The Daddy of 'Em All

We arrived at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo on a Sunday, but you wouldn't have know it was Sunday unless you looked at a calendar. The atmosphere on the grounds of the CFD makes it feel like it's always Friday! Most all of the state queens come to the PRCA Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year to see for themselves the history and traditions that still stand for the western way of life that are preserved in this extraordinary rodeo. To accommodate all the girls who want to come, we applied to attend and Ms Arlene Kissinger rotated groups of girls in and out of days that we were assigned to be there (another reason that it is such a BIG deal). So the group I was in began our four days in the capital of Wyoming with a Taco John's party at Ms Kissinger's house and from there we went to see Sawyer Brown in concert on the rodeo grounds! Each day we either had a parade, breakfast, the rodeo, and other events that were planned for us to attend. From sun-up til way past sun-down we were having a great time representing the sport of professional rodeo as well as enjoying the activities of the CFD! It was nice to see old faces and meet new friends at the Daddy of 'Em All! The western way of life that the Cheyenne Frontier Days represents is something that everyone should see and attend! Please visit there website to get more info at www.cdfrodeo.com and enjoy what I saw while in Wyoming!

Daddy of 'Em All!! Pretty darn cool!

From the western grandstands looking eastward.

And now from the eastern grandstand looking westward.

This is from the eastern grandstands looking southward towards the time-event end.

And this is me being 'tough'! Do you believe it? Haha, cause I sure don't!

" Breakfast is served, come and get it!!"

The idea is to toss it onto the platter, but the trick is that you have a good catcher! Either my catcher didn't have his game face on or the pitcher was way off aim? Who knows.

I first met this gorgeous girl when she came as Lady in Waiting for the CFD Queen in Santa Fe a year ago at my rodeo! Now I came to visit her at her rodeo in Cheyenne! My really good friend who I admire, Kim Kuhn!!!

Oh and look who I found!! Miss Rodeo America Meagan Ridley, so I say to her, "Meagan, there are no sopapillas in Wyoming. We must travel south for that delectable treat!!"

All I can say is......this is a first.....and maybe the last, because this is in permanent ink!

Home with Amy Amack

In between the Colorado Springs rodeo and the Cheyenne Frontier Days, I went home with Miss Rodeo Nebraska Amy Amack for a few days. It was so nice to spend some time with her and do what we do best, catch up and do a little be a day work on her ranch! We didn't have to curl our her for her herd of Black Angus cattle, they don't really care just as long as we fee and water them! But we were able to catch up on some laundry and gear up for the Daddy of 'Em All! Amy lives in Chadron, NE, which is in the northwestern corner of Nebraska and 20 miles from the South Dakota border, so we took a trip to see Mt. Rushmore! Most of the girls went to the Rapid City, SD rodeo in February and visited the National Monument, however that was when my Coronation was held. But we made up for it and visited when it wasn't so cold! ;) Who said blondes weren't smart? Enjoy the pictures!

A great view from Amy's back porch!

MRNM at the entrance of Mt. Rushmore, the 47th State Admitted to the Union in 1912 (in case you didn't know or couldn't read the writing).

Could it be the 5th face? I'll let you decide. HaHa

Here we are!

Visiting Mt. Rushmore rekindled my patriot spirit, thanks George, Thomas, Theodore and Abraham!

A few of the happy cows in Nebraska. How ya doing girls?

Just like New Mexico except Nebraska is greener, has more grass and trees, a little more wind, it gets cooler at night, the cows tend to be fatter, and they accumulate much more snow than we do.

Yep, just like New Mexico? :)

The Highlight of My Year!

The most memorable trip I have had was when I traveled to Colorado Springs, CO. I arrived at the Denver International Airport a couple hours off the scheduled time due to some delays, instead of arriving at 3:00 PM, my plane landed at 5:30 PM. Miss Rodeo Nebraska Amy Amack and Miss Rodeo Alabama Victoria Jeffcoat picked me up in the "pink-mobile"! However, I walked out of the airport empty handed, my bags were misplaced! I was told that I would receive my bags before midnight, that night. We drove from Denver to Colorado Springs to stay with some family friends of Amy's. After we had met the family, I was given a hard time about what we rope in New Mexico and if you know me at all, I told these new friends that in New Mexico we rope for money! With that I was asked if I would like to enter a team roping that would happen on Saturday, of course I agreed! As night fell upon us and midnight approached us we figured my bags were late, again. So I stayed in a pair of camouflage sleep pants and an extra large hunting orange shirt. My bags finally came at 7:00 AM, twelve hours late to be exact. Once I had my luggage, things started to pick up for me. The week went well and before I knew it the team roping that I was to compete in was a 'Celebrity Roping' they told me and they would love for me to dress as Miss Rodeo New Mexico! Well, thats' just great I thought, there is no way that I can wear my 'Miss Rodeo New Mexico' sash it might get caught in the dally, and so I finally told myself to just Cowgirl Up and rope! When Saturday came, the people who had entered me had forgot to mention that this team roping was sponsored by the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and that the announcer was Bob Fiest, team roping contestants were Larry Mahan, Ted Nuce, Jon Davis, and Karl Stressman, just to name a few. I realized that this was no ordinary roping, in fact it was the Inaugural PRCA Commissioners' Classic! I roped with a local celebrity of Colorado Springs, Lynn Spears. We didn't do so well, those heelers will starve you every time and I would know cause I was heeling that day! But even though we weren't on our 'A-Game', that day will never be forgotten by Miss Rodeo New Mexico.

Karl Stressman, CEO and Commissioner of the PRCA, and myself!

Please visit the PRCA website at www.prorodeo.com or see the video blog 'Straight Talk with the Commissioner' at www.rodeoup.com.

Colorado Springs, CO

If you were flying in an airplane during the second week of July, I am positive that you saw one of the 24 state queens that were making their way to Colorado Springs, CO. As a state title holder, this is one of the premier events that you can and should attend. During the week and a half that we were in Colorado we were a part of the PRCA Hall of Fame Inductions, Pikes Peak or Bust ProRodeo, Miss Rodeo America Seminar, and visited the U.S. Air Force Academy. There was something to keep us girls’ busy everyday!! Miss Rodeo Alabama Victoria Jeffcoat, Miss Rodeo Illinois Rebecca Kloker, Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Michelle Blake, Miss Rodeo Nebraska Amy Amack and I jumped on a bus to take us where the Air Force trains the elite! After a brief inspection of our bus at the entry gates, we arrived to see Cadets training, going to class, and of course flying! Our handsome guide was a senior majoring in engineering, and we all agreed his uniform couldn’t have fit any better! HaHa The afternoon was picture perfect for site seeing around the U.S. Air Force Academy, but before long we were summoned back to civilian life and be among the legends in rodeo. The PRCA Hall of Fame Inductees were Dan Mortensen, Ace Berry, Walt Arnold, Erv Korkow, Ted Nuce, and Leonard Ward who had shown interest and passion for the sport of rodeo. During one of the weekdays, the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo Committee members took a few of us for a train ride up to the top of Pikes Peak! Um, how fitting to attend the Pikes Peak or Bust ProRodeo and get to travel to the top of the same mountain!It was truly a great experience for those of us who took the 2 1/2 hr trip to the top and a special Thank You to those who made it possible! From there we attended nightly rodeo performances where PRCA Announcer of the Year Boyd Polhamus entertained us with is witty jokes and comebacks! When the rodeo finished and we signed our final autographs on Saturday night, we only had a nights rest to prepare the state queens for an informative seminar. The Miss Rodeo America Seminar, held over a three day period, gave great insight as to what is expected as a Miss Rodeo and what we need to individually study to have better success in competition. I encourage all young women vying for a local, state, or national title to attend the Miss Rodeo America Seminar, for more information please visit their website at http://www.missrodeo.com/ . Here are a few pictures I manage to scrounge up for you, enjoy!!

A close up of MRNew Mexico and MRAlabama! What beautiful smiles, good thing we brushed our teeth! :)
I'm glad to see such excitement Amy, MRNebraska! Its a good thing Michelle, MROklahoma, didn't see that look, she would have been frightened.

Leaving our mark at the Air Force Academy!

Myself, MROklahoma Michelle, MRNebraksa Amy, MRIllinois Rebecca, and MRAlabama Victoria infront of the Cathedral Church on the AFA Base.

Our journey up to the top of Pikes Peak!

"Toto, I can see Kansas from here!"

We have reached the top, literally. The top of Pikes Peak looking west into the Rocky Mountain range.

A bid for a 'Good Day' atop Colorados' mountains!!

Rodeo de Santa Fe

In the capital of the Land of Enchantment, the Rodeo de Santa Fe has been a tradition for over five decades. Just off Rodeo Drive, you can see the huge grandstands of the arena and every year this rodeo kicks off the week of more rodeos and money to be won than any other time of the year, known as Cowboy Christmas! Big names such as Trevor Brazile, Fred Whitfield, Speed Williams, Will Lowe, Billy Etbauer, just to name a few, make this stop their first of up to 25 other rodeos all held during the 4th of July week.

I was very priviledged to have been treated with such great hospitality! Not to mention my home away from home with the Massengills in Pojoaque. Even though I rodeoed with them most of my life, they just won't let me 'be the queen'! Maybe that is because they know how I act when I rope and tye goats?

The rodeo is always stacked full of great livestock contestants as well, when the 'Duke of the Chutes' comes to town, you know Harry Vold is bringing is best! If you ever are up the in the northern part of New Mexico and want to experience the western traditions, head on over to the Rodeo de Santa Fe and see what you find!

NEBRASKAland Days

After being in New Mexico for a few weeks, it was nice to have the opportunity to travel to the middle of the nation, North Platte, Nebraksa. The community holds a huge western celebration known as the NEBRASKAland Days, which consists of the Miss Rodeo Nebraska Pageant, the Buffalo Bill PRCA Rodeo, and numerous other events that keep the western heritage alive. I was fortunate enough to stay with one of the directors of the event, Paula Stubb and her husband. Not to mention I had to share the house with my circuit sister, Taryn Brady Miss Rodeo Arizona. What a blast we had! Besides the nightly bonding that took place up stairs between the Turquoise Circuit girls, we had laughs and inside jokes all week long. Word got around that we were the "fun" queens and everyone wanted us to make them laugh, but do you know how many starving comedians there are in the world? Taryn and I both agreed that we didn't want to add to that population, so we stuck with just being Miss Rodeo Arizona and Miss Rodeo New Mexico! Though we did not get a ton of beauty sleep, we did enjoy the countless events that were scheduled for the 15 or so state queens that came for the festivities! The one thing we all could agree on was that nowhere in the nation have we signed more autographs than in North Platte! Every girl had to have their autograph sheets copied so we could meet the local demand, we estimate that we signed close to 1,000 autographs each. The youth in the area have state queens come in from year to year and they collect who the can for scrapbooks they each try to keep. It is times like this that make you appreciate where you are in your life and the impact that you have on the youth of today! Not only did we feel famous, they had us help with auctions and other fundraising efforts for local charities. Nebraska sure knows how to utilize help when they have it, I suppose the population doubled when we came into town! HaHa Take a look at these pictures and if you like what you see, head on over to their website at http://www.nebraskalanddays.com/ .

Our home during the NEBRASKAland Days Celebration in North Platte!

Taryn is always showing up in my pictures. What's the deal pickle?

Maybe she likes my perfume?

Next stop, the largest railway station in the nation!!

This was the only part that would fit into one picture!! Choo-choo!

Would you believe me if I told you that this young girls name is Brooklynn, spelled just like mine? I didn't believe her either, that is until she signed my paper for me. What are the odds, in North Platte, NE finding someone with the same name as you?

May we sign an autograph or two for you?

The whole gang!

These are the western states, starting from the left, Courtney -South Dakota, Nicole - Washington, Brooklynn - New Mexico, Audrey - Colorado, Freya - Idaho, Allie - Wyoming, and Leslie - Montana.

If a picture could talk, it would tell you this is a fun group of girls!!

Happy Trails from the Cavegirls!!

NMHSRA State Finals

The week after the Pioneer Days Rodeo, Clovis held the New Mexico High School Rodeo Association State Finals. The NMHSRA is a nation wide rodeo association that high school age competitors can compete in throughout the school year at various rodeos across their state. During the state finals the Top 4 total point earners for the year qualify for the National High School Rodeo Finals (which cities across the country bid on, so it moves every two years). Along with the regular rodeo events, each state has a 'High School Rodeo Queen', which in New Mexico the contest is held in conjunction with the state finals. Ashlee Stallings, NMSHRA Queen Coordinator, was generous enough to extend an invitation for me to be a judge and I was fortunate enough to have a free weekend that could be filled with this opportunity! Like any other rodeo queen pageant the NMHSRA Queen must compete in the respective 'queen categories' (i.e. speech, interview, modeling, etc.) except due to National High School Rodeo Association set rules, there must be 5 judges! It was really cool to be in the company of the first New Mexico State Fair Queen, Wilma Fulgham and a former High School Rodeo Queen and dear friend, Jaci Sant! I had a wonderful time with everyone and seeing some familiar faces added to my experience! Thank you NMHSRA and Ashlee Stallings for the wonderful hospitality!

Boots wasn't too excited about getting ready for the competition, but he sure looked the part!!

Pioneer Days ProRodeo

The first week in June is home to the Miss Rodeo New Mexico Pageant and the Clovis Pioneer Days PRCA Rodeo. During this week, numerous young women from across the state bring their “game faces” and great attitudes to compete in the Miss Rodeo New Mexico, Miss Rodeo New Mexico-Teen, Miss Rodeo New Mexico Princess, and Little Miss Rodeo New Mexico Pageants, respectively. The age of the contests range from 25 years of age all the way down to 7 years of age and all must give a speech, model, answer impromptu questions, personal interview and showcase their horsemanship. However, the difficulty of each will progress with their age. This year we had seven young ladies combined in all the age groups competing, and what a great job they all did! Along with the MRNM Pageant, the PRCA rodeo had nightly performances for us girls to attend! And I’ll be the first one to tell you that it got a little western, but we’ll let the pictures tell the story!
Miss Rodeo America, Meagan Ridely was fortunate enough to come to eastern New Mexico, but on the downside Meagan didn’t bring her driving skills! As we cruised around ‘downtown’ Clovis, the roads have quite a few dips and I suppose in California, where she is from, that dips in the road are different from those in Clovis. Meagan was driving Joe’s Boot Shop 1970’s model 6-door Cadillac with a one-horse bumper pull, at 30 or so MPH, and hit this dip. As I look to the horse trailer behind us, it was mid-air! Meagan was extremely apologetic as we pulled over to the curb to check any damage that may had occurred, but thankfully everything was fine. Though Meagan’s California driving didn’t kill us, the dance routine that my coordinator put together left us wondering if we didn’t break something when we were rehearsing! Our western heritage didn’t help us find the rhythm, but the crowd applauded our efforts! I was extremely blessed to have some of my closest friends with me during the celebration, Miss Rodeo Alabama Victoria Jeffcoat, Miss Rodeo Arizona Taryn Brady, Miss Turquoise Circuit Audrey Hall, Miss Rodeo America Meagan Ridley and not to mention all the local royalty, Little Miss Rodeo New Mexico Sydney Sanchez, Miss Rodeo New Mexico Princess Gabby Baker, Miss Rodeo New Mexico Teen Shadoe Petty, and Pioneer Days Queen Kassi Shelko. So take a look at what we caught on camera and see just how much fun we had!

We call ourselves the Queenie Weenies!

Jammin' out to some Good Ol Rock-N-Roll!!

Miss Rodeo New Mexico 2010, Kelly Horton. Congratualtions Kelly and best of luck this upcoming year!!

The many 'hats' worn by queens, wait I don't even know who these people are!

Tah-dah!

*cricket*cricket*

I must say that was a great display of dance moves, but I feel the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders definitely know something we don't about perfomance!

Well, we had to have a Kit-Kat break, before we hit the road!

We had to stop and pick up the "queen transporter"....

...if you could only imagine Meagan behind the wheel! We must have been headed to find some good ol New Mexican sopapillas?

Just two cowgirls enjoying the rodeo!!!

As Ricky Bobby says, " I wanna go fast!"

From all of us in Clovis, Happy Trails!