When in the cowboy capital of the world we had lots of recommendations that we visit an authentic rodeo for a true taste of the real Texas. Just north of San Antonio is the Tejas Rodeo and it really is a hidden gem that lots of tourists might miss.
It offers a chance to experience Texas and its western heritage and attracts lots of families every Saturday night. The Tejas Rodeo is really family friendly and was the perfect way to experience a rodeo.
The girls had been excited to wear their new cowgirl boots that we bought from a store called BootBarn in San Antonio (for UK readers think of a huge Next store but full of cowboy boots and western clothes) and the rodeo was the perfect opportunity for them to dress up in their new boots and hats and blend in like the locals.
When we arrived there were lots of stalls selling cowboy hats and unique crafts and activities for the kids including riding a mechanical bull and pony rides. It was literally like walking on a country and western movie set, but this was the real thing – check out those toilets!
With little huts dotted around the site where you could buy cold beers to the delicious smell of food coming from some of the BBQ stalls this was authentic Texas and was one of our highlights of the trip.
We skipped the food stalls to dine at the Tejas Steakhouse & Saloon here famous for its KC steak. I can now see why it’s an award winning restaurant, our steaks and BBQ pulled pork were some of the very best we have tasted across all of our travels across the United States.
After all the shopping and eating it was time for main event of the night – the rodeo and coming from the UK it was an experience like no other.
The national anthem is sung to open the show and any members of the armed forces were asked to stand and applauded for their service followed by the flag riders , it was quite emotional. Over the next 2 hours we had a spectacle of cowboy culture as they raced around the dirt floor of a packed arena holding over cheering 3,000 cowboys and cowgirls – it was fascinating .
We didn’t really know what to expect but we had such a great time here and it certainly created lifelong memories for us all, especially dancing to the live country band at the end of the night.
