The Pendleton Round-Up is one of the largest rodeos in the US and dubbed the “fastest moving rodeo” because of the extreme organization of the back-to-back events. A cowboy always looks cool, even leaning up against a trash can. I knew it would be tough to look legit in a town that would certainly realize I was city folk, but anyone can aspire to be a real cowboy, and my research turned up a few nuggets of pure western gold. One night, Michael checked ‘being a hipster badass’ off his to-do list by being the first in the room to hop on the mechanical bull. There are a lot of requirements for being a bona fide cowboy, and during our short time in Pendleton we tried to experience as many as possible. Despite the wrinkled expressions of displeasure that I received from my car-mates, I stand by this as a totally rocking road trip mix that I dubbed “Pendleton Cheese”. Then, I pulled up the top hits of country music from the mid-90s so I could make a playlist worthy of the 3 1/2 hour drive to Pendleton. Want me to name every anatomical point of an equine? Naw, didn’t think so. First off, I dug up all my childhood photo albums to relive my days as a young girl obsessed with horses.

Growing up in Central Oregon I had gone to a few local rodeos and fairs, but the Pendleton Round-Up is the BIG TIME, so there was some preparatory work to do. Many moons ago I ventured to Pendleton, Oregon for the annual Round-Up.

Garth brooks song about rodeo rider