Sunday the sky turned blue and by the time of the rodeo, about 3:00 in the afternoon the sun was beaming down on a large crowd of spectators as the boaters circled around the docks at the Bigfork Harbor Condominiumns and waited for their chance to tackle the large and powerful wave that had developed just downstream from the steel bridge.

While the gathering fans watched the boaters put on a great competition, I stood behind the judges and listened quietly while shooting the pictures you see on this page.

When #7 finished his minute, one judge said to the other, "That's the best ride we've seen so far today." I couldn't stay long enough to know if his ride stood up but it is a treat to share these pictures with you.

While some contestants had trouble even getting into the wave and holding it, this guy was doing spins and paddle thrusts. The topper came when he did a full barrel roll and came up still on top of the wave.

Watching the rodeo event is a completely different experience from the more traditional slalom and downriver events.

Made possible by the radically different boat designs of the modern era, the rodeo boats are very short and designed to use the unique hydrologic characteristics of large volumes of fast moving water coursing around rocks and other obstructions.

To the seasoned observer, the skills that make a good rodeo kayaker are quite different from the ones that make a good downriver racer. However, both require tremendous upper body strength and agility.