Cody, WY

Made a quick little pit stop in Greeley for the Miss Rodeo Colorado Pageant before heading off to Cody.  I really enjoyed my little bit of time with Miss Rodeo Colorado Cassidy Cabot and Miss Rodeo Nebraska, Sierra Petersen!  It is so strange to think that in just a short month I too will be handing down my crown to a Lady-In-Waiting!  The time sure does fly but I have to keep moving forward and enjoy all these great memories and friendships I have made along the way!!

I made my way to Cody in good time and really enjoyed spending time with the local girls and Miss Rodeo America, Mackenzie Carr.  We worked hard and played hard with several fun events throughout the week!  I would probably venture to say that our favorite memory was going white water rafting!! As we know, it has been really dry in Wyoming and we have been praying for rain, however, the storm came while we were stuck out in the middle of the Shoshone River and it didn’t just rain….it hailed!!! J Needless to say…we are pretty tough girls and had a great laugh even though we didn’t get much of a tan.  This weekend was the Cowboy Christmas for all cowboys as they were able to make a 4^th of July run! Some of the most elite cowboys made their stop in Cody as well, so it was a lot of fun to get in on all the action of the rodeo.  I was able to ride Trina Barnett’s horse, Chick at the rodeo, and Bob’s trail horse Jigger during the parade.  Great horses always make for a fun time!

Thermopolis, WY

I picked up the Cheyenne Frontier Days girls, Sami Jo and Chloe and headed down the road for a fun time filled with trailing broncs, working the rodeo, honoring veterans, and even a little poolside time at the world famous Hot Springs!  This rodeo is truly just what I needed for a little Wyoming time.  Triple V Rodeo’s Bill, Dona, and Tami Larsen have always been my favorite family in rodeo.  They have supported me and cheered me on through my time as a Dandy in Cheyenne through Miss Frontier, College Rodeo, Sheridan-WYO, and now Miss Rodeo Wyoming.  I am so grateful to have their support and influence and love even more to be a part of their wonderful rodeo.  In the middle of the rodeo there was a tribute to service men and women as well as war veterans.  During this tribute, the entire stands joined in, and sang God Bless America while I was standing out in the middle of the arena with our big, beautiful American flag.  This sent chills up and down my spine and made me so grateful to be exactly where I was sharing in patriotism with the rodeo fans.  The rodeo went great and it was fun to help take care of the stock as well.  The Vold family takes such great care of their bucking stock so they are able to perform to their absolute peak.  I cannot wait to work for them in the future at the ranch rodeo at the state fair, and in Casper for the Tribute to the Great American Cowboy! 

NEBRASKAland Days

I made a little stop in Cody, WY, before heading to Nebraska to help with the PRCA Rodeo.  I also entered the Cody Nite Rodeo and really enjoyed the whole experience!! Cody is just one of my favorite places in Wyoming and I cannot wait to go back for the Cody Stampede!!! When we showed up in Nebraska, it was non-stop fun and hospitality until the day we left.  Miss Rodeo Idaho flew into Cheyenne where we also met Miss Rodeo Colorado and had a blast spending a little extra time traveling together!   Our host home, the Twarlings were the sweetest people!! Especially with there little Maltipoo, Max!  There was a sign in the yard that even said, “Welcome Miss Rodeo Wyoming!”  Boy was I excited!!!!  We were there for the Miss Rodeo Nebraska and Miss Rodeo Nebraska Teen pageant.  Their pageant committee does such a nice job and I was so proud of all the girls competing.  We went to a BBQ by a pond and had a blast kissing frogs and jumping off the dock with a couple of the other girls. 

The horse that was brought for me for the rodeo was, Billy.  He was such a great horse that kids were lined up to take their turn on him.  Horses like that are so priceless.  The people and animals I have had the opportunity to work with this year have made it so worthwhile! I am still just on cloud nine and know that the next couple months are going to bring even more fun, laughs and memories!! 

Arizona and Elizabeth, CO

Arizona

Payson, AZ was beautiful, and strangely enough, reminded me of Wyoming!! There was a lot of forest, and trees, and the elk even bugled at night!  I stayed in a wonderful host home with Miss Rodeo Oregon and we enjoyed taking in the Miss Rode Arizona Pageant.  While I will miss beautiful Audrey Hall, Miss Rodeo Arizona 2011, I am very excited for Jayme Smith, Miss Rodeo Arizona 2012 to join our group!  We enjoyed dancing right along with the girls and entertaining the crowd in between the girls competing.  One morning we even were able to enjoy a beautiful flight over Payson!!  It was breathtaking and the little plane I flew in reminded me of the backseat of my grandmothers Lincoln, pretty cozy and really not too scary either!! I loved flying high over all the forest area around Payson and taking a look at the fire that they were working hard to fight.  After returning back to Phoenix I enjoyed a little time with my Godmother that was much needed! She is such an influential woman that I am so blessed to have in my family!

Elizabeth, CO

After spending some much needed time at our family’s ranch in Arvada, Wyoming, I was off to Rock Springs, WY to switch out my Wyoming Edition Truck for a new Ram 1500.  These demo trucks sure have been nice, and they make it fun to go down the road in pure comfort!  I ended up in Elizabeth, Colorado for a really fun Hawaiian theme queen’s luncheon as well as helping with the rodeo during mutton busting and during the grand entry where I was honored to carry the Wyoming Flag! Elizabeth was named the Small Outdoor Rodeo of the Year for the PRCA so there was a lot of pride in and out of the arena! The Big Sorrel horse that was loaned to me, Honey, and I enjoyed our time together and Miss Rodeo Colorado, Cassidy, and I really had a great time and took many laughs from the trip home with us J.  The memories that are made are truly priceless!!

Yahoo!

Cheyenne Frontier Days Reception and School Visits/FFA

The end of April and May have been great! I was so pleased to help out the UW Rodeo Team with their rodeo, the last rodeo for the Central Rocky Mountain Region.  I have missed college rodeoing, however I was able to help coordinate the grand entry and really enjoyed watching all the members of the team step up to do something I have been having fun doing all year; promoting sponsors and showing tribute to our State and American Flags.  The members of the team that helped are such great rodeo athletes but proved to be great flag carriers as well!! 

I am so excited to have such great support from Cheyenne Frontier Days!  They held a reception for me at the Buckle Club and I was so delighted to have such wonderful support and encouragement to keep me going this year!  I am a member of the Contestants Committee for Cheyenne and hope to give back to them for the rest of my life to hopefully show thanks for all Cheyenne Frontier Days has done for me!  CFD is such a great rodeo, Number One PRCA Outdoor Rodeo of the Year!! But, in my book they are also the #1 family anyone could ask for! Love all the Volunteers of such a wonderful western celebration!

            While in Cheyenne, I stopped in to Fairview Elementary to visit Mrs. Peg Bath’s class.  Her husband Tim Bath made and donated the beautiful chaps I wear everywhere I travel!  The kids were a lot of fun and asked great questions, such as, “If you could have your hair any other color, what color would it be?”  Being naturally blonde and having that excuse when I have “those” moments made this a pretty hard question to answer.  Mrs. Bath is such a great teacher and it is great for the kids in town to always get a little perspective on rural life as well.  I have been running into Mrs. Bath and her daughter Lexi at a few barrel races while I have had sometime at home to be back on my own horses.  I load up with my friend Carla Beckett, her horse Hillbilly, my horse Archie, and of course our two best friends Teddy and Lilli (the two cutest mutts you will ever see!). 

            While in Laramie I helped out with Special Olympics Wyoming in the aquatic portion and boy were those two days filled with laughs, hugs, and fun!!!  All of the athletes did an exceptional job and showed great sportsmanship!  I have had a lot of fun volunteering while I have been home for a little bit and one of the greatest things I have seen is how well the High Plains FFA chapter of Cheyenne Central High School has done.  I was formerly a member of this chapter and have been moved up to the honorary member status after helping out with a few of their events.  I cannot wait to help them more as they had great success this year at State Convention! They are now Wyoming’s #1 chapter along with a list of successes I couldn’t be more proud of!!  Wahoo Wyoming!!! So proud of all the many accomplishments of the great people of our wonderful state!!!

Arizona

Payson, AZ was beautiful, and strangely enough, reminded me of Wyoming!! There was a lot of forest, and trees, and the elk even bugled at night!  I stayed in a wonderful host home with Miss Rodeo Oregon and we enjoyed taking in the Miss Rode Arizona Pageant.  While I will miss beautiful Audrey Hall, Miss Rodeo Arizona 2011, I am very excited for Jamie Smith, Miss Rodeo Arizona 2012 to join our group!  We enjoyed dancing right along with the girls and entertaining the crowd in between the girls competing.  One morning we even were able to enjoy a beautiful flight over Payson!!  It was breathtaking and the little plane I flew in reminded me of the backseat of my grandmothers Lincoln, pretty cozy and really not too scary either!! I loved flying high over all the forest area around Payson and taking a look at the fire that they were working hard to fight.  After returning back to Phoenix I enjoyed a little time with my Godmother that was much needed! She is such an influential woman that I am so blessed to have in my family! 

National Circuit Finals Steer Roping

I have been having a blast traveling the rodeo trail as Miss Rodeo Wyoming!  I have learned a lot of new things, ridden a lot of nice horses, and met some great people who have impacted my life for the better.  Each trip brings a new adventure and I am so glad to have the opportunity to represent such a great sport that has so many of the values America really needs to turn to. 

The National Circuit Finals Steer Roping was outstanding and a HUGE congratulations to Rocky Patterson for winning the title!!!  He was certainly deserving and his horse worked great!  The National Circuit Finals Steer Roping has been going on for three years now and is having huge success in Torrington due to the hospitality the committee provides.  There was a wonderful reception the first night where the ropers were introduced complete with fresh oysters on the half shell and a cheese assortment fit for a king!  All meals were provided and the cowboys arrived in complete comfort with nice stalls complete with shavings and hay as well as the flexibility to feel at home wherever they chose to park and tie.  Steer Ropers are such a classy and handy set of cowboys.  They were all so kind to work with and their horses were out of this world!  We had 6 circuits represented this year and 24 ropers.  They all roped 8 head and from there 8 ropers made the semi-finals on down to 4 in the finals for a sudden death round.  The cattle were fresh and the horses did great handling them as well as the ropers. 

            My dad (Pete), Fred McClanahan, and I, were able to take a really fun and quick road trip out to Ft. Laramie.  Thank goodness I was with two history buffs, because it made the trip that much more exciting.  Ft. Laramie is very special to Wyoming’s history and definitely a place I need to stop at more often!  After heading back to Torrington, it was time to get ready for the first round of the Steer Roping Finals.  I rode a horse by the name of Dooley, and boy was he a doll! As a matter of fact, I almost had tears in my eyes when I gave him back.  He was big, black, kind, and so responsive, ready to work all day.  I am so appreciative for the way everyone treated me.  The steer ropers, committee, Larry Schaneman (who provided Dooley for me to ride) and everyone attending were just the greatest group of people to spend the weekend with. 

Three special men were honored during the finals; Doctor (Jim) Baker, Tom Gipson, and the late Bob Grant.  All of these men are truly remarkable and have done a lot to shape the sport of Steer Roping.  Doc Backer and Tom even had a match roping during the finals that was great!  Bob Grant was such a dear friend to my family and myself.  He always supported me and I always loved seeing him at various rodeos and events.  We have wonderful memories of dancing in Pendleton, Oregon, and dancing at my Miss Frontier Coronation Ball.  He was such a dandy and a Gold Card Member of the PRCA.  Bob Grant will be missed forever but never forgotten, he touched so many lives and I am so glad he was able to touch mine too!! 

Oklahoma Where the Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plains!

 

Oklahoma City was an outstanding rodeo! Especially to when Bobby Welsh finished it off with a win in the Bull Riding!  Oklahoma had great hospitality and took us on many adventures to get to know the town.  The first night we went to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and saw where the Federal Building once stood.  It is a very peaceful place now, but it still angers me that someone could be that selfish to hurt so many people and their families, especially babies in the nursery.   We saw the tree of hope and the empty chairs that were lit up in honor of everyone that was lost that day wishing many blessings over their families for such a traumatic loss. 

            The next day we visited the Oklahoma Capital and we sat in on their legislative session.  I met a really nice guy by the name of David Sykes; his son is in the Senate and works a lot for the Agriculture Committees.  I was able to get to know him and his friend that stop in about once a week.  I gave them tickets to come watch the RNCFR and noticed that there was something very special about David.  He was a very friendly, informed, older man, with hearing aids, always chatting and getting to know everyone.  His friend sitting next to me informed me that he was a survivor of the Oklahoma City Bomb.  He therefore had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and wore hearing aids due to the bomb that day.  David explained to me that he was a mailman and that is what he was doing in the building that day.  He said he could have been in five other locations when the bomb went off but luckily he had finished early and was just leaving when it happened.  He told me he felt like he was in a nightmare and that after leaving the hospital he had to take a long hot shower to get all of the debris off of his skin.  I am so grateful I was able to meet David because he made the trip so special and memorable.

            We also visited the Veterans Hospital and made many visits throughout.  One of the patients had lost his leg recently and was mourning a little bit about his loss.  We ended up talking and I explained to him that my dad also had one leg, and he began to decide it wasn’t so bad, just something to get used to.  He then sang me a song, one of my favorites, Ave Maria!  I told him that music is the best medicine and he said that is because it comes from the Spirit and the Spirit comes from God, so he will never feel alone.  Many of these Veterans are so lonely and hurt; this made me aware of the sacrifices they have given up to ensure MY freedom.  I am so glad the sport of rodeo takes patriotism so seriously.  Rodeo is such an American Sport and throughout history and today our military has secured that.  God Bless America!!!!

            After many public appearances and getting the word out about the rodeo, it was time to get to work.  We carried sponsor flags, worked the front door, and attended production meetings to be ready for the rodeo.  Bronc Rumford supplied our horses and brought me big strawberry roan by the name of Big Ben.  Big Ben was a little green, but never let it show.  He was a perfect gentleman and we worked together to promote the sponsors of the PRCA and the RNCFR.  Bronc Rumford really is an exceptional man.  He worked with each one of the girls to help improve their horsemanship skills and make them aware of what was the best way to get along with the horse they had been assigned.  I really appreciate his time and talent and cannot wait to run into him later along the road.