Chicken poop bingo and sheep-riding kids: Aspen's surprising side

On Wednesday nights during summer, well-heeled spectators in 10-gallon cowboy hats, checked shirts and knee-high boots, more often than not bought fresh off the racks at Kemo Sabe in Aspen, scoot along to Town Park arena to watch Bull Riding, Breakaway Roping and Barrel Racing - a fast-paced, women's-only horserace against the clock - at the Snowmass Rodeo. The biggest cheer of the night is reserved for the Mutton Bustin' event, where boys and girls aged four to seven attempt to ride sheep bareback with their arms wrapped tightly around woolly necks. There's a petting zoo on the sidelines, as well as chicken poop bingo, a Coloradan version of cockroach races where rambunctious punters bet on bloated chooks soiling numbered squares. One place where the queues are always long is the mechanical bull ride, where overstimulated brats hang on for dear life while glamour mums and well-heeled dads watch on. Yee-haw, indeed!