Nebraska Spelled Backwards

Dear Wyoming,

How about those Husker fans!! I discovered the true meaning of Cornhusker Pride as I spent the weekend in Omaha, Nebraska for the Million Dollar Tour Championship held during Ak-Sar-Ben’s River City Round-up. Here is a fun fact for those of you who don’t know, Ak-Sar-Ben stands for Nebraska, spelled backwards! I guess that means that I should refer to Wyoming as Gnimoyw! It was a great rodeo and I was surrounded by great people!

I will fill you in on a few details to help illustrate how great this trip was!! Detail #1: I drove… all the way across the state of Wyoming…. And all the way across the state of Nebraska! Adding approximately 2098 miles to Charlie’s odometer! Detail #2: I took a detour to Fort Collins, Colorado to visit my dress designer, which means that I visited four states in four days; Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, and Nebraska! So, I guess it’s safe to say that I am pretty well-traveled! Detail #3: In Omaha, I met up with Miss Rodeo Nebraska, Michelle Boesheart; Miss Rodeo Iowa, Jordanne Blair; Miss Rodeo Ak-Sar-Ben, Morgan Marshall; and Gina Jespersen, Miss Rodeo Ak-Sar-Ben Lady-in-waiting. We also cheered on Miss Rodeo South Dakota, Mckenzie Haley who carried flags during the rodeo. While we didn’t ride during the rodeo, we had rewarding experiences visiting hospitals, schools, helping out at the Challenge Rodeo and dusting off mutton busters during the rodeos. Detail #4: This was one of the last big rodeos that counts toward qualifying for the Wrangler NFR. The cowboys who competed in Omaha, worked hard all summer and earned their spots to compete for the $750,000. This made for an especially great rodeo to watch and we had the best seats in the house! We also helped with the buckle presentations, and yes, I did get to shake Trevor Brazile’s hand while we presented him with his buckle!

I put some miles in my boots as we walked through downtown Omaha during the parade! I had a blast handing out candy and talking to the rodeo fans! We had some down time in between events, which gave us the chance to walk around the livestock show. I got to see day-old baby piglets, baby chicks and black lab puppies at the Nebraska Agriculture Commissioner’s booth!

As you can see, Omaha was well worth the 30 hours in the truck! I am looking forward to hearing who officially made it to the 2010 Wrangler NFR!

God Bless!!

Erin Heffron