Growing up in Fort Worth, the stock show and rodeo is a
tradition. To some, it’s a
religion. Every year Santa (i.e.
my mom) gives everyone in the family a rodeo ticket in his/her stocking. We typically go that one evening to the
rodeo and that’s it. However, this
year has been a bit different. A
family friend of ours always invites us to random stock show events over the
course of the three weeks, and this year I went to the llama show for the first
time.
I have never attended the llama show because it always
starts at 8:00 am. Needless to
say, I am not a morning person.
However, I have always had a thing for llamas and alpacas (I send lots
of these pictures
on a regular basis to my friends).
I had no idea what to expect upon entering the arena. In the dirt there were stakes, logs, a
ball pit, hula-hoops, buckets, and more.
I quickly realized that the llama show was, in fact, llamas attempting to
complete an obstacle course.
As the judges announce the categories, that confuse me more
than anything, a little girl comes out and leads her llama (which is easily
twice her size) through the obstacle course. I soon realize that llamas are extremely temperamental
animals. They refuse to cooperate
and will stand still no matter how hard their handlers pull on their
reins. We are all giggling and
amused by the defiant llamas and their visibly frustrated handlers.
However, we all broke out into laughter when this one stubborn
llama was completing his course and one of the props malfunctioned. After begrudgingly walking through a hula-hoop,
the llama was required to put its two front feet on a bucket and stand on
it. While attempting this feat,
the galvanized bucket broke below his feet and everyone was unsure of what to
do. As the handlers and the judges
convened to figure out what to do, the llama entered in to their circle, as if
to take part in their conversation.
We were all overcome with laughter. I think what made this situation so
entertaining and laughter-provoking was the fact that it was unexpected and no
one knew how to handle the situation.
The show had already been amusing as the llamas would not cooperate with
the handlers nor would they complete the obstacles willingly. However, the bucket incident pushed us
over the edge, as there was confusion and a little chaos. And when the llama took on a more
human-like role by entering into the conversation, the shift from what was
expected to the unexpected was even more apparent and the incongruity caused us
to burst out into laughter.
…or maybe we found this moment funnier than it really was
since we had all consumed an adult beverage by the time this occurred (and don’t
worry, we are all 21 and over)…
Luckily, I was able to capture this moment on video, and now it can
bring laughter to others…
