LET’S RODEO! | A spectacle, an event, a way of life

HOUSTON – Dereck Borders can’t imagine what his life would be like without rodeo in it.

Not just for himself and his wife, Beverly, but for their daughter, Chelsi, her husband Burr and their children, and Dereck and Beverly’s youngest daughter Sydni.

“I don’t remember when I wasn’t coming here,” the Kilgore native laughed, when he was asked to estimate how long he’d been coming down to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The event dates back to 1932, and the Borders family – just Dereck and his brother Daylen – represent way more than a quarter-century of it, not to mention their dad, Tulley.

From current roles on the calf scramble committee to showing guests (like the Lucas family, who had never been to the event) the lay of the land, the Borders family commits to making the rodeo not just a part of their life each March, but they’re involved just about year-round, in some form.

Particularly Sydni, still a college student, but she’s engaged to Bodee Lammers, a bareback bronc-rider from Stephenville that you can often catch on TV, or social media, as one of the nation’s best. Lammers didn’t ride in this year’s event in Houston, rehabbing from injuries last year. But he’ll return soon.

Then there’s Robert Williams, retired from UPS, who’s lived in the Houston area his entire life, and brought his children – and now is bringing his grandchildren – to the rodeo.

“You can’t beat it, man,” Williams said. “My wife worked for metro, drove a bus for the city, and our kids practically grew up here. Hang out, watch the rodeo, take time and look at all the exhibits. Get something good to eat. Yes, there’s nothing wrong with eating right, being in shape. But it’s not the end of the world to have something that you just want to eat, tastes good, indulge a little bit.”

Williams pointed out some of the fare the rodeo has to offer: various types of barbecue, baked potatoes, cinnamon rolls tried by a certain reporter, corn dogs, and even the deep-fried Oreos.

“I will say this: some of it does get a little pricey,” Williams said, and then was incredulous when it was pointed out that smoked turkey legs this year – a very popular item, apparently, given the number that appeared to be traveling around with rodeo-goers – were $20 each.

“TWENTY DOLLARS?,” Williams said, with no smile whatsoever, then laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?”

His son, sitting nearby, literally told him to calm down. “You just said it’s not the end of the world. He’d pass out if he knew how much I paid for that Powerade he just drank.”

Someone asked how much. Williams’ son said $5.

Williams picked up the small empty bottle, with a questioned look on his face, then smiled, and put it down. “Oh, well,” he said. “Like I say.”

Kim Harris, of the Cypress/Tomball area, literally grew up on the rodeo grounds.

Not at NRG Stadium, where the rodeo is now, present-day, the regular home of the NFL’s Houston Texans. But at the rodeo itself.

“My father has been a part of the rodeo, on committees, for over 50 years,” said Harris, who serves with the Borders family on the calf scramble committee. “My grandfather, too. I can remember looking forward to coming out here and spending the week in the camper.

“For so long, it was just a week, and then two weeks – and now, it’s three. My gosh, it’s just gotten so big. The other night, the night Lainey Wilson was here (for her concert) – you couldn’t hardly move through, there were so many people.”

For anyone who’s never been – if it really IS your first rodeo – you’ll enjoy the rodeo, to be sure. Think of it as the Super Bowl, or World Series, of this sport. There’s the team roping and tie-down roping events, and then there’s the really physical stuff, if that’s your thing, like Lammers and company do: the bareback riding and bull riding events. RodeoHouston, as they call it, has a 20-day competition and crowns a champion in all of it, and none really more touching than the calf scramble, whose teenage champions treasure the belt buckles like they’ve literally won a pot of gold.

RodeoHouston is also an official Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA)-sanctioned event, of course – that almost goes without saying, but all the events won at RodeoHouston count in the PRCA and National Finals Rodeo (NFR) standings.

The rodeo has a carnival, with food vendors and dozens of games amd rides, including a 130-feet-high Ferris wheel (that’s actually air-conditioned, believe it or not). If you want to look, dress or shop like a cowboy, or just see the shops that are here, you can shop for days without even looking at anything else – seriously, there are wall-to-wall-to-wall shopping areas at the rodeo.

Art of all types and a quilting competition are on display in the exhibit arena, and of course, there are all sorts of activities in the Agventure area this year – interactions with baby animals in the birthing center, a petting zoo, pony rides and the hatching of baby chicks.

If you want to go this season, time is running out.

The best way to plan a trip to the rodeo is to visit their website, The Official Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Website (rodeohouston.com). There are far too many events surrounding the rodeo, including the carnival, the exhibits, shopping, the concerts and the rodeo itself, to even do a run-down here in this story.

Now, parking is $25 per vehicle, but the good news is there are shuttles to get you to NRG if you don’t like a long walk, or if you have someone in your party that doesn’t need one. Check out the site above for all ticket options you need.

Concerts this week – the rodeo’s final week this year – are Whiskey Myers (Monday night, March 11), Bun B (Tuesday, March 12), Nickelback (Wednesday, March 13), the Zac Brown Band (Thursday, March 14), the Jonas Brothers (Friday, March 15), Brad Paisley (Saturday, March 16), and Eric Church (Sunday, March 17).

The Reliant display outside NRG Stadium at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM).

Getting ready for calf scramble qualifying on Sunday afternoon. (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM)

The boot lineup. (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM)

The arena begins to fill up as the competitors get ready for the rodeo on Sunday afternoon. (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM)

Entries in this year’s quilting exhibit / competition. (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM)

Kilgore’s Dereck Borders (left), a member of the calf scramble committee, talks with a winner in the event and his parents. (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM)

A look at NRG Stadium at dusk on Sunday, right before the concert crowd comes out. (Photo by MITCH LUCAS – ETBLITZ.COM)