Ride 'em Cowboy!

Criolla Week 2015: Gauchos attempt to stay on bucking broncos at a rodeo in Montevideo, Uruguay. (Andres Stapff/Reuters)

When I was younger, much younger, knee high to a bucking bronco, I was enthralled with all things cowboy. I still have an affection for the whole cowboy thing: six guns, horses, blue jeans, beaucoup de leather, especially cowboy boots. Frederic Remington's paintings and sculptures are simply glorious.
     I was severely disappointed when I discovered that the bucking broncos in modern rodeos were encumbered with a strap around their waist to encourage them to buck. I understand, real wild horses are hard to handle, and the last thing you want at a rodeo at your local county fair is a thousand pound wild animal running out of control.
    Down in South America it looks like they still have some real wild horses and some real cowboys trying to ride them. Restores my faith in the cowboy dream, it does.