RodeoHouston!! Chili Cookoff!! Texas Cowboys!

 

It’s almost rodeo time in Houston, and traffic around the NRG Stadium crawls to a stop.  Since 2003, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (RodeoHouston) has been held at NRG.  HLSR is the largest livestock exhibitions and rodeo in the world and offers the richest purses.  Kickoff is marked by the Downtown Rodeo Roundup held near Houston City Hall, the Downtown Rodeo parade, and the ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run – a 10k and 5k walk & run and the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest (the Chili Cookoff, which is a major event in HLSR each year).  I always wanted to participate in the Downtown Rodeo Parade. Since 1938, the nation’s fourth largest city is transformed from a bustling metropolis to a down-home celebration of Western heritage. Decorative floats intermingle with thousands of men and women on horseback to fill the streets with hoof beats and marching bands. This year, the parade begins at Bagby and Walker Streets. 

In 2019, there were more than 2.5 million total attendees during the 24-day event, and HLSR was proud to welcome visitors from 75 countries.  The livestock and horse shows drew more than 34,000 entries, and the junior auction sales totaled more than $17 million.  Incidentally, 376,000 oreos were battered, fried, and dusted with powdered sugar. 

The rodeo has drawn some of the world's biggest recording artists, including Dixie Chicks, Elvis Presley, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Bon Jovi and Lynyrd Skynyrd to mention a few.  When I lived in Houston, I attended several times. Once, I saw the Zach Brown Band in concert. This year look for Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, For King and Country, and many more. This link lists the entertainers:  https://www.vividseats.com/houston-rodeo-tickets/performer/3990?vkid=15545236&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=224472362&utm_term=&adgroup=18105086522&target=dsa-396144174663&device=c&gclid=Cj0KCQiAuP-OBhDqARIsAD4XHpckWrpFLqrkv-UHbShwGMTWoS2yn79V8c6jrQZsoHHZB6uttfwA9ywaAqg-EALw_wcB

 The 2022 HLSR will begin February 28, 2022 and end March 20.

  For those of you who like to imbibe, there are numerous beer tents and a relatively quiet wine garden.

 In The Texas Cowboy, there are several mentions of RodeoHouston. Charlie, a supporting character, was a bronc rider, and he rode in HLSR.  Charlie is the ranch foreman. The hero Ash Colter gives him carte blanche to entertain his ex-girlfriend while she is on a surprise visit from England, and that’s where Book Two, The Cowboy Duke, is born. Can an English Duchess make a Texas cowboy’s spurs go jingle-jangle-jingle?  The Cowboy Duke tells us (in my humble opinion).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QP4C5NZ

 

Let’s all go to RodeoHouston! I want to be present and accounted for at the Chili Cookoff. It’s not just chili, but beef brisket, music, and even impromptu dancing. It’s a party, RodeoHouston-style.

BLURB:

When Ash Colter was twelve, his mother divorced his cattle baron father and whisked him away to raise in her native England. Sixteen years later, when his father dies, he inherits Marathon Ranch. Running a 1,000-acre spread famous for the best Black Angus cattle in the great state of Texas is the biggest challenge he’s ever faced…until he meets a pert, pretty, and sassy ranch hand who seems to have her own agenda for his ranch. Unfortunately, she makes his spurs go jingle-jangle-jingle like no one else ever has!

Trish Owens is a real cowgirl, a loner, and, though she’d never admit it, a little lonely. When the “English Cowboy” appears on the scene, her entire way of life is threatened, not only her job, but her beloved Quarter horses. She’s sure he plans to import his thoroughbreds from England. Worst of all is the chemistry sizzling between them. He makes feelings she thought long dead awaken.

Can these two unwilling allies set aside their differences to put Marathon Ranch in the Winner’s Circle…and to fall in love?

EXCERPT:

Squinting in the sudden sunlight, Ash sized up a woman about his age. In jeans with a burgundy Marathon tee, she was slender but curvy.  Her blonde hair looked as if it had been hurriedly ponytailed. Wayward strands dangling everywhere framed her face. On closer examination, he decided she wasn’t hard on the eyes. In a non-fancy way. But then he was accustomed to Dorothy—High maintenance with a capital High Maintenance.

The girl tilted an odd look at him.  Then she suffered a wardrobe malfunction. The band holding her ponytail broke. Blonde silk gushed over her big, chocolate brown eyes. A graceful hand, stained black by hoof polish, swiped the thick mess back from a pretty face. Her unsmiling mouth was generous and wide. Feed her and clean her up, and she’d be a presentable…opponent. The chill in what should have been melting brown eyes was as unwelcoming as Deanne’s steely green gaze.

He snapped a smart salute, imitating her stance. “I’ll do that, ma’am. I’m Ash Colter. You are?”

“Trish.”  One word. No introduction. More or less bugger off.

He stuck out his hand. “My pleasure, Trish. I assume you work with the horses.”

“Right assumption.” Gazing intently into his eyes, she accepted his handshake. “How could you tell?” she asked, her voice dripping sarcasm.

“The hoof polish was a big clue.”

She glanced down at her stained hand. Her handshake was firm, confident, another person he felt he could trust. The color of her eyes was quite rare with her blonde hair. Very striking, but at the moment, they challenged him to measure up to her standards. Oh but no, he refused to have two bitches to contend with. This one was no problem. Employees could be towed into line. Or dismissed.

“Maybe I’ll see you around the stables.” He popped the trunk, dismissing her as curtly as was polite but smiling inside. What a feisty filly.

“The funeral is day after tomorrow,” Trish said, loud enough to carry. Her native Texan accent was music to his ears, but he could scarcely believe what she’d said. “Mrs. Colter waited to give you time to get here.”

He froze with his hand on the hot trunk. Without turning, in a voice like ice, he spat, “Thank you for telling me, Deanne.”

“You didn’t know?” The amazed question burst from the gutsy Trish.

As a sharp pang of grief broke through his carefully erected walls, he visibly winced.  He’d lost his father, and his stepmother had planned the funeral without consulting him. What else had she planned to cut him out of? Knowing her for what she was, still her cruelty shocked him. What if he’d been delayed? He’d have missed his final farewell to his father. Sick at heart, he swiped a hand across his burning eyes. He couldn’t trust himself to speak around the sudden lump in his throat. Gritting his teeth, he slammed the trunk. Shouldering his duffle, he faced a sea of surprised expressions. He could scarcely see them for the sheen of emotion clouding his vision.

Angry now, he tried but failed to modulate his voice. Dark emotion crept into his gruff tone. “No one saw fit to tell me.”

“Oh?” Trish’s eyebrows darted up, her wide eyes shifting to Deanne. “You’re kidding.” In unconcealed shock, and perhaps reproach, she gaped at her employer.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After 14 years in Texas, Linda returned home to her roots in the South Carolina red clay. She has eight published novels, four of which are available in audio from Audible.com. For many years, she bred, trained, and showed the magnificent Andalusian horses. So, she’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer. She won The Georgia Romance Writers’ Magnolia Award for Excellence, the Raven Award, and the SARA Merritt. In real life, she was a legal assistant. She loves to dress up, use the good china and crystal, and host formal dinner parties. She has a fondness for sports cars like her current ride, Zippy Z.

 

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