Western Life

• Shanae Slattery, Grade 8, St Benedict's Catholic College
• Short Story
• 2013

Excellence Award in the 'Dream Big 2013' competition

Looking down at my mud caked western books made me feel very self-conscious. I had forgotten to clean my boots again. I always forget, no matter how much dad reminds me to. The emerald jewels on my shirt reflected the brilliant rays of sunlight. The blazing sun was setting on the far horizon of Texas. My jeans are faded, crinkled and have frayed at the bottom, showing old age. My cowboy hat sat tilted on my head to cover my face from the rays of sunlight. My hat made a shadow across my face, which cooled my hot skin. Beads of warm sweat trickled down my cheeks.
Being at the rodeo made me feel at home. Well technically it was my home. After mum and dad spilt 5 years ago, I live with dad. My dad works at the Rodeo and I go where he goes. I am always with him now because its school vacation. My dad is a special dad. He isn’t a dad who cooks dinner or has a really cool job and earns heaps of money. My dad has an awesome job but it has its pros and cons. My dad is a bronco and bull rider and he is the best of the best. Because my dad is such a western pro, we move around with the rodeo. Even with mum still around years ago, we lived with the rodeo, so after the divorce nothing really changed. Each rodeo we were at, dad always impressed the crowd and so did I. Mum used to joke about how I got all the rodeo talent from dad when my brother Stewie got nothing.
Stewie and I are closer than normal siblings because of our parents divorced. We both compete in events at all the rodeos. I compete in the barrel racing, calf roping and the junior bronco events. All my friends joke about how tough and boyish I am, but I don’t care. I just do what I love doing and that’s horse riding. Stewie is the total opposite. Even though he rides his horse Turbo in the rodeos, he only does it to impress dad. He loves reading and listening to music instead of working on our ranch like me.
Boom! Something hit me hard in my side. This got me out of my daydream quick smart. It was my horse, Rebel. I looked over to the rodeo arena and realised it was dad’s turn. I always have to cover my eyes when dad rides bulls. It is so terrifying. The bulls are so unpredictable and give me nightmares each night. Unexpectedly the bull that was under dad made a sudden U-turn. The turn was so swift that the movement was a blur. In an instant dad hit the ground with a thump. His shoulder was twisted in an awkward position. I didn’t think it could bend like that. Before I knew it, I was sprinting into the arena. Tears were bursting from my eyes. The rodeo was always a gamble.