What a show of support

This past weekend saw the annual PRCA Rodeo, and Thermopolis truly shined in terms of showing off our town. The nightly performances at the fairgrounds were well-attended, with supporters of breast cancer awareness Friday night and an amazing tribute to our Armed Forces Saturday.

At the Chuck Mead Memorial Pack Horse Race the crowd cheered on everyone, whether local or not, and encouraged them through the challenges of capturing their horses, securing the packs and leading the animals in the difficult course obstacles.

Heck, even the rodeo clown had plenty of people taking care of him, bringing food out to the arena while he danced, joked and – when needed – made himself a target for the bulls and broncs, all while getting drenched and with an unpainted smile on his face.

The parade this year was truly astounding in the number of entrants we had. It was expected we’d see quite a few more floats in an election year, but beyond our political candidates the displays of our nation’s colors and keeping with the United We Stand theme was a good reminder that, no matter the outcome of the elections, we should strive to remain a united nation, state, county and town.

The entire weekend of events, rodeo related and otherwise, was a real visual example of what this community can do when we drop the mudslinging and start supporting each other. While many of the candidates might not be who you’d vote for, we can still support their decisions to run and try to get a position where they could bring about some positive change. And to those who put their names in, don’t let the comments on the streets and online get to you. Run your race, show our town and county you’re here for them and even if you don’t make the cut, don’t let it stop you from finding ways to keep that support for and from Thermopolis and the county going.