Today is Go Texan Day, the unofficial kickoff of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The city is buzzing with excitment, the day is packed with events to get you in the Rodeo spirit, and there's no shortage of Rodeo fun here at Catherine Couturier Gallery!
To start, close friend of the gallery and frequent collaborater, renowned artist Charlotte “Stinkerbell” Couturier was featured in the Houston Press's "What’s More Houston Than Mutton Bustin’?" by April Towery. Keep reading to hear Charlotte's tale!
Mutton bustin' at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Photo by RodeoHouston
"The rules of the eight-second ride are simple: hold on for dear life, even if you’re mounted atop a sheep. Five- and 6-year-olds will don their belt buckles and cowboy hats on opening day Tuesday at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for the ever-popular mutton bustin’.
Registration is closed for the indoor event at NRG Stadium, held daily from March 4-23 just ahead of the evening concerts. An outdoor opportunity in the Junction carnival area costs $20 per participant and spots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis every hour between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. throughout the duration of the rodeo.
Catherine Couturier, who owns a fine art photography gallery on Colquitt Street, said when her children reached the eligible age to ride a sheep at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, she jumped at the chance because, “What’s more Houston than mutton bustin’?”
Couturier’s son Andre, now a freshman in college, did it first in 2012, and his little sister Charlotte followed suit in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to halt pretty much everything across the globe. “I never made my kids do anything they were scared of until Charlotte and mutton bustin’ and I felt sort of guilty, but I knew, as a Houstonian, she’d be bummed if she never did it,” Couturier said. “We went early in 2020 and they shut down the rodeo the same week, so if she hadn’t done it that time, she never would have been able to.”
Mutton bustin’ was first introduced at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2009 and now sees more than 250 participants each year. Hundreds of hand-selected sheep travel from Ault, Colorado for the event, which is broadcast live on the Space City Home Network.
Couturier said Charlotte lasted about three or four seconds on “Lindsay Low Lamb” and loved the experience. “They are on and then they’re off,” she said. Although plenty of observers have probably seen a child or two break into tears at the end of a run, because they're surprised or if their dismount is a little abrupt, Couturier sees it differently and credits the rodeo staff for her view.
“It happens so fast. The people immediately pick them up when they fall and make a big deal about the kids, who are all sort of in shock, so they don’t cry. To this day, [Charlotte] loves talking about mutton bustin’. Has she embellished a tad? Yes. But did she end up with a lot of dirt — and surprisingly, a penny — in her underwear that I had to shake out in the port-a-potty? Yes.”
Safety is a priority, said HLSR senior manager for attractions and competitions Angela Gutierrez. “We give them a helmet and a vest, so if they do fall, they’re falling on something soft, and the dirt is soft,” she said.
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There's a lot of protective gear for these young contestants. Here's Charlotte at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2020.
Photo by Catherine Couturier
Mutton busters must weigh 55 pounds or less, and the children are already pretty low to the ground. Gutierrez added that the sheep are used to being around people.“They stink, but they’re friendly,” she said. And even if your baby is not competing, the event is still fun to watch. It’s also pretty cool for the kids to have an arena full of spectators cheering for them, Gutierrez said.
This year, special mutton bustin’ competitions are planned for Armed Forces Appreciation Day on March 5 and First Responders Day on March 10. At those events the mutton busters will be children and grandchildren of veterans or first responders.
The competition to saddle up on a sheep is fierce. More than 2,000 children entered this year’s lottery system to ride at NRG Stadium, Gutierrez said. “We have some families who take this very seriously,” she said. “They’ll call up and say their child just turned three and how do they get them signed up. Well, you wait until your child ages a couple of years.”
Every participant gets a medal and the winner each night is presented with a belt buckle. A different group performs at NRG for the first 19 nights and the winners come back on the final night so a grand champion can be named. “It’s a really special experience for everyone involved,” Gutierrez said. Couturier said that Charlotte, now 10, still has a white participation ribbon from event sponsor H-E-B. She only agreed to do it, her mother says, because she was promised a pink cowboy hat.
Andre and Charlotte Couturier at the Houston Rodeo, 2020 with the treasured pink cowgirl hat.
Photo by Catherine Couturier
“Great parenting, but now she’s really glad she did it,” Couturier said. “There’s something really special about it. It would be a little scary, so I shouldn’t think it’s adorable when a kid gets scared and thrown into the dirt, but it’s not dangerous. It feels like a very Houston thing to do, a very Texas thing to do.”"
Later in the day, Gallery Row was graced by trail riders making their way from cities across Southeast Texas to Memorial Park, ahead of the Downtown Houston Rodeo Parade on Saturday. To say the least, watching them pass by was a fun break from work!
Trail riders on Kirby Dr outside of Gallery Row.
Finally, we are delighted to present you with these festive selections from our collection that are sure to make you say yee-haw!
Please contact us at gallery@catherinecouturier.com with questions or to purchase any of these selections. Anything on this list is sure to bring a Texan twang to your space, year round.
Patty Carroll, Saddled Down, 2021
Al Rendon
Selena, 1993/2018
archival pigment print
edition of 40
.jpg)
Henry Horenstein
Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music, 1972-1981
book
$24.95
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Today is Go Texan Day, the unofficial kickoff of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The city is buzzing with excitment, the day is packed with events to get you in the Rodeo spirit, and there's no shortage of Rodeo fun here at Catherine Couturier Gallery!
To start, close friend of the gallery and frequent collaborater, renowned artist Charlotte “Stinkerbell” Couturier was featured in the Houston Press's "What’s More Houston Than Mutton Bustin’?" by April Towery. Keep reading to hear Charlotte's tale!
Mutton bustin' at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Photo by RodeoHouston
"The rules of the eight-second ride are simple: hold on for dear life, even if you’re mounted atop a sheep. Five- and 6-year-olds will don their belt buckles and cowboy hats on opening day Tuesday at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for the ever-popular mutton bustin’.
Registration is closed for the indoor event at NRG Stadium, held daily from March 4-23 just ahead of the evening concerts. An outdoor opportunity in the Junction carnival area costs $20 per participant and spots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis every hour between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. throughout the duration of the rodeo.
Catherine Couturier, who owns a fine art photography gallery on Colquitt Street, said when her children reached the eligible age to ride a sheep at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, she jumped at the chance because, “What’s more Houston than mutton bustin’?”
Couturier’s son Andre, now a freshman in college, did it first in 2012, and his little sister Charlotte followed suit in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to halt pretty much everything across the globe. “I never made my kids do anything they were scared of until Charlotte and mutton bustin’ and I felt sort of guilty, but I knew, as a Houstonian, she’d be bummed if she never did it,” Couturier said. “We went early in 2020 and they shut down the rodeo the same week, so if she hadn’t done it that time, she never would have been able to.”
Mutton bustin’ was first introduced at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2009 and now sees more than 250 participants each year. Hundreds of hand-selected sheep travel from Ault, Colorado for the event, which is broadcast live on the Space City Home Network.
Couturier said Charlotte lasted about three or four seconds on “Lindsay Low Lamb” and loved the experience. “They are on and then they’re off,” she said. Although plenty of observers have probably seen a child or two break into tears at the end of a run, because they're surprised or if their dismount is a little abrupt, Couturier sees it differently and credits the rodeo staff for her view.
“It happens so fast. The people immediately pick them up when they fall and make a big deal about the kids, who are all sort of in shock, so they don’t cry. To this day, [Charlotte] loves talking about mutton bustin’. Has she embellished a tad? Yes. But did she end up with a lot of dirt — and surprisingly, a penny — in her underwear that I had to shake out in the port-a-potty? Yes.”
Safety is a priority, said HLSR senior manager for attractions and competitions Angela Gutierrez. “We give them a helmet and a vest, so if they do fall, they’re falling on something soft, and the dirt is soft,” she said.
There's a lot of protective gear for these young contestants. Here's Charlotte at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2020.
Photo by Catherine Couturier
Mutton busters must weigh 55 pounds or less, and the children are already pretty low to the ground. Gutierrez added that the sheep are used to being around people.“They stink, but they’re friendly,” she said. And even if your baby is not competing, the event is still fun to watch. It’s also pretty cool for the kids to have an arena full of spectators cheering for them, Gutierrez said.
This year, special mutton bustin’ competitions are planned for Armed Forces Appreciation Day on March 5 and First Responders Day on March 10. At those events the mutton busters will be children and grandchildren of veterans or first responders.
The competition to saddle up on a sheep is fierce. More than 2,000 children entered this year’s lottery system to ride at NRG Stadium, Gutierrez said. “We have some families who take this very seriously,” she said. “They’ll call up and say their child just turned three and how do they get them signed up. Well, you wait until your child ages a couple of years.”
Every participant gets a medal and the winner each night is presented with a belt buckle. A different group performs at NRG for the first 19 nights and the winners come back on the final night so a grand champion can be named. “It’s a really special experience for everyone involved,” Gutierrez said. Couturier said that Charlotte, now 10, still has a white participation ribbon from event sponsor H-E-B. She only agreed to do it, her mother says, because she was promised a pink cowboy hat.
Andre and Charlotte Couturier at the Houston Rodeo, 2020 with the treasured pink cowgirl hat.
Photo by Catherine Couturier
“Great parenting, but now she’s really glad she did it,” Couturier said. “There’s something really special about it. It would be a little scary, so I shouldn’t think it’s adorable when a kid gets scared and thrown into the dirt, but it’s not dangerous. It feels like a very Houston thing to do, a very Texas thing to do.”"
Later in the day, Gallery Row was graced by trail riders making their way from cities across Southeast Texas to Memorial Park, ahead of the Downtown Houston Rodeo Parade on Saturday. To say the least, watching them pass by was a fun break from work!
Trail riders on Kirby Dr outside of Gallery Row.
Finally, we are delighted to present you with these festive selections from our collection that are sure to make you say yee-haw!
Please contact us at gallery@catherinecouturier.com with questions or to purchase any of these selections. Anything on this list is sure to bring a Texan twang to your space, year round.
Patty Carroll, Saddled Down, 2021
Al Rendon
Selena, 1993/2018
archival pigment print
edition of 40
Henry Horenstein
Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music, 1972-1981
book
$24.95
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