Transcript:

Texas Hill Country Rodeo Here's a program from our archives.ambience: rodeo crowd, announcerThis month, the Blanco County Rodeo takes place in Texas's Hill Country - about an hour's drive from Austin and San Antonio. There are certainly bigger rodeos, but this one has a down home feeling that both the fans and the contestants appreciate. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Plane. Lou Ann Mullins attends the Blanco County Rodeo every year.Mullins: Well, to describe this part of the hill country of Texas, it's agricultural ranching type community. It's rolling hills. We still have big, huge, working ranches in this area, and those ranches have been in existence for hundreds of years. So a lot of it is our heritage too. This is the cowboy's chance to get out here and show their stuff.Cynthia Shea is another loyal rodeo fan.Shea: This rodeo is really great because it's totally in your face. The horses are throwing dirt in your eyes and the cows are bumping up against the fence, and you hear bones crunch when these poor guys fall off the horses. It's just very authentic and genuine, and the people here live here and they're seeing their friends come and compete, and they're really into it. It's not a gala production. It's just really people competing, and the animals, and the smells and sights. I think it's great. I don't know that there are many rodeos like this anymore. Not in Texas.We've been listening to a program from our archives. If you want to hear more, check out our podcast. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.