And I'm Leaving on a jet plane!

Well Wyoming, I have rested up and am about to hit the air again for my next big adventure! Before I get to what I have coming up, I want to catch you up on what I have been doing. While I have had a bit of a break this month from traveling, I sure haven't taken a break from representing the best state and the best sport!

I ended the month of February celebrating my 25th birthday with friends! I came down with the "Queen Cold" which has been passed from one state queen to another so a quiet evening of board games, chicken Alfredo, and cake was just what the doctor ordered!

I started March by reading to a kindergarten and first grade class for Read Across America Celebrity Reads. I had fun telling them about rodeo and the places I have traveled.

I then packed my bags and headed to my second home in Wyoming, Cody. I came into Cody and got to my first order of business. I went to the rodeo station to record ads for the 74th Cody Stampede. I am pretty excited for this year's celebration June 30-July4! I was then on hand with Miss Cody Stampede 2010 Kiley Boe to crown the new Cody Stampede court. I was

honored to be asked to set the horsemanship pattern on a horse borrowed from Jozie Tarr. Thank you Jozie! It was fun to see the enthusiasm of the girls competing. It was also fun to see Bailie Allshouse crowned as Miss Cody Stampede 2011. When I served as Miss Cody Stampede 2008, Bailie was my Sr. Princess. It warmed my heart to know how hard she has worked to wear the crown of the queen and I know she will do everything she can to represent Cody! Congratulations to all the girls who will be serving as Cody representatives. All of the girls and I then rode the Cody Trolley during the St. Patrick's Days parade. It was my first parade as Miss Rodeo Wyoming and was a blast!! On my way back to Laramie I stopped in Thermopolis to talk to a few girls who are just starting their journey to becoming rodeo queens.

At the radio station

Some of my friends in Cody, Wyoming

The judges and Fender

On my horse before the horsemanship portion of the pageant

Setting the pattern

All of the contestants

The 2011 Miss Cody Stampede Court

Before the parade

During the parade

The following weekend I had a chance to travel with my parents to an event. This was the first time all year I was able to ride in a car with them as I represented Wyoming. We headed to Douglas to the Miss Rodeo Wyoming clinic. Stacy Jo Berger and her mom, Lindy Johnson, put on the clinic. The girls in attendance did a great job absorbing all of the information given to them. Based on their performance at the clinic, I know the job of rodeo queen will be in good hands! Thank you to Erin Heffron, Allie Bass, Crystal Meyers, Stacy Jo Berger, Megan Grieve (horsemanship instructor) and everyone on the Miss Rodeo Wyoming Association who helped put this clinic together!

Talking about ways to study

Practicing patterns on stick horses

Thank you Ashley Tillard for letting me borrow your horse "Liberty"!

All of the girls at the clinic

Once home, I spoke at the Laramie Rotary club about my year so far as Miss Rodeo Wyoming. They enjoyed hearing my stories and were amazed at my growth over the years. Since my dad is an active member, I have been speaking to this group of people for many years. They have all supported me in one way or another during my journey to becoming Miss Rodeo Wyoming.

After the meeting, I packed up my truck and headed to grandma and grandpa's in Sundance, Wyoming. It was so fun getting to see them and have some of grandma's cooking. You will never have a bad meal with grandma at the stove! I also met my grandpa's new snowblower, "John". And I bet you can guess what kind it is.....yep, a John Deere, with a heated seat even! After a short overnight visit, I headed to Rapid City, SD to visit one of my new sponsors, Star of the West Hat Company. Brad presented me with my very first custom hat! I will proudly wear this 20x chocolate brown hat during my year, and for years after. While there I also gained the support of Chance Anderson of Anderson Custom Leather. Joining forces with Chance and Brad, I have something pretty special planned for the Miss Rodeo America pageant in November. You will have to stay tuned to find out the surprise!

Chance and Brad at Star of the West Hat Company

Last time I was in Rapid City, SD was for the Black Hills Stock Show. During that week, I took a bunch of the queens to Wendy's. When we left, I forgot my favorite mittens! I didn't realize I forgot them there until I got home to Laramie. So during my latest trip to Rapid City, I thought I would try my luck to see if they still had them. To my surprise, they did!! I now have my favorite mittens back!

So that brings us up to today. I spent the day packing everything I could into two suitcases and making sure I didn't go over the 50 lbs. weight limit. I am heading to Oklahoma City, OK for the Dodge National Circuit Finals rodeo. This will be the first time it is held in OK, so I am excited to be apart of history! While in OK, I will be joined by 20 other state rodeo queens! We will all compete in a trap shoot "Shootout". Our team members will be the cowboys from our circuit. Allie Bass, Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2009, took me out the other day to teach me the ropes! After the rodeo on Sunday, some of us queens will catch a flight to Salt Lake City, UT where Miss Rodeo Idaho's family will pick us up and drive us to Pocatello, ID for the Western Frontier Pro Rodeo. Packing for two trips at once is quite the task, but I feel confident in my puzzle piece packing! I will return home with stories, pictures, and maybe even some video clips!

Thank you all for reading and it's time to fasten my seatbelt and make sure my seat-back is all the forward and my tray is in the up and locked position! It's going to be a wild ride!

Brittany

The Boots on my feet, the Fuel in my tank, and the Hat on my head!

As I load up for my next adventure, the Miss Rodeo Wyoming Clinic, I am grateful for the sponsors that have helped me thus far. I have used my latest break in traveling to secure some more sponsorships for my year, and I would like to introduce you to them.


Greg Hensley with Dan Post Boots sent me three pairs (soon to be four pairs next week!) of some incredibly comfortable boots! One pair in particular has been exposed to the elements of Wyoming, but have held up like a pair champs! Greg will always make sure I’m strutting my stuff in style! Thank you Greg!




The Albany County Tourism board has given me a fuel card to help me in a few of my upcoming trips. I am excited to be wearing the logo of my county, “Live The West” with Wheatland, WY bullrider Tyler Willis. Tyler, the 2009 PRCA Rookie Bullrider of the year, and I will represent Albany County at the various rodeos we travel to. While he packs his car up with his bullriding equipment, and I pack my truck up with flashy shirts and autograph sheets, we will work together to promote our home and the people who support us. Thank you Fred,Jamie and board members!



Also while in Rapid City, SD I acquired a hat sponsor. Star of the West Hat Company owner , Brad Montague, has donated a custom made 20X hat for me to wear. We designed an amazing chocolate brown hat. I am excited to go pick it up! We are also in the works of establishing a continuing sponsorship with him, providing the newly crowned Miss Rodeo Wyoming with a 20x hat. Brad also helped me dress in style during the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo on the Tough Enough To Wear Pink night. He allowed me to borrow his pink and black hat to wear. I had so much fun showing this hat off, so be on the look out for this hat again! Thank you Brad!

I have also gained numerous individual sponsors this month as well. John Cavey, Pat Thompson, Jan Hurst, and Chris and Larry Bentley. The support they have shown me this year and previous years is wonderful. I appreciate all they do for me! Thank you!

My family and I are packing up to head to Douglas, WY for the 2011 Miss Rodeo Wyoming Clinic. Stacy Jo Berger has put together a weekend of hands-on learning for girls interested in advancing as a rodeo queen. I amexcited to be asked to come and share my thoughts on some of the subjects and am ready to learn from the other clinicians, Erin Heffron and Megan Grieve. It will be a fun weekend in the dorms of the Wyoming State Fairgrounds!

Thank you to all of my sponsors, ‘Till we ride again!
Brittany

Sunshine on my Shoulders!

February turned out to be an amazing month!! After my trip to Rapid City, SD I had a few days off at home to plan for the whirlwind I was about to face! I left for Gillette, Wyoming for the Winter Western Coors Pro Rodeo on the 11th. On my way up, I stopped by my newest sponsor, JLouise Handbags. Janet presented me with my very own handbag from her collection. I am excited to wear this bag on my arm as I travel!

I made it to Gillette that afternoon and saddled up for three rodeo performances by Powder River Rodeo Company. Hank and Lori Frazen did a wonderful job with the rodeo! I was so happy to be carrying the American Flag for the first time as Miss Rodeo Wyoming in my home-state. One of the hands provided me with a fun paint horse to carry the flag and clear the arena. Come to find out, he is a good friend of my family's. After Sunday's afternoon performance, I headed back home which should be a 6 hour drive. Some of the roads were closed due to wind so I had to take the longer way home. By the time I got home, I had 7 hours to unpack, pack fore my trip to Florida, and get some rest.

I loaded up my truck at 2am and headed to Denver to catch my Valentine's Day flight to Kissimmee, Florida. I had no idea what to expect when I stepped off the plane. The only thing I knew was, this was my first time on the east side of the Mississippi River.

My first event in Florida was attending the final portion and crowning of the Miss and Little Miss Silver Spurs Pageant. The competition was tough! Congratulations to the new court!! The next few days were filled with numerous school visits around the community. We were able to visit the Sheriff's Department and watched a demonstration by the K9 unit.

We were given the chance to go hog hunting. That was an experience! As we were tracking the dogs with a GPS locator, I realized Miss Rodeo Wisconsin,the four guides and I were chest deep in water, in Florida, at night. The rest of the queens stayed on dryer land. Not once did the dangers of what we were doing cross my mind, but we were in good hands of the guides and made it out safely. With three hogs loaded up in the back of the trucks at the end of the night, we headed home for a few hours of sleep. The hogs were taken to a ranch to be fed and then sold at a later date.

The next day started with more school visits and ended with an air-boat ride. We saw lots of alligators. I am glad we saw them on the air-boat ride and not during hog hunting!

On Friday we all loaded up and headed to the beach. It was like a dream being on the beach in February! It was so nice to get some sun. That night was our first performance of the Silver Spurs Rodeo. I was given a horse, another paint, names Flowers. She was so much fun and knew just what to do!

Saturday was a day of dreams! Four of us queens got to spend six hours at the Magical Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Miss Rodeo OK, CA, WA, and I spent the morning and early afternoon riding a few of the rides and doing some important shopping. We all bought our ears! That night was the second rodeo performance.

We wrapped up our trip to Florida on Sunday with the Special Rodeo in the morning. My partner, Brooke, and I made our way around the stations. We roped a steer, had a goat ribbon race, rode a bull, and she had the opportunity to ride her very first horse. The smile on her face while sitting on that horse made everything seem so bright. I was honored to have shared that memory with her. My trip ended with the last performance of the rodeo. I want to thank Laura Kessler for arranging the wonderful trip and Kerri for opening her home up to me and for arranging all of the horses for the 23+ queens in attendance. These ladies worked so hard to make our trip amazing, and it was!!

So now I am home, resting for a few weeks. I will be on the road again in March. Remember all you rodeo queens to sign up for the Miss Rodeo Wyoming clinic!! Information can be found on the website. It will be a lot of fun!!

Let's Ride On Wyoming!
Brittany

Great Faces, Great Places, Great QUEENS!!

I have survived the bitter cold in Rapid City, SD at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo. The extreme cold did not stop me and the other state queens from sharing smiles, laughs, and frozen fingers. Sutton Rodeo put on an amazing rodeo with over 500 contestants throughout the two weekends. The mounts they provided for us were great as well. I enjoyed riding the shorty of the bunch, Gilbert.

We were in for a huge treat this year as we joined McKenzie Haley, Miss Rodeo America, at the Landstrom's factory where she was given her new Miss Rodeo America crown. I was lucky enough to be able to snap the first shot of her in her new crown. We were given a tour of the factory and I now have a new respect for the jewelry. It is all made by hand, piece by piece. It was amazing!

We then made our way into the Black Hills so see the faces of Mt. Rushmore. As I have seen this many times, it was fun to see the other girls' faces light up when they saw the carvings peeking out between the trees.

I was in Rapid for 11 days, and I met many children at the numerous school visits we had and the one hospital visit. It was a great trip and I got to know more of the queens that I will be traveling with this year.

I have had a few days off, and tomorrow morning will load everything back up and head north the Gillette, Wyoming for my first rodeo in the state of Wyoming as Miss Rodeo Wyoming! (How many times can I fit "Wyoming" into a sentence?!)

Mt. Rushmore (Cold and windy!!)

School visit

The Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo queen contestants and visiting royalty

Tricia, the new Miss Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo Queen

Autograph signing in the RodeoZone

Royalty at the stick horse rodeo

Getting a chance to watch the rodeo!!

Another Autograph signing in the RodeoZone

Carrying a sponsor flag on Gilbert

National Sponsor flags

Getting ready for the fireworks!!

Landstrom's visit

McKenzie and Fender; First picture with the new MRA Crown

(Fender is a monkey that my mom's classroom is following this year as him and I travel "Follow Fender". He will show up in ALOT of pictures. The other queens have made a game out of taking pictures with him!)

Wayne Brooks (PRCA Announcer of the Year and Fender)

Fender riding a saddle bronc saddle