Ah. mutton-busting.

Every rodeo brings out the bravest of kiddies to try and pull off a nice eight-second ride on a maniacal sheep bent on either world domination or just knocking them off. The Mission Mountain Rodeo had no shortage of participants and I must say they were considerably more talented than their older counterparts on the larger animals.

Or the kiddies were at least in a much better mood. How many cowboys did you see high-five the rodeo clown after catching a mouthful of dirt? No, they were too busy running for the safety of the fence. Believe me, these mutton-busters are on to something. If you think about it, mutton-busting has less risk, more fun and a parent to console you if you didn't make it very far from the gate. I wish they had one of those at the DMV when needed.

My own mutton-busting career began and ended at age five. I blame it on a faulty piece of bailing twine that was supposed to allow me ample grip to subdue my sheep. Instead, I somehow misjudged the ferocity of the mutton and it royally owned me. Never again did I put on the chaps and ride into the sunset, and I now have this strong fear of four-legged animals with hooves.

However, I highly doubt any of the kids at the mutton-busting events on Friday and Saturday were as traumatized with their rodeo experience. The Mission Mountain Rodeo was as family friendly an event as you can get, only this event has large animals bouncing around with people on their backs.

"We grew up here, we grew up around rodeo," Polson Fairground Inc. secretary Una Graham said.

It's this kind of attitude that is perhaps missing in other sporting events. It's hard to exactly pinpoint but the "win-at-all-costs" and ultra-competitive nature isn't smacking everyone in the face. In rodeo, you get applause for just getting on the animal, regardless of what actually happens with the ride itself.

"It's definitely something that draws people together socially," Graham said.

Now, I'm sure there's a streak of competitiveness that probably rears its ugly head like in any sport, but it wasn't very apparent at the Mission Mountain Rodeo. I've been to a few junior rodeos and have yet to see a rodeo parent try and berate a miniature bull for it's bucking of their kids. Something tells me that if that did happen, I doubt they'd win the argument.

I don't want to paint youth sports in the area in a bad light either. The three weeks I've been in Polson, I have yet to run into "that youth sports parent" that's making opposing kids cry while they're up to bat. That's a sample size of a few handfuls of baseball games and more softball games than you can throw a curveball at. There's a certain level of civility I wish were more prevalent throughout the country, but there's always that "parent tries to strangle other parent over Pop Warner football game" story that makes national headlines every now and then.

By nature, team sports are going to be competitive and there is going to be conflict. It's inescapable for the most part. However, the way rodeo is set up, you really can't argue with anyone about the results. It's person vs. animal, and in some ways, it's person vs. his or her own courage. Most five-year olds are more inclined to be playing in a sand box than strapping themselves to an animal twice their size. However, these little kiddies walked out there and did it. They took a chance. They pushed their comfort zone. The grown-ups did the same, just on bigger animals.

And isn't that the point of sports?

The positive, festive and family-oriented atmosphere at the Mission Mountain Rodeo makes me think that the cowboys and cowgirls have the right idea when it comes to competition.

Just don't ask me to get on any of those animals.