Congratulations!!

Congratulations to all of the Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2011 contestants for such a great pageant!! The stakes were high and the competition was tough (I'm glad I wasn't a judge) but I am proud to say that Brittany Richards will carry on the legacy of greatness in our state next year!

Formerly Miss Butch Cassidy Days, Brittany hails from Laramie. I have had the chance to work with Brittany in the past and I know that she will do great things for Wyoming! Brittany has the work ethic and determination to accomplish her dreams which will help her inspire others to do the same!

I had a blast at the State Fair in Douglas and I wasn't sure if it was because I was on the other side of the competition, but I think it was because we had such a great group of girls! The eight young ladies from accross the state made their hometowns proud and it was fun to watch them grow throughout the pageant! I think that win or not, competing in rodeo queen pageants helps young ladies grow into beautiful confident women who embody western traditions! It also gives them the opporuinity to form friendships that last a lifetime! But above all, rodeo queens share a passion for the sport of rodeo and we are proud to call ourselves cowgirls!

After the State Fair, I dropped LeRoy off at Fremont Motors and although I will miss the bright red Dodge MegaCab, I was able to hop into a brand new 2010 3/4 ton Dodge MegaCab! It's beautiful and only had 26 miles on the odometer! Iam the luckiest girl in Wyoming, but it's all thanks to Dean Parker with Fremont Motors in Rock Springs!! I still have to come up with a name for this new one and I'm open to suggestions! Please visit the facebook group "Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2010" to add your ideas!

I am happy to be home for a week before heading to Evanston for Cowboy Days! My little brother, Tim just left for college and our house is pretty quiet without him! He is starting his freshman year at the University of Wyoming and although we miss him already, we know he will do great!!

Until next time,
God Bless Wyoming!
Erin

Sunshine and Summertime

Dear Wyoming,

Where oh where did the summer go?! It’s been an incredible two months so it’s going to be hard to summarize everything! I will try to list some highlights knowing that only a portion of the story is being told. The past two months found me in towns like Elizabeth, Colorado, Afton, Thermopolis, North Platte, Nebraska, Rock Springs, Douglas, Thermopolis (again), Cody, Laramie, Casper, Sheridan, Cheyenne, Rock Springs (again), Riverton and I am currently in Gillette. Each of these towns had a unique flavor and almost always a ridiculous funny story! For example, when I was in Thermopolis at the parade, I found myself leading the parade because the “stampede” of steers that was in front of the parade literally stampeded the streets, almost running over innocent parade goers. Or the time I was carrying the American flag in Sheridan and I almost ran over the band playing in the center of the arena… luckily I didn’t hit the trumpet player, but the look on his face was priceless!! I’ll never forget the whitewater trip in Cody or the ESPN crew catching Miss Rodeo America, Miss Cody Stampede and myself trying to climb the Cody sign!

These short stories are just a glimpse at my adventures as Miss Rodeo Wyoming, there is so much more that goes on underneath the jade crown. I’ve had the honor of carrying the American flag at many rodeos and it’s a feeling I can’t describe. Especially when I am aware of the Veterans and military personnel in attendance. I’ve had the opportunity to meet incredible people including world champions, award winning stock contractors and hall of fame cowboys. Even the volunteers on rodeo committees who have served up to 45 years are just as amazing as the world champions! I have discovered in the sport of rodeo, that work ethic speaks volumes between competitors and producers! Rodeo would not be what it is without the hard work of committees and contestants. Without a doubt, I am honored to represent such a great sport!

As the busy part of the summer slows, I will head home for the first time in three weeks and prepare to pass the jade crown to one of the eight beautiful contestants for Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2011. I will be honored to place this crown on the hats of either of these girls and I am confident that Wyoming will be very well represented next year! It’s hard to believe that it’s almost been a year since I won the title! I am looking forward to representing Wyoming at Miss Rodeo America! I will try to keep you updated on the rest of my travels!!

God Bless!

Erin

Old West Days, Jackson Hole Wyoming

Dear Wyoming,

Happy Memorial Day!! To me, this holiday has meant the beginning of summer… and we almost always kick it off with a lovely spring snowstorm! This year was no different, although this time it didn’t last long! I spent the weekend in Jackson for the Old West Days with a parade in downtown Jackson Hole and the start of the Jackson Hole Rodeo, which runs every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the summer.

My weekend started with a radio interview on Thursday morning with our local country station Q102. I was able to call into the station, which was nice because I was able to stay in my muck boots and chore jacket, as I sat in my truck in the driveway. I was excited to promote Old West Days in Jackson!

The festivities began on Saturday morning for the Old West Days Parade. The night before the parade, I took a walk down memory lane as I looked through old pictures of me at the Old West Days Parade. It was cool to see how far I’ve come as a young lady, and rodeo queen but also to see the underlying theme, chilly weather!

I enjoyed seeing the friendly faces of the Teton County Fair and Rodeo Queen Court-- Queen, Desiree Bridges, Senior Princess, Kayla Key, Junior Princess, Madison Wilkerson, PeeWee Princess, Jordan Bauer. We braved the chilly Jackson weather as we paraded downtown in the last horse-drawn parade in America! This means that they focus more on horses in the parade and they don’t allow vehicles that are newer than 1960. It was great seeing hometown faces and it was a little surreal as they announced my name as Miss Rodeo Wyoming, a dream that I’ve had since the my first Old West Days Parade! A big thanks to Desiree Bridges for providing a horse for me for the parade!

It’s been a long-standing tradition for my family to climb Snow King after the OWD Parade. Snow King is a one of the big mountains that makes up Jackson’s Hole and the trail to the top is approximately 2.3 miles! It is a ski hill in the winter and a nice hiking trail in the summer. Those of you who know me and how much I love a challenging workout, can see me running up the trail, queen hair and all!! (It’s true! I’ve done it for the last few years!) But unfortunately, my mom injured her knee and my uncle and cousins backed out because of the weather, so I gave into peer pressure and decided not to make the trip solo.

We were able to visit with some good family friends, the Fuchs family and we had a barbeque until the rodeo. AJ Fuchs, the 2009 National High School All Around Cowboy, let me borrow his new heading horse to carry the American Flag at the rodeo! What a nice horse! We had a special grand entry in honor of Memorial Day and I was humbled to bring the huge flag into the arena! I had a blast at the rodeo teaming up with Desiree Bridges to visit fans in the stands and sign autographs, Teton County is also well represented!!

I am preparing for a busy summer, and I’m getting ready to head to the Elizabeth Stampede in Elizabeth, Colorado next weekend! Best Wishes!

God Bless,

Erin Heffron

Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2010

Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding Center

Dear Wyoming:

Greetings from the beautiful, yet snowy Alta, Wyoming! I’ve been watching the snow weigh down the new leaf buds and the birds feast on worms in the dirt road. It’s hard to believe that summer is just around the corner! But as I check my travel schedule, I am reminded of just how busy I will be in the next few months. I am eagerly looking foreword to it!!

I just wanted to fill you in on the latest happenings in the life of Miss Rodeo Wyoming. Although the month of May has been rather slow as far as rodeos are concerned, I have been busy volunteering my time at the Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding Center. What a treat it has been!! I have been a fill-in volunteer for the last few years but this is the first time that I have been able to volunteer a full session.

I go over to Jackson regularly every Tuesday and Wednesday. It is definitely the highlight of my week! I work with three classes on Tuesdays and one on Wednesdays. In that time I have gotten to know the incredible staff and built relationships with the wonderful riders! It reminds me of the Special Kids Rodeos that are held in conjunction with some PRCA Rodeos, except I have the chance to get to know the kids I work with! The PRCA sets up the Special Kids Rodeos for kids with disabilities to come in and interact with rodeo contestants and queens while learning about the rodeo events. That has been my favorite part of many rodeos this year, and volunteering at the Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding Center is a great privilege!

I usually dress up with my hat and crown when I go to JHTRA and the kids have gotten so used to it, they don’t know who I am without it! One of the little boys that I was working with said, “Boy, Erin, I don’t even recognize you without your crown!!” Ever since then, I have dressed up and he is a happy camper!

As a Kinesiology major, I have considered going into Hippotherapy, which is a physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy treatment strategy that utilizes equine movement. The movement of the horse provides multidimensional movement patterns, which are rhythmic and repetitive. I’m sure all of us have experienced this effect when we ride, but sometimes we take that for granted. Each time I see the smile that comes to the rider’s faces as they step on their horses, I am reminded of how much I love my job!

God Bless,

Erin Heffron

UW College Rodeo

Dear Wyoming:

I always love visiting Laramie and the UW College Rodeo was a good excuse for Obadiah and I to take to the roads! I arrived in Laramie the day before the rodeos started so I could visit elementary schools and some of my old friends and teammates. I was in for a treat on Friday as I visited two schools and four classrooms. Thanks to Brittany and Chris Richards, I visited first, fourth and fifth grade classes at Spring Creek Elementary and then went to Indian Paintbrush Elementary to visit Susan Branch’s first grade class. We talked about the sport of rodeo and I even brought a stick horse so we could have a pretend barrel race in class! I had so much fun visiting schools, for a brief moment, I considered changing my major to elementary education… but I think I’ll stick with Kinesiology!

The UW Rodeo kicked off on Friday night with the first performance. Chyann Howard, from the UW rodeo team let me ride her horse, “Dink” to carry sponsor flags. He didn’t exactly live up to his name because he was really fun to ride! Brittany Richards, Miss Butch Cassidy Days joined me to carry flags and we had a great time! The beautiful Kim Kuhn helped us organize flags and we watched as future and some current professional rodeo cowboys competed in the last college rodeo in the Central Rocky Mountain Region. The rodeo had one round and the top 8 proceeded on to the final round on Sunday. On Sunday, for the final performance, Miss Laramie Jubilee, Dani Gilgen helped carry flags with me and it was great to see her! The rodeo was a great opportunity for UW students to take a break from studying for finals and each performance, we had a great crowd!

Overall, the trip was a success and I am excited to hear how our UW Cowboys and Cowgirls do at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming! Go Pokes!

Cheers!

Erin Heffron

Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2010

The Latest

Dear Wyoming:

My! How time flies when you’re having fun!! It’s been a little while since I last wrote so I will have to summarize the latest episodes in my journey as Miss Rodeo Wyoming.

The month of March found me in Ogden, Utah for the Rodeo Queen Boot Camp. The name says it all in the rodeo queen world, as it is the basic course for Rodeo Queens. I’ve had the opportunity to attend this clinic for the last two years, so this year, I switched it up a little and attended the judging clinic which was a rigorous course in pageant judging. My mom attended the clinic with me and we learned everything from judging horsemanship to personality. We came away from boot camp better equipped to judge pageants and help others improve. In addition to the great clinic experience, one of the big events during the clinic was the Fashion Show. Since I had been a boot camp student a few times, the coordinators asked me to be in the fashion show!! It was quite an experience to model with the best of the best that Utah has to offer!! I also enjoyed seeing other state queens at boot camp including, Idaho, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin as well as Miss Rodeo America, Kelli Jackson.

Meet OOOOOOOH-badiah!! A 2008 jet black 2500 Dodge Ram truck. Dean Parker, with Fremont Motors in Rock Springs likes to surprise me with the color and I couldn’t be happier! I had traveled a total of 5717 miles with Louie and it was time for him to go down the road and back to Fremont Motors. I will miss Louie, but I sure am excited for Obadiah!! My experience with Obadiah thus far has been tremendous and I like to think that this diesel truck is so powerful, it could climb the Grand Teton!! If you’re interested in purchasing this great vehicle, give me a callJ.

From March 19-12, I was in Douglas Wyoming hosting the Miss Rodeo Wyoming Clinic. I’m sure all the 25 girls in attendance would agree with me that it was a great weekend!! We had the chance to learn from the best as Maegan Ridley, Miss Rodeo America 2009 as well as other former Miss Rodeo Wyomings’ took the time to teach us the tricks of the trade! Suzanne Stewart, who coordinated the clinic, did a fantastic job and we are grateful for her expertise! For those of you who keep up with the Association, please keep Suzanne in your prayers as she recovers from surgery and has relocated to New Mexico. She will be greatly missed as a part of Wyoming Women but her friendship will continue for years to come! During the clinic, we had the chance to stay in the dorms on the Wyoming State Fair Grounds and we were happy to have the opportunity to get to know each other better! Overall, the clinic was a success and the future of Miss Rodeo Wyoming looks bright indeed!!

I had a few weeks off the road during the months of March and April; which gave me the opportunity to prepare for Miss Rodeo America as well as volunteer some of my time. Since I am planning on furthering my education by going to Physical Therapy school, I have been volunteering at a local Physical Therapy clinic as well as a therapeutic riding facility in Jackson. My time has been well spent and I am thankful for the opportunity to give back!

I have been going to the DNCFR since I was little so it was an awesome experience to be a part of it this year as Miss Rodeo Wyoming. I arrived in Pocatello a few days early so I could watch the DNCFR Queen contest and spend time with a good friend of mine, Allie Bohus. Since I was there early, I had the chance to do a few radio interviews and even a TV interview with KIDK News Channel 6! Miss Rodeo Idaho, Measha Gittins and I tagged along with the Dodge Queens at the beginning of the week and were later joined by the rest of the state queens.

The week was filled with hospital and school visits and incredible rodeo performances. The 17 state queens in attendance had the chance to carry sponsor flags during the rodeos as well as sell programs to eager rodeo fans. We watched the best competitors vie for the final prize of a $20,000 voucher to use towards a Dodge vehicle! The most memorable moment for me was when Ryan Gray won the bareback title. My mom is really good friends with his aunt and we were sitting with his family when the score of 90 showed up on the scoreboard! It was very exciting as his cousin called his wife to tell her the news! Way to go Ryan!

Soon after the final performance in the Holt Arena in Pocatello, my mom and I drove to Green River to judge the Sweetwater County Queen Contest. We judged alongside former Miss Rodeo Wyoming Stacie Kline-Thompson and boy did we have a tough decision! The four girls did a great job and a big congratulations goes out to Chrissy Wilmetti, the new queen and her princess Shaylee Mets. Sweetwater County is very well represented!

I then headed to the thriving town of Torrington, Wyoming for the first ever National Circuit Finals Steer Roping. I had a blast as the 24 contestants competed on 5 head of cattle for the title of Circuit Finals Champion! A big thanks to Harold Bumgartner who provided me with three awesome horses to carry flags and chase cattle. Oklahoma cowboy, Ralph Williams took away the title with his consistency and patience! I really enjoyed getting to know the contestants and I was honored to be a part of the fist NCFSR in Wyoming!

Most recently, I took a road trip to Douglas, Wyoming for the first ever Big Wyoming Horse Expo. I was blown away by the talent and resources that Wyoming has in the horse industry! From flashy appaloosas to hot blooded Arabians and dependable quarter horses, Wyoming has it all! It was fun to visit the different vendors at the trade show and watch the informative free clinics. I met some incredible people and I’m excited for the bright future of the Big Wyoming Horse Expo!

My next journey will take me to Laramie for the University of Wyoming College rodeo. I have elementary school visits planned in addition to carrying sponsor flags and helping out at the rodeo. I look forward to returning back to my old stomping grounds at UW and I will write to let you all know how it went!!

Until next time!

God Bless!

Erin Heffron

The Sunshine State!!

Frog legs, alligator tail… and Mickey Mouse? Yep, we did it all in the Sunshine State of Florida! Equipped with my hat, crown and banner, I flew out of Idaho Falls early on the morning of February 15^th. I carried my chaps and an arena shirt in my hat box and I got some funny stares as I was walking through the airport! I guess I stood out in the crowd of travelers! During the flight from Denver to Orlando, I was treated like royalty by the flight attendants and passengers, they even announced my name over the intercom of the plane!!

When I arrived in Orlando, I was welcomed by Miss Rodeo Florida, Heather Hall and we were soon joined by Miss Rodeo Virginia, Anita Moorhead, Miss Rodeo Idaho, Measha Gittins, and Miss Rodeo Oregon, Ashley Zeigler. It took us a while to get acclimated to the palm trees and lack of snow, but all of us were very excited to be in Florida!! There were five of us that stayed at Miss Rodeo Florida’s house, which is about twenty minutes from Kissimmee, home to the Silver Spurs Rodeo.

            When we arrived at Heather’s house, we were greeted by a pack of dogs and a “swamp buggy.” Now, the “swamp buggy” is a type of motorized vehicle that I had never seen in Wyoming! It looks like a cross between a monster truck and a topless jeep and as we discovered, it wasn’t afraid to drive across deep rivers and swamps, hence the name “swamp buggy!” Heather’s dad took us for a spin behind the house in search of hogs and gators… while we didn’t see either, we did see quite a few deer and lots of cows!! It may surprise you to know that Florida is cattle country!!            We didn’t find any hogs that night but we did catch an armadillo!! It was quite an experience!!

            The next day more state queens and a few local queens joined us as we visited two elementary schools. We had fun acting out some of the rodeo events and answering questions. The surrounding area schools participate in “Rodeo Day” when they actually get out of school on Friday and go to the rodeo!! It is a great idea and the kids loved learning about rodeo!

            We dressed up for the evening and went to the Miss Silver Spurs Pageant held in Kissimmee. I was very impressed with all of the contestants who worked hard and made their parents and community very proud. The Silver Spurs court traveled with us to visit schools and represented did a great job representing their rodeo!

            The next few days were filled with school visits in the morning and activities at night. We had a total of 14 state queens, Miss Rodeo America, Miss Rodeo Canada, Miss Rodeo Canada Princess and the Silver Spurs Court. All together there was a swarm of about 25 queens!! That is a lot of glitter, lip stick and fringe!! We went out to lunch at the famous “Catfish Place” and exercised our taste buds with frog legs, gator tail, turtle, and catfish! I came to the conclusion that frog legs actually do taste like chicken and gator tail goes great with tartar sauce!! We had a bonfire one night and roasted marshmallows and Starburst candy. If you haven’t tried roasted Starburst, I strongly recommend trying it because it is warm and gooey in the middle and a little hard and crunchy on the outside!! However, we may have a few months before we have ideal “Starburst roasting weather” in Wyoming!!

            On Thursday night, we went out for an adventure in the Florida wilderness hunting for hogs! We all piled on three different swamp buggies and set out in search of the wild piggies. Once again, we didn’t see any hogs (I think it may be a lie, Florida doesn’t really have hogs because both times we went out, we didn’t see any hogs!!) But we sure had fun and I actually got to drive the swamp buggy!! It was a lot like driving Louie through the snow in Wyoming… except I had much bigger tires!! As soon as the sun went down, it got very cold!! It might be hard to believe but Florida weather is pretty unpredictable! We were happy that we brought warm jackets and blankets but as soon as we got back, we had another bonfire and were able to warm up!

            The next morning we drove down the road to the lake where we hopped into airboats and sped around in search of gators!! This time we found what we were looking for!! We even got close enough to an 11-foot long gator that we could touch it from the boat! We were able to see one of the oldest trees in Florida as well as a multitude of wildlife surrounding the lake… including cows wading through the swampy areas!

            The rodeo started on Friday at the Silver Spurs Arena. The Osceola County Fair was held in conjunction with the rodeo and it took me a while to get used to the idea of having a county fair in February!  Local cowboys and cowgirls provided us with horses and I can only imagine how hard it would be to find 15 horses for all of the visiting queens so we were very grateful! Our job in the grand entry was to carry our state flags and I was honored to enter the arena with the Wyoming flag! After the grand entry we had the opportunity to visit sponsor boxes and mingle with rodeo fans who were eager to meet us and learn about the sport.

            Saturday morning found us basking in the sunshine on the beach! We waded out into the water a little but even for a Wyoming girl, it was cold! Miss Rodeo South Dakota, California, Utah and I went for a long walk on the beach to a visit a peer. I will have to say that we got a little sunburn, but I was happy to return home with some color in February!

            The rodeo on Saturday was especially great because my grandparents came to see me! They live most of the year in Wisconsin, but migrate to Florida in the winters and luckily for me, they don’t live very far from Kissimmee! My grandpa was so excited that he told anyone who would listen that his granddaughter is Miss Rodeo Wyoming! It was so great to see them both!

            We woke up early on Sunday morning and made it in time for Cowboy Church at the Silver Spurs Arena! There was a lot to be thankful that morning! We were employed to help at the Special Rodeo, which was one of the coolest experiences! I had never done a Special Rodeo before but I was reminded how much I love the sport of rodeo when I saw the looks on the kid’s faces!

            The final rodeo on Sunday was in the middle of the day, which was fun because it was in the 70’s! I felt like it was the middle of the summer in Wyoming… minus the palm trees!! Florida is part of the Southeastern Circuit and although it may be far from the Mountain States Circuit, I was surprised at how many Wyoming and Colorado cowboys came to bask in the sun and compete in one of the largest rodeos east of the Mississippi River!!

            After the rodeo we were presented with the opportunity to go to Disney World!! A generous family that we met at the rodeo offered us 8 free tickets! We didn’t have very much time to spend at Disney World but we made the most of our time. We rode a roller coaster twice, the Tower of Terror twice and we still had time afterwards to go shopping! It was an awesome experience, one that I certainly wont forget!!

            I left Florida with a little sunburn and a big smile on my face! It was incredible!! A big thanks to my sponsors who helped send me to Florida, and show this Wyoming girl the Sunshine State!