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5th Annual Ak-Chin Masik Tas

Cowboy Lifestyle Network stopped by Maricopa, AZ to attend the 5th Annual Ak-Chin Masik Tas in the Ak-Chin Indian Community for their Bull Riding Bash.


2013 Ak-Chin Masik Ta.s (FI)

The Cowboy Lifestyle Network travels around the country to bull ridings and rodeos all across the United States. Recently, the CLN made a stop at the 5th Annual Ak-Chin Masik Tas in the Ak-Chin Indian Community for their Bull Riding Bash.

The Bull Riding Bash was a good time for all who attended and had something for everyone. The events were as follows:

  • Open Bull RidingIMG_1803 copy
  • Sheep Riding (Kids ages 0-6)
  • Calf Riding
  • Steer Riding
  • Novice Bull Riding
  • Wild Horse Race
  • And Calf Dressing (3-member team that must include one male and one female)

Wild Horse Race_Ak-ChinThe event started out with one of the most exciting, dangerous and wild events to be seen at any rodeo: the wild horse race. Teams attempt to keep a wild bronc fresh off of the range from rearing and kicking while placing a saddle on the horseโ€™s back. A member of the team then climbs aboard and holds on for a wild ride while racing around the arena. In this case, there were two rounds of wild horse racing: the preliminary round and then the finals.

IMG_1796Next up was the Open Bull Riding with livestock provided by Arizonaโ€™s own Mercer Rodeo Company, LLC. The Mercer family has had a long-standing family tradition of being stock contractors, and they brought out some of the finest animals in the pen to the Ak-Chin Indian Community. Riders fought to hang on to the kicking, jumping and whirling beasts, yet only few succeeded in making it the full eight seconds needed for a qualifying ride.

Up next was the sheep riding. For those who have never seen sheep riding before, a young child anywhere from 0-6 years old is placed on the back of a wild and wooly sheep. The childโ€™s goal is to hang on for a six-second ride. Some of the young riders even had chaps and sheep rope complete with mini-bells. These youngsters were tough and took a beating as they were drug, dumped and stepped on, yet most of them cowboyed up and walked out of the arena.

IMG_1891The day continued with calf riding and steer riding, which are the next steps up from sheep riding. Calf dressing was a thrill with teams of three attempting to put clothes on a calf, then carry it to the finish line. As you can imagine, the calves arenโ€™t exactly thrilled with the concept and put on quite a show dodging and evading their personal dressers.
IMG_1880Throughout the day, there was also food, rides, concerts and more across from Harrahโ€™s Ak-Chin Casino. Kids delighted in the many carnival rides there including a bounce house, slide, tilt-a-whirl, Ferris wheel and more. There were several vendors selling everything from clothes to food and jewelry.

The 5th Annual Masik Tas was a great time for the entire family. This โ€œbirthdayโ€ piast commemorates the day that Ak-Chin was formally organized as a Community. The Cowboy Lifestyle Network looks forward to attending the โ€œbirthdayโ€ bash next year!

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