's bulls and blood
It's dust and mud
It's the roar of a Sunday crowd
It's the white in his knuckles
The gold in the buckle
He'll win the next go 'round
It's boots and chaps
It's cowboy hats
It's spurs and latigo
It's the ropes and the reins
And the joy and the pain
And they call the thing rodeo


She does her best to hold him
When his love comes to call
But his need for it controls him
And her back's against the wall
And it's So long girl I'll see you
When it's time for him to go
You know the woman wants her cowboy
Like he wants his rodeo — Garth Brooks

Until Perry was five, the team of "Tex & Flo" continued to work the rodeo circuit. As a way of life, it wasn't "any gallon of ice cream," Perry once recalled: "Six of us riding in an old truck, sleeping in it, too, sometimes, living off mush and Hershey kisses and condensed milk. Hawks Brand condensed milk it was called, which is what weakened my kidneys - the sugar content - which is why I was always wetting the bed." Yet it was not an unhappy existence, especially for a little boy proud of his parents, admiring of their showmanship and courage - a happier life, certainly, than what replaced it. For Tex and Flo, both forced by ailments to retire from their occupation, settled near Reno, Nevada. — Truman Capote

Fuck hope and all the tiny little towns, one-horse towns, the one-stoplight towns, three-bars country-music jukebox-magic parquet-towns, pressure-cooker pot-roast frozen-peas bad-coffee married-heterosexual towns, crying-kids-in-the-Oldsmobile-beat-your-kid-in the-Thriftway-aisles towns, one-bank one-service-station Greyhound-Bus-stop-at-the-Pepsi-Cafe towns, two-television towns, Miracle Mile towns, Viv's Double Wide Beauty Salon towns, schizophrenic-mother towns, buy-yourself-a-handgun towns, sister-suicide towns, only-Injun's-a-dead-Injun towns, Catholic-Protestant-Mormon-Baptist religious-right five-churches Republican-trickle-down-to-poverty family-values sexual-abuse pro-life creation-theory NRA towns, nervous-mother rodeo-clown-father those little-town-blues towns. — Tom Spanbauer

What's a buckle-bunny?"
She grinned. "It used to be a description of the girls who hung around rodeo cowboys looking to hook up. Now it means any Texas gold digger who's looking for a sugar daddy."
"I'm not a gold digger."
"No, you advise them in your column. You tell them to support themselves and get their priorities straight."
"Everyone should listen to me," I said, and Haven laughed, lifting her glass.
-Ella & Haven — Lisa Kleypas

When you choose a man who thinks eight seconds is a long time, perhaps you need two of them. Hmm? — Cat Johnson

Through the earpiece, she heard Emma sigh. "All right, but you should really consider giving him a call. Just to let him know you're in town. You're new to Oklahoma. Maybe he could show you around to all the local hot spots."
Any spot where Tucker happened to be would be a hot spot. Becca pushed that errant thought aside. — Cat Johnson

You're gonna have to hold on tight, because this rodeo is just getting started. — Joya Ryan

Cowboy Rodeo was a very simple man. He liked his life simple. He liked his ranch full of animals, he liked the breeze across the plains, and he liked when the sun rose and set. He liked strong, cold whiskey and the stars at night.
Cowboy Rodeo realized at that moment he also really, really liked corsets and black pencil skirts that showed off the curve of the hip. — Shannon Noelle Long

Becca had gone through many, many years of schooling in her life. She'd spent more hours in libraries than she could begin to calculate. Yet this was the first time she'd ever made out in one. As he claimed her mouth for the second time against the volumes of Chaucer, she realized all she'd missed out on in the past. — Cat Johnson

All that adrenaline running through him with no outlet - God, what would sex be like with a man who literally vibrated with energy the way he was now?
Explosive. Unforgettable. The exact opposite of how sex with Jerry had been.
Becca realized that, against all common sense, she was dying to find out. — Cat Johnson

California belongs to Joan Didion. Not the California where everyone wears aviator sunglasses, owns a Jacuzzi and buys his clothes on Rodeo Drive. But California in the sense of the West. The old West where Manifest Destiny was an almost palpable notion that was somehow tied to the land and the climate and one's own family-an unspoken belief that was passed down to children in stories and sayings. — Michiko Kakutani

It's the ropes and the reins, and the joy and the pain. And they call the thing rodeo. — Garth Brooks

Tucker took off his cowboy hat and laid it on top of the dresser and then crossed the room to close the curtains. The big question of the night was answered - he did take off his hat for sex. — Cat Johnson

When you grow up in Bel Air and shop only in expensive boutiques on Rodeo and Robertson, you develop a kind of allergy to anything unpretty -clothes, cars ... even people ... you start thinking that if you hang around unattractive people, their homeliness can be contagious. — Nicole Richie

I'm one of the more pessimistic cats on the planet. I make Van Gogh look like a rodeo clown. — Dennis Miller

This ain't the 4-H rodeo at the Pocahontas County Fair ... this is horse racing — Jaimy Gordon

I raise quarter horses. Mine are mostly thoroughbred cross horses, a little bigger horses than some people like. I sell them or use them on the ranch. A lot of them go to the rodeo arena and some of them go to racetracks. — Wilford Brimley

I see the rodeo's in town again. — Bobby H. Barbee, Sr.

MAKE ME AN ANGEL THAT FLIES FROM MONTGOMERY, MAKE ME A POSTER OF AN OLD RODEO JUST GIVE ME ONE THING THAT I CAN HOLD ON TO TO BELIEVE IN THIS LIVIN' IS JUST A HARD WAY TO GO ... — John Prine

Instead, I have the alien version of Grumpy Cat, and he just roped and tied me like a calf at a rodeo. Asshole. — Ruby Dixon

The true meaning of America, you ask? It's in a Texas rodeo, in a policeman's badge, in the sound of laughing children, in a political rally, in a newspaper ... In all these things, and many more, you'll find America. In all these things, you'll find freedom. And freedom is what America means to the world. And to me. — Audie Murphy

It's hard to keep your head when the ground's moving 'neath your feet — Jim Cuddy

When the riots happened in L.A., they didn't go to Beverly Hills to trash Rodeo Drive. They trashed their own neighborhoods. It's one of those tragedies that we always see in riot situations, where the only thing that they can lash out against is the stuff that's right there in their own communities. They destroy the very things that help them survive in their own community. There is a level of futility in that. — Samuel L. Jackson

To be content, horse people need only a horse, or, lacking that, someone else who loves horses with whom they can talk. It was always that way with my grandfather. He took me places just so we could see horses, be near them. We went to the circus and the rodeo at Madison Square Garden. We watched parades down Fifth Avenue. Finding a horse, real or imagined, was like finding a dab of magic potion that enlivened us both. Sometimes I'd tell my grandfather about all the horses in my eleborate dreams. He'd lean over, smile, and assure me that, one day, I'd have one for real. And if my grandfather, my Opa, told me something was going to come true, it always did. — Allan J. Hamilton

Shae-Lynn, come on. You know I didn't mean for it to happen that way. I was just trying to do right by you."

"Doing right by me would have been respecting my wishes and keeping your promises. Leave me alone, Billy. I don't want to be friends with someone I can't depend on. — D.R. Graham

Oklahoma residents are known for not backing down from a fight in the political arena, on the gridiron, NBA courts or rodeo arenas, but in their reaction to the bombing, they knew intuitively they would not find restoration in rage. — Tom Brokaw

I'm of the opinion that many Christians are in deep denial about the reality of there being 'real' Evil in this world. Evil that cannot be reasoned with; is reprobate, incorrigible, determined, un-appeasable, violent, murderous, and unrelenting. I find this denial shocking in that the Bible clearly shows that in the end this battle is all about Good vs. Evil. This is a very real and present danger to the leaders and people of Israel. They know the truth and are not in any denial about it!!! It's harsh, yes! However, it is Real and a danger to those in Israel. This is not my first rodeo!!! Combat brings me no joy!!! But, God has His holy warriors who risk their lives so others can have the luxury to live in denial!!! Israeli's have no such luxury!!! — R. Alan Woods

Somebody waits for the time I know will never come
You get yourself so high
Then you come down feeling blue
One day you'll wake up and realize you've had enough
There's a thousand shining moments
Waiting just to happen to you — Blue Rodeo

She fought the urge to take a closer look at his ruggedly handsome features, but failed. How could he have gotten better looking after being abused by every bronc-busting horse on the rodeo circuit? His angular jaw, strong and determined, was shaded with beard growth that was probably a day old, maybe more. Mandy suspected if Beau grew a full beard, it would grow in thick and be the smooth texture of his almost black head of hair. She forced aside past memories that gave her such knowledge with renewed irritation. — Lisa Mondello

See him now, his face lit up with delight at the parade advancing on every side, of cart and carriage, delivery truck and spacious brougham, of ladies in their colorful crinoline and dandies dandier than the foppish fop astride boneshaker bicycles weaving between the vendors' carts as expertly as rodeo barrel racers. Sunset was still almost two hours hence, but the buildings on the western side cast long engulfing shadows, between which the granite pavement glowed honey gold in smoky shafts of slanting light, the light painting the facades along the eastern side the same Hyblaean hue. — Rick Yancey

You don't want a tiny diamond on your finger when you can have three carats. You don't want a one-dollar bill when you can have a Benjamin. And you don't want to ride a miniature pony when you can saddle up on a rock-star cock at the rodeo of your pleasure. — Lauren Blakely

Actually, I think you sound more Southern than me." "I blame my Mama for that, too," he replied. "She was an old-time rodeo queen from Amarillo, Texas. She homeschooled me and my brother Dirk until high school, so the Texas twang kinda stuck. Now as for Georgia, I find it a real shame you'd want to get rid of it. I find a woman with a soft Southern drawl incredibly sexy." "Tell you what, when I decide I want to be sexy for you, I'll be sure to turn it on full force."
She was a real firecracker, this Georgia girl. He liked that. He answered her with a grin. "I'll look forward to it." "In your dreams, cowboy," he thought he heard her mutter under her breath.
He cocked his head, "What was that?"
"Coffee?" She smiled wide. "If I recall, you promised me Starbucks. — Victoria Vane

When I am at rodeo I find it difficult not to root for the animals. — Demetri Martin

I wanted to be like my father, who was a cattle man and a rodeo roper. And that was - he was my hero, and I wanted to be more like him. — Dave Brubeck

As they say in the rodeo business, he just drew a tough one. There were a lot of positives for Jason to take out of this. He put us in a position to win. — Clint Hurdle

I thought she was going to win it, she just got out-bobbed at the wire. — Jerry Hollendorfer

I love going to Rodeo Drive with my wife. — Jose Andres

When I was young, I loved shopping at a store on Rodeo Drive called Lina Lee. Shopping there made me feel so special. — Kris Jenner

When Tucker glanced in Becca's direction and saw her watching, he smiled and winked. That one move, just a wink, made her knees go weak. She swallowed hard and knew with complete certainty, she was going to do it - she was going to spend the night with him. — Cat Johnson

I had lots of breaks. I guess the one that got my foot in the door was singing the National Anthem at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City in '74. — Reba McEntire

I couldn't do country, with all due respect to all country music artists. My parents dressed me up with a cowboy hat and we'd go to the rodeo when I was younger and it traumatized me for life. — Chris Colfer

It seems a fine line between being a matador and being a rodeo clown — Jase Robertson

I'm divorced and I've been to the circus and seen the clowns. This ain't my first rodeo. — Naomi Judd

I grew up with the Highwaymen, which was Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. Mom and Dad rode rodeo, so country music was always in the house and the car. They threw in some Dolly Parton, too. — Christian Kane

One of my favorite books is 'Armadillo Rodeo', and I got the idea from traveling to Texas and seeing armadillos. — Jan Brett

Put that thing down, girl. Don't you know it steals part of your soul, that little mechanical masterpiece you hold so frivolously? Don't you know it's not just mine it seals into its gears and trick mirrors, but yours, too. What you feel at this moment, what you hope for, what your dreams are, what you think your future will unfold like, it steals it all from you, too. You aren't safe just because of the side of the lens you're on. And later, when everything is said and done, and you want to forget everything that happened in these walls, when you're all alone, this picture, this piece of your soul you didn't even know was gone, will haunt you. It will come bearing knives and AKs and nine millimeters, and it will destroy you from the inside out. Put that damned thing down and stop acting like any of this is something worth remembering. — Shannon Noelle Long

The full California workup: shopping on Rodeo Drive, a ridiculously overpriced lunch at the Ivy, an afternoon at the beach, and dinner at a quaint outdoor bistro in Santa Monica. — Julie James

When a man that attractive licks his lips, a girl's got to look. And imagine ... — Cat Johnson

I just got into it like a lot of people through the rock 'n' roll bands in the late '60s that turned to country music, like The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, but particularly through The Byrds because of Gram Parsons, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman (with their 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo). They kind of introduced English kids to Merle Haggard and George Jones and the Louvins (brothers Charlie and Ira). — Elvis Costello

Work the rodeo circuit. As a way of life, it wasn't "any gallon of ice cream," Perry once recalled: "Six of us riding in an old truck, sleeping in it, too, sometimes, living off mush and Hershey kisses and condensed milk. Hawks Brand condensed milk it was called, which is what weakened my kidneys - the sugar content - which is why I was always wetting the bed." Yet it was not an unhappy existence, — Truman Capote

The biggest thing is online shopping. So that you don't have to dress up, go down Bond Street or Rodeo or wherever, go and be intimidated by shop assistants to buy Gucci shoes or a Prada dress. You can just go online and, if it doesn't fit you, send it back. And I think that is the biggest, biggest difference, because that means everybody can do it. — Jennifer Saunders

The Thieves of Manhattan is a sly and cutting riff on the book-publishing world that is quite funny unless you happen to be an author, in which case the novel will make you consider a more sensible profession-like being a rodeo clown, for example, or a crab-fisherman in the Bering Sea. — Carl Hiaasen

Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo, the trick is to ride and make it to the bell. — John Fogerty

I've been on lots of film sets. I've produced films and written films and been around, so it wasn't my first rodeo in terms of that stuff. Nothing particularly surprised me, I have to say. I came in and I enjoyed the first day and I enjoyed the last day. — Dan Mazer

He pulled her closer and she felt the bulge in his jeans. "I never knew books were so sexy."
"You got turned on today by a bologna sandwich, too." She wrapped her arms around his waist. "I don't think it's the books."
"You're right. Maybe it's not the books or the bologna." He leaned lower.
"Maybe it's not." She rose up on her tiptoes, closer to his tempting mouth.
He groaned and closed the small distance between them, backing her up against the shelves as his lips covered hers. — Cat Johnson

They gave me the chaps and hat and everything. I looked like a real cowboy. I walked around the rodeo and thought, I am a real cowboy and thought everyone thought I was a real cowboy. — Michael Biehn

The calf scramble will be during both rodeo performances and consist of children attempting to catch and halter several loose calves. If a child succeeds, he or she will receive a certificate to purchase a breeding animal to raise and bring back to the livestock show next year. — Kim Carnes

The post office in the city of Christmas, Florida, where thousands descend each year to get their holiday cards postmarked. It's the best tradition we got, so fuck it, I'm rodeo-riding this cultural mutation. — Tim Dorsey

The great thing about working with NPR - and, really, there's like a million of 'em - is all the cool stuff I get to do for the public. Meet the president. Hang out at the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas. Drink a $10,000 martini. — John Ridley

Saddle bronc is the quintessential rodeo sport - not the chaos of bull riding or the thrashing of bareback riding. It might be harder than both. — John Branch

As you are surely aware, our planet is turning on its axis around and around in space. It turns slowly, however, making one complete rotation only every twenty-four hours; and that's a good thing
isn't it?
because if our world turned as fast as Gracie's room appeared to be turning, the sun would be either rising or setting every fifteen minutes, astronomers would be as woozy as rodeo clowns, and it'd be nearly impossible to keep our meatballs from rolling out of our spaghetti. — Tom Robbins

To enjoy rodeo properly, you gotta be close enough to see the snot fly. — Cat Johnson

Sometimes the world begins
To set you up on your feet again
It wipes the tears from your eyes
How will you ever know
The way that circumstances go
Always going to hit you by surprise
I know my past
You were there
In everything I've done
You are the one — Blue Rodeo

Don't make this harder than it already is. I like her so much it's killing me, but I don't know how to be the guy she wants me to be."

"Yes, you do. Real relationships are just like bull riding. You have to be willing to risk getting hurt, and you have to hang it all out, and never give up no matter how scary or hard it gets. You know how to do it. You're just too much of a coward to try. — D.R. Graham

Never a horse that can't be rode and never a rider that can't be throwed. (I'll pass this off as my own, but I really stole it from my father, a cowboy and rodeo rider in his younger years.) — Earle Gray

I was street smart, but unfortunately the street was Rodeo Drive. — Carrie Fisher

NOW CAME OUR INTRODUCTION to Smiley, former rodeo clown, whose name outside the costume might as well have been Cranky as Hell. — Ivan Doig

I'd like to direct at some point. But I don't know because 10 years ago I would have never imagined that I'd be here. So in 10 years from now, I might be running a rodeo. — Jennifer Lawrence

This is poetry, but it is not delicate and fragile, a placid ocean beneath a Bible vese on an inspirational poster. This poetry had testicles. It's rougher than a rodeo. Which is why the cliffs are crowded with spectators — N.D. Wilson

[Hank] dumped the saddle on the ground as he set the sawhorse down. "Am I makin' you nervous?"
"Not you so much as your unusual ... supplies."
That damnably alluring grin appeared again. "Ah, hell, darlin'. It ain't nothin'. We're just gonna have ourselves a private rodeo."
"Let me guess. Instead of bulls and broncs, you're gonna be ridin' me. — Lorelei James

Well I've always wanted to sing at something called The Houston Rodeo in my hometown, so hopefully I'll get to do that one day. — Danielle Bradbery

I think that no matter what you do, whether you rodeo, whether you work in an office, you work in the oilfield or you play music for a living, eventually if you do enough of it, the devil in the back of your head tries to turn it into work. You have to find new ways to make it new and make it exciting to keep that drive there. — Cody Johnson

How is it a vegan won't visit the zoo or rodeo, but you'll level a man with martial arts? — DiAnn Mills

I had never been to a rodeo before. I had no idea how crazy white people could be. Considering I had been abandoned by a white, crack addict mother, I should have known. — Amy Harmon

In all fairness, darlin', I should probably warn you that this ain't my first rodeo. — Cindi Madsen

Rodeo careers can end without warning, as quick as the next try at an eight-second ride. — John Branch

Gene Autry was a pioneering star in the early days of music, radio, film, television and rodeo performances. I am proud to posthumously honor such an inspiring role model — Adam Schiff

So now I'm rollin' down Rodeo wit a shotgun, These people ain't seen a brown skin man, Since their grandparents bought one — Zack De La Rocha

Sometimes I think that the only effective and productive method of destroying speciesism would be for each uncaring human to be forced to live the life of a cow on a feedlot, or a monkey in a laboratory, or an elephant in the circus, or a bull in a rodeo, or a mink on a fur farm. Then people would be awakened from their soporific states and finally understand the horrors that are inflicted on the animal kingdom by the vilest species to ever roam this planet: the human animal! — Gary Yourofsky

As far as rodeos are concerned, I think you'd better stick to singing and looking pretty."
She leaned in and whispered, "How about the part where I congratulate the rodeo winner in private?"
Royce's grip on her tightened. "Woman, I'm pretty sure you're going to be the death of me. — Cindi Madsen

If he does it again, you have my permission to break his legs and arms and make him believe he's a rodeo clown from Walla Walla," I promised. "We can make him call himself Slappy the Wonder Clown. — Molly Harper

Somehow they stayed that way
For those 5 days in May
Made all the stars around them shine
Funny how you can look in vain
Living on nerves and such sweet pain
The loneliness that cuts so fine
To find the face you've seen a thousand times — Blue Rodeo

Becca watched Tucker bend at the waist. Mmm, mmm. He was sure built nice. From the top of his felt hat to the tips of his worn leather boots. Those leather chaps he'd just slung around his hips weren't too bad, either.
He reached back to buckle the chap straps first around one jean-clad thigh, and then the other. And she'd thought the rodeo would be boring. Ha! She could watch Tucker do this all day. Buckle and unbuckle. Bend and stand.
She let out a sign filled with pure contentment. "All right, Em. I'll admit it. Cowboys are hot."
Next to her, Emma laughed. "Oh, yeah. — Cat Johnson

Too soon for dinner with the parents?" I teased. "You really didn't have to feel obligated to stay, but Lil does cook some amazing Indian food."

Gabriel just kissed the back of my hand and smiled slyly. "What is it you Westerners say? This isn't my first rodeo, darling!" He mocked tipping a hat.

"Well that may be true, but this is a very different kind of bull," I retorted, almost jealous. "And how many rodeos exactly have you been to, sir? — Tania Penn

Honestly, musicals? I just can't. What if this was real life and I was just walking down the street on Rodeo Drive and all of a sudden I just burst into song about how much I love shoes? — Miley Cyrus

With horses, familiarity breeds comfort. If you haven't been around horses for a while (or ever), the best thing to do is to go to the racetrack, a horse show, a rodeo, or some other horsey activity, and watch the horses. Familiarize yourself with the way they move and behave themselves. — Jane Smiley

There is a rare exception of mainstream sports that have a fatality rate. That's motor sports and rodeo, ... football, baseball, basketball, hockey, you make a mistake and you give up a run or some points. In these two sports, if you make a mistake, it could cost you your life. — Don Andrews

Getting sweaty with a woman after some good sex was one thing, but he'd rather not start out that way. — Cat Johnson

I'd purchased it before my trip to the gay rodeo with a bunch of friends many moons ago. Many horses had been saved that weekend as many cowboys had been ridden. ... — Ethan Day

You might be a redneck if your sophisticated show-biz cousin is a rodeo clown. — Jeff Foxworthy

It was becoming more and more evident that Salem was a town that celebrated individuality, a real live-and-let-live kind of place. Melody felt a gut punch of regret. Her old nose would have fit in here.
"Look!" She pointed at the multicolored car whizzing by. Its black door were from a Mercedes coupe, the white hood from a BMW; the silver trunk was Jaguar, the red convertible top was Lexus, the whitewall tires were Bentley, the sound system was Bose, and the music was classical. A hood ornament from each model dangled from the rear view mirror. Its license plate appropriately read MUTT.
"That car looks like a moving Benton ad."
"Or a pileup on Rodeo drive." Candace snapped a picture with her iPhone and e-mailed to her friends back home. They responded instantly with a shot of what they were doing. It must have involved the mall because Candace picked up her pace and began asking anyone under the age of fifty where the cool people hung out. — Lisi Harrison

Heaven wouldn't be like this earth, this tormented earth ruled by evil forces that tossed humanity to and fro like a slow clown in a two-bit rodeo. — Joe LaFlam

I think my brand of country music is that's been influenced by not just the rough-stock rodeo side or Ted Nugent's "let's get crazy style", but also the stand-up and sing style's like George Strait and Merle Haggard, and also the wild side of Chris Ledoux — Cody Johnson

I wouldn't miss this fake-homo show for all the Gucci Shoes on Rodeo Drive. — River Jaymes

I'm beginning to sense a theme," Mircea said, tossing his suit coat over a buckskin-covered chair. A moose head with huge, outspread antlers loomed over it, its bright glass eyes looking oddly lifelike in the low light. Mircea took in the room, his expression slightly repulsed yet fascinated. "I believe there is only one thing to say at this point."
What's that?"
Yee haw," he said gravely, and took me down like a rodeo calf. — Karen Chance

You know it's important to have a Jeep in Los Angeles. That front wheel drive is crucial when it starts to snow on Rodeo Drive. — Christopher Guest

This ain't my first rodeo!".

~R. Alan Woods [1999] — R. Alan Woods

From a distance, at a time of urbanization and connectivity, rodeo and ranching may seem anachronistic notions - quaint and sepia-toned from an America that no longer exists. — John Branch