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

National Western Stock Show At My Back

Greg Hensley with Dan Post Boots

Military Appreciation Night

Wyoming Day Opening Ceremony

My new chaps from Tim Bath

Myself, Tim (helped us with flags), and Brittany (Miss Rodeo CA)

Me and Fargo

Me and Tim Balding (Spurs sponsor)

I wrapped up my last visit to Denver for the National Western Stock Show. Miss Rodeo America, McKenzie Haley had a pretty bad spill, actually two, the day before I got there. The doctor told her she had to stay off horses for two weeks to make sure her head was ok. Therefore, I was honored to be able to partake in the last 8 openings of the rodeo. 7 out of those 8 times I carried the National Western Stock Show. The other time I was able to carry the Wyoming flag for Wyoming Day. Gov. Matt Mead and his family were on hand, as well as two representatives of the Wyoming Stock Growers. I was so exciting to hear the cheers for the state of Wyoming.

While in Denver, I become rather close to Fargo the horse. For those of you who remember what happened to Erin, I think she scared him because never once did he act up! He was a complete sweetheart and we got along great. This was also the first time the state queens actually got to hang out as queens. It was fun getting to know everyone. Miss Rodeo California, Brittany Slaton, discovered that not only do we share a name, but we also share a birthday! On the last day of the rodeo, Brittany and I were able to share a lunch with longtime supports John Cavey and Pat Thompson. We also shared many conversations with Carl and Kathy Wilkenson from Landstrom’s throughout our visit. Theses four individuals made our first trip as state queens so pleasant.

I had the pleasure of joining Miss Rodeo America, Miss Rodeo Colorado, and Miss Rodeo North Dakota at the Brown Palace in downtown Denver to see the Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion steers of the National Western Stock Show. It was surprising to see two steer in the lobby of a five star hotel. But it was a beautiful setting for two amazing animals. That night we were on hand for the Junior Livestock Auction. We had to leave early because of the rodeo, but were able to watch the sale of the Reserve Grand Champion hog, Grand Champion hog, and Reserve Grand Champion lamb. Some of us queens even made it onto 9News, as they were airing the auction live.

I have had a few days off, but will be heading to the Black Hills Stock Show tomorrow morning. I am excited to visit another state as Miss Rodeo Wyoming, but I am counting down the days until I make my first appearance in 2011 as Miss Rodeo Wyoming in the state of Wyoming.
Saddle Up and Ride On!

Shop till your Boots Fall off!

I want to start by congratulating all of the incoming and outgoing officers on the Miss Rodeo Wyoming Association. The enthusiasm to see the association grow is remarkable! I know that with their devotion and passion, this year is going to be everything I hoped for. I want to encourage anyone interested in joining this amazing group of people to contact myself or Rod Myers, the Miss Rodeo Wyoming Association president, or any other association member.

The day following the Miss Rodeo Wyoming Association meeting in Casper, I made my way to Denver for my first appearance as Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2011 at the National Western Stock Show. I helped with mutton busting and carried flags in the rodeo. I also attended the Citizen of the West dinner honoring Pete Coors. Pete was being honored for being a staple in the western community. After having numerous photo opts with Wyoming and Colorado government dignitaries (pictures to come later), I was honored to present Pete Coors with the National Western Stock Show branding iron and custom Stetson hat, both a custom for honorees to receive. We ended the evening by receiving a special edition root beer bottled by Pete Coors. They make some pretty delicious root beer floats! I finished up that weekend with the National Western Stock Show Scholarship Goat Roping. This event was one to remember! Kellsie Purdy, Miss Rodeo Colorado 2011 and I competed in the pig penning and had the fastest time of the night. At the end of the event Kellsie, McKenzie Haley, Miss Rodeo America 2011, and I competed in the “goat pole bending”. I surprised myself by having the fastest time of the three queens. What a way to end the weekend!

I spent January 14, 15, and 16 with Laurie Thoman-Hernedez, Linda and Rod Myers, and Kerri Cook at the Western and English Sales Association (WESA) Market in Denver. We visited sponsors and bought some amazing things to help me during my year as Miss Rodeo Wyoming. I am so glad that Laurie, Linda, Rod and Kerri had been there before because without their experience there, I would not have made as many contacts as I did, and I would still be lost in the huge building! We had a great time and had a chance to get to really know each other.

I was honored to attend the Wrangler party on Saturday night. After having a rather interesting experience trying to park my truck with Kerri, we made our way into the party. We saw some incredible people who have worked so hard to make rodeo the #1 sport. I was even able to have my picture taken with Stran Smith and Stetson Vest. I met Tom Balding, the sponsor of my Miss Rodeo Wyoming spurs; Jennifer Smith, a past Miss Rodeo America and ESPN rodeo correspondent; Abe Morris, a Wyoming rodeo cowboy and author; and many other rodeo idols.

The past few weekends have been filled with laughs and memories which made the first 19 days as Miss Rodeo Wyoming amazing. I can only imagine what the rest of the year has in store for me! I will be heading back to the Denver to the National Western Stock Show tomorrow morning and remain there until the end of stock show. If you’re in the area, make sure to come to the Saturday January 22 rodeo performance at 3:30pm. This performance will honor the state of Wyoming and I will be giving the opportunity to carrying the Wyoming flag during the opening ceremony.

Thank you Wyoming, Let’s Ride!

Hello Wyoming!

Happy New Year!! I hope everyone is as excited about 2011 as I am! As I sat watching the glass ball in New York City drop, I realized that not only was I counting down to 2011, but I was counting down to the start of my dream come true!! Earlier that night I had the honor of helping the Laramie Jubilee Days committee and royalty at their New Year's Eve Fall Brawl rough stock rodeo. Holly, Pam, Tabitha and I helped with a dice game to win a couple Polaris "toys". We also were honored to carry in the flags for the opening. As I stood at the gate waiting for my name to be called, I forgot that they were calling me when I heard "Carrying the Wyoming state flag is Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2011." I had to wait to hear my name to know they were for sure calling me into the arena. It was a great experience standing in the arena knowing I stood before my community as Miss Rodeo Wyoming.

I want to thank Erin Heffron for doing such an amazing job this past year as Miss Rodeo Wyoming. She always had a smile on her face and was grateful for everything. She took this title to a new level, and I hope that I can carry on her enthusiasm and charisma. Thank you Erin for being such an honest and wholesome role-model!

This year is going to be one in a million and I am excited to make my way to Denver for the National Western Stock Show. I already have goosebumps thinking about what it will be like riding into the arena on a horse provided by Cervi Championship Rodeo .

Thank you Wyoming for believing in me! Let's Saddle up and ride on!