Houston Rodeo gets off to a soggy start

Kim Ackel spent an hour on her hair before she left the hotel this morning.

She and Jo Ellen Hughes also spent extra time on their makeup, eager to make a good impression at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

But after they took the Metro Rail and walked through the thick Houston air, Ackel’s blonde hair had deflated.

“We’ll have to do a patch job inside, spruce up a little somethin’,” she said, laughing. “That’s Texas - if you don’t like the weather one day, it’ll change the next.”

The 86th annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo got off to a soggy start on Tuesday, as intermittent rain showers and Southeast Texas’ signature humidity swept across the festival grounds.

Jillian Wilke, a 32-year-old who has volunteered at rodeo for six years, said she’s seen worse weather on opening days. She scanned tickets beneath an orange tent protecting visitors from the weather at the Metro gate.

“Sometimes it would be cold and rainy, and not all gates used to be covered,” she said.
“You used to have to stand in the weather, but I guess they like us more now.”

Even though she’s a veteran volunteer, Wilke made the mistake of doing her hair and makeup on a day that called for rain.

“It’s humidity times 1,000,” she said.

Bill Weinert was more prepared.

The Galveston resident wore a clear, plastic cover slipped over his black cowboy hat - one of three such hat and cover combinations he owns.

"I got my first one after the first rain we had" at rodeo, Weinert said. "If you have a good hat, you want to protect it."