This year, I have been to Colorado more than any other state. The two reasons I have been there are…
The rodeo that changed everything…
The Crooked River Roundup is just one of those rodeos where people create great memories. I competed in the arena as a high school rodeo barrel racer and I remember watching Shae Frazier be crowned Miss Rodeo Oregon 2002. I love this rodeo and was even more excited to be attending the rodeo as Miss Rodeo Oregon. The first day is usually the most nerve wrecking part of any trip because you never know how things will turn out or what should be expected. Lucky for me this rodeo is always wonderful and you can expect a great time every time you attend this rodeo.
When I arrived in Prineville the first thing that my mother and I noticed was the abundance of boutiques that seemed to litter the store line. I love to shop so seeing all of these places made me breathe in with delight. The first rodeo activity I was able to participate in was the cattle drive down Main Street in Prineville. There were about ten steers and one very large and kind of scary long horn! Lacy McBeth, Miss Crooked River Roundup and I had a great time trying to figure out how it kept its head from falling to one side! One of the events I helped with was to talk with young boys and a couple girls about the rodeo. Lacy McBeth, JJ Harrison, Jordan Payne, a couple local rodeo queens and I were guest speakers at a camp that was being held in Prineville. The kids were so attentive! It was much hotter than we had all expected and the kids were literally melting in front of us! What was great was that everyone talking had a great topic to discuss so the kids didn’t have a whole lot of time to think about the heat. Some other events I helped with were taking plaques to all of the sponsors of the rodeo and participate in an ice cream social. It was so wonderful to see how supportive the whole community was of the rodeo. The first rodeo performance was so exciting! The thing I love about that arena is that the side that is closet to the grand stands is so long! A queen can really get her horse going during a fly by!
Being a rodeo queen can be tiring and the constant curling of our hair does eventually make the said hair fall out or turn into straw, but its stories like the next one that makes EVERYTHING we do well worth it. At the kids camp we all had the honor of meeting a ten year old boy who we later found out had brain cancer. He was one of the fortunate boys who won a real cowboy hat chosen by the hilarious JJ Harrison. At the first performance of the rodeo Lacey and I found him in the stands watching the rodeo. We were handing out gift certificates to random rodeo fans and we chose him to receive one so that he could be totally decked out in real cowboy attire. After I had given him his certificate I was walking around signing autographs and the woman who had brought him to the rodeo came up to me and told me how wonderful it was that we were spending so much time on him. I told her that it was what we love to do and then asked her why she would be thanking me. She responded by saying that his brain cancer was terminal and that he only had about three months left to live. That statement took me off guard and still makes me cry. I immediately gave her a hug, got up, found Lacey and told her what I had just been informed of. Lacey had the same reaction as I did. After talking with her for a moment I literally raced down to the back of the chutes to find JJ. I knew that the young boy loved him and I wanted him to have a great time at the rodeo. I have to tell you… JJ is an awesome person. He immediately ran up there and talked with the boy and his friends. I have never been so touched by anyone in my life. I know that this boys life is drawing to a close as a write this blog and I know that I will never meet anyone as strong as he was.
After the Crooked River Roundup was done and over, my mama and I packed up our little house and trudged up I-5 to St. Paul for the Miss Rodeo Oregon pageant and for the St. Paul rodeo. While on our way up we ran into traffic. What also is great about bringing my own horse is that my horse trailer is covered in my name. So when my mama and I were sitting there I noticed that our traffic partner was taking pictures of us. You can already guess what I did… I started taking pictures back! All if have to say is fun times.
I thank the Crooked River Roundup board for being so wonderful to me. I give a huge thanks to Amorita Anstett for driving me around with Lacey. It was so nice to get to know you and to be able to hear about your years as a rodeo queen!
