When Linda Peterson and I were covering equestrian events in Europe we would write about experiences that ourselves, and our fellow journalists, had during the trip. Being that there were many things on this trip to Chihuahua, Mexico that were memorable and fun, I decided to do another column such as that. I have already covered the performances, so I will not really go into that here.
TUESDAY
It was the day before writer/photographer Linda and myself were to leave for Chihuahua that I realized that my passport, which I had put in a very safe place, was so safe and hidden that even I could not find it. Once I realized that the passport was a necessity, I really started to panic. Of course I had no birth certificate either, and there was a point in which I called Linda and told her that I would probably not be able to go and she would have to cover the event alone.
Eventually I did find said passport, in the garage – yeah, that’s a safe place – and began to pack. I was a lot later than I had wanted to be and I got little sleep but hell, I was going to Chihuahua!
WEDNESDAY
At the airport the next morning I was stripped searched. OK, well, maybe not quite, but I was taken aside for a more extensive search (unfortunately by a female) before being allowed to go to the gate. Once on board, though, things went smoothly and we had a quick and easy flight into El Paso.
We rented a car to drive down to Chihuahua. The first two hours of the drive were a bit boring, but the last half of the drive was beautiful, with green fields and livestock grazing in them, and was quite peaceful. We lost a lot of time when we had to stop for a permit; being pointed here and there, trying to fill out paperwork, and having to make copies of things. After seeing most of Chihuahua, we finally located the beautiful Westin Soberano Hotel. Let me also state at this time that we did not attempt to drive the car again until we drove back to El Paso.
There were many events available to us, the first of which was a concert in the park that night with Tracy Byrd, but after being up since four in the morning we bailed on that. The next day though, was a parade through town for the PBR, and CEO Randy Bernard told us that we could ride on one of the floats. After the parade we would go straight to the Governor’s Palace for a party for the PBR.
The first problem for Linda occurred when she went to write an article and her computer battery completely died. My computer stayed working, so we had to share that one. It was that or sit in the lobby until the wee hours of the morning. NOT!
THURSDAY
Transportation was provided by the PBR to the parade, the party following, the bull riding events, and the after-parties. There was a bus for each of the two host hotels for the riders, as well as a bus for the production crew of the Versus television station.
We were told that we could use the bus the cowboys used as well. Off we went to the parade site, with a quick detour on the way. Enough said about that, except that Linda now has the nickname ‘Doc.’ Matt Bohon said that she would be ‘Doc’ for the rest of her life!
We rode on a float with, among others, Tater Porter, Cord McCoy, J.B. Mauney and Brian Canter. Tater and Cord had to sit on these two horses that were pulling a stagecoach the whole time. Another of the floats had a big bucking bull on it. Each of the floats was in the beds of trucks or on flatbeds and was pulled through town, but it was fun nonetheless.
Linda made friends with a girl who seemed to know everyone in town. They two of them started to joke about it. It turns out that she actually did know everyone. Her name is Belem Rosendo, and she is the assistant to the Mayor of Chihuahua, Sr. Juan Blanco. She is a lovely person, but when the parade was over, we assumed that would not see her other than at the event. Little did we know…
After the parade we all met in a little square, milling around and talking. The bus we needed to catch to ride to the party was at the end of the square up on the street. We went over to some stairs, but wouldn’t you know it, the gate at the top of the stairs was tied together? As I was trying to get it untied, I heard the bus start, and just as I got the gate open it disappeared around the corner. Great!
OK, no problem, we’d get a cab. Well, Belem would have none of that! She called Mayor Blanco over and introduced us, and it seemed that from that moment we became his little projects, as it were. He had one of his guards drive us to his office and wait for him. He then gave us a private tour of the office, taking a lot of time to do so. The old building was beautiful, and each room had it’s own charm. He even gave us some gifts and asked us to wait while he changed his shirt.
A few minutes later we found ourselves walking the few blocks to the Governor’s Palace with Mayor Blanco, his staff, and security. This PBR party was lovely. The entire palace had separate little stands with all different types of food and drink, and there was a large display in the center with more food. There was live music and dancing, and the whole atmosphere was so bright and cheerful – this was a really nice affair.
Sometime during that earlier drive to the parade route Linda’s purse tipped over and her camera fell out. Well, when she went to use it, it was broken. She was now two for two with electronic devices, and I told her not to touch anything of mine anymore. My computer did make it through, but my camera did not want to cooperate too well either, and many of my pictures did not come out. Can’t even blame that one on her, but I tried anyway.
FRIDAY
This was a nice, kickback day, which we very rarely have when covering PBR events. We sat by the pool a while doing nothing. Of course, we had to eat – frequently – and the food at the Westin was fabulous! Breakfast each day was a lovely buffet, with the option of having an omelet made however you wanted it. I won’t even try to list all of the items included in that buffet, but they were plentiful and delicious.
A few more words about the food. I had heard that Chihuahua is known for two things; their beef and their cheese. That was the absolute truth. I wish I could have figured out a way to bring home some of their cheese, but driving to El Paso and flying home a day later made it too difficult. Damn!
Friday evening was the first round, and since we didn’t need to be there as early as the riders did, we went over to the Manuel Bernardo Aguirre Gymnasio by cab. The first time at a new location is always spent figuring out where to be and how to get there, but it was pretty easy over at the stadium. This first round could have been a bit more exciting, but how bad can being at a bull riding be? We so love the atmosphere.
BFTS leader Justin McBride suffered a separated shoulder on his free arm during this opening round, and ended up not being able to ride the rest of the event. What bad luck for McBride.
Mike Lee will probably make the worst wrecks tape when he had a bad hang up while attempting to ride Navasota. He was hung up for what seemed like a really long time, and in the process bullfighters Frank Newsome and Dennis Johnson were both tossed around like dolls. Finally Lee was thrown over to the other side, allowing the nightmare to end.
We made sure that we found the Westin bus to get back to the hotel, however once we settled in were told that this was the bus for the Versus television crew and not the riders. Kirsten, who I believe is head of production, happily told us we were welcome to stay put, because they had plenty of extra seats.
We started off and it did not take long to realize that we were getting a police escort to the hotel. No one knew why, and a couple of the guys joked that it must be because of us. This police escort messed things up a bit, as shouts of “OXXO! OXXO!” ran up and down the bus. Oxxo is a liquor store in Chihuahua, and a lot of people wanted to stop. Poor Kirsten had to stress the fact that we were NOT stopping for booze while having a police escort.
SATURDAY
This was another slow day. We went to a very nice and new mall called Plaza Del Sol. They had some great stores there, and how can one miss a shopping opportunity, after all?
Belem came to pick us up for the second night. This performance was a lot more exciting than Friday’s, and the building was more electric. So much so, in fact, that just as Brian Herman bucked off, the building went black! A scary time, since no one knew where either bull or men were in the dark. But when some lights came back on, all was safe. The building was quite dark for 20 to 30 minutes, however. Apparently lightening had struck a transformer. (That was the only time we saw any rain.) A lot of the surrounding city had been thrown into darkness. But the event finished, albeit a bit later than planned, without incident.
It was also this night that we met Belem’s fiancé, Victor. What a nice person. We just met so many people down there, it was certainly enjoyable.
SUNDAY
At noon on this day was Chihuahua’s Dog Parade. This was a two-fold event. The first is similar to the Cow Parade. Local artists paint statues of Chihuahuas and sell them. In addition to that, there is a live Chihuahua Dog Parade, in which the tiny dogs are dressed up in a variety of outfits and participate in a contest.
Once again Belem picked us up at the hotel. By this time we were starting to feel somewhat like royalty. She led us to the bleachers that were blocked off by orange tape, and had us sit in the second row. After many minutes there and enjoying the entertainment, she came back and rushed us away. Apparently we were to accompany Mayor Blanco as he walked around looking at the statues. The painted Chihuahuas were just darling, and we really enjoyed them. Then we just had enough time to jump back in the car and race over to the Gymnasio for the final PBR performance, which was a very good one.
Later that evening, when things had settled down for a while and we were sitting with Denise and Gilberto, Matt walked by. His shout of “Hi, Doc!” kind of echoed throughout the lobby. Apparently he was right, that is to be his nickname for Linda from now on.
MONDAY
We finally got to see our little car again as we packed up and drove back to El Paso. We took the route that Gilberto had suggested to us, and was it ever easier! We met some friends of Linda’s for an excellent dinner – see, most of my thoughts are taken up with food!
TUESDAY
Once again I was selected to be searched at the airport. What gives? And let me tell you, they were a lot more thorough in El Paso than they were in Los Angeles. But that’s OK with me, I just had to laugh at my ‘good’ luck.
I got home and was ready to unload my car and to pick up my dog from the kennel. Then I noticed that half my garage was full of water. My air conditioning either froze up, was blocked, or both. At any rate, I had to call Linda and ask her to pick Tarah up and bring her home to me. I was too busy throwing away stuff that had been soaked, and trying to see if my insurance policy would cover this mess. As of this writing, it is still not fixed because no, of course it is not covered! And to add insult to everything, I now have a bad cold, and it’s 107 outside! WELCOME HOME!
I didn’t want to list names, but there were so many people this trip that really made it a lot more fun: The charming Mayor of Chihuahua Juan Blanco, Belem Rosendo and Victor, Randy Bernard, his mother Nancy and sister Tammy, Leann Lambert, Maureen Freeman, Gilberto, and last but definitely not least, Denise Abbott.
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
