Although we had been looking forward to every other weekend it seemed like, Helena was one of the big ones I had been waiting for. There is nothing like a hometown rodeo! They kept us busy, and between two parades, a GIANT kiddie rodeo and three nights of rodeo, we had a packed weekend! I had so much fun seeing people I know, and working with the Keslers again. It was a hometown rodeo for the Kesler family as well. It was fun for my friends to see what I do, especially the ones that never quite understood what my job was. Wayne Brooks was the announcer, and interviewed us in the arena. I had already been through it once in Butte so I knew what was coming! Thank you to everyone in Helena who have supported me so much along this journey.

Two days after Helena we packed up the trailer and drove to Great Falls for the week. There were five nights of rodeo. One of the nights I think the thought crossed most of our minds of whether or not we were going to blow away, but we made it through the night and it turned out to be a great night of rodeo! Jourdon and I got a new opportunity to make a small documentary on how to carry a flag. We demonstrated the process and explained it to the news crew for one of them to try out. She did great and seemed to love being on the back of a horse! We went to a few concerts which were free this year, and had a lot of fun. All in all it was a great weekend!

Next was Missoula. We got there on Wednesday morning and helped with the Missoula Stampede Pageant. The rodeo went great and as always, the Sankey family treated us very well. After reading my blog, you might understand that we have a very large family! While in Missoula, we got to visit my Mom's cousin Ronald and his wife Janet, and two of their kids Bobby and Kevin. We don't get to see them very often so it was so good to get to sit down and talk for a couple of hours. Jourdon and I had a lot of fun, laughed a lot and met a new friend Fill (you will hear the rest of that story at the Miss Rodeo Montana Pageant!). I got to see the Manley Family, which was so nice! They had their own cheering section for us at the rodeo. We can always count on them for love and support! The contestants for the Miss Missoula Stampede Pageant did great and I know they will represent Montana and rodeo well.

Missoula concluded the summer rodeo season for me. I can't believe how fast the summer went by, and how much I got to do in the past three months. Thank you so much to my parents and my horse Digger, because with out them the summer wouldn't have been half as great as it was. Thank you also to Miss Rodeo Montana Inc. for everything you have done for Jourdon and I and for all the opportunities you have thrown my way. I am looking forward to Dillon and the rest of my year as Miss Teen Rodeo Montana! Now it is time to move to Bozeman to start college. What a great road in to this coming year!

On The Road Again!

The next week we headed to Billings for the Montana ProRodeo Hall and Wall of Fame Scholarship Dinner. I got to hand out sholarships to high school rodeo kids and to Jourdon. It was a great dinner and I got to see Linda and some other people that I hadn't seen for a while!

The next weekend (July 18-19) was the C.M. Russell Stampede in Stanford. Unfortunately Jourdon and I weren't able to stay for the rodeo on Sunday, but we did get to put on a kiddie rodeo and help with the Quick-Draw auction! I was so happy we got to atleast make it up for Saturday's events! The Stanford rodeo committee are huge supporters of Miss Rodeo Montana Inc., and they sponsor our buckles! Thank you to the committee for everything you do for us!

I got the opportunity to go to the Miss Rodeo America Clinic with Jourdon on July 18-21. I was the first Miss Teen Rodeo Montana to get to do so, and I need ot thank Miss Rodeo Montana Inc. for sending me!! It was a lot of fun, and I learned so much. The clinic was held at the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, CO. We worked on horsemanship, impromptu speaking, speach, modeling, and expectations of a rodeo queen. This clinic gave me an idea of the level of competition and I would recommend it to any girl looking to become a rodeo queen!

July 23-24 was a weekend I had been looking forward to for a long time. That weekend was the Butte Rodeo! My Mom is from Fairmont where our family ranches, and where I learned to ride a horse. Most of the family still lives either on the ranch or around Butte, so I got to see a lot of my relatives. It meant so much to me that my Grandma, a few of my cousins, aunts and uncles were there! During the day we stayed out at the ranch and helped with haying, and roped the dummy for most of the weekend! I wouldn't have traded that time for the world. The rodeo went great and my horse Digger did awesome!

The fun continues!

Saturday night in Livingston went just as well as Friday night! I had so much fun doing my job and getting to know the crew in the arena. I would have to say that the best night of the weekend was Sunday night. It was an awesome feeling to ride in to the arena on the Fourth of July with the American Flag. There was a huge crowd and it turned out to be a great rodeo! Thanks to Wendy Woods and everyone who helped with the rodeo. As always, the Kesler's stock bucked hard.

On July 11, my Grandma Shirley, my cousin Mami, my parents and I were off to Drummond. The rodeo went so well. When the rodeo was over, I went to the rodeo office to talk to Judy Kesler, and she told me that her and her family (Kesler Rodeo) would like to sponsor me. What an honor to have them in my camp! It was a great day! I can not believe it is already the middle of July, time passes when you're having fun!

Cowboy Christmas!

This summer has started out to be everything and more than I had expected! After May 20th (my 18th birthday!!!!) time started to fly by very fast. June came and went fast, between my high school graduation on June 5, and the rodeos finally starting to get under-way I managed to stay very busy! June 9-11 Jourdon and I helped with the Montana High School Rodeo Queen competition, and thanks to Ann and Mariah we had a great time! We also got to stick around to watch Jourdon's sister Bridjour in the barrel racing. The next weekend my parents and I headed to the next rodeo in Belt, which was my first of the season. Belt went great and I rode my horse Digger. Next, it was off to Chinook! Both Jourdon and I were so fortunate to get such great horses provided for us by Shane Schwenke. Scooter and Louie were very nice horses! Every night after the rodeo, Jourdon, my Mom and I drove back to Rudyard to stay with Jourdon's family. Saturday morning we rode in the Rudyard Centennial Parade, and got to talk with the nice people on the highline!

Finally it is time for one of the biggest rodeos of the year. The Fourth of July in Livingston! I had a great start to the weekend by riding in the parade with Amy Hager, which was the biggest parade I have every seen in my life!! There were so many participants and if people were'nt in the parade, they were there supporting and watching it. What a great community. During the rodeo I rode my awesome horse Digger with the American Flag, carried sponsor flags and pushed steers and calves out of the arena. I hope the rest of the weekend goes as well as last night did! Merry Christmas Cowboys!!

On May 12, I had the honor of speaking at the Montana Livestock Ag. Credit annual meeting. I had this opportunity because of Tim Gill who keeps my horse Digger. I did the invocation before dinner, and had an awesome meal! After dinner they did some awards within their company and a couple of presentations, then I spoke to them about my Grandparent's ranch and how I got to be Miss Teen Rodeo Montana. My Grandma and Aunt and Uncle were there for the meeting, so it was fun to get to speak about the ranch with them there. I gave them two of the speeches that I have used in competition. One on Judy Martz and one on brands. Thank you Tim Gill and Montana Livestock Ag. Credit for giving me such a great opportunity.

Two days later on May 14, I went to Jim Darcy Elementary School in Helena for Ag. Days. I spoke to students from kindergarden to fifth grade about the "cowboy way" and having goals of their own. It was so much fun to hear what their goals were and I tried my best to encourage them to reach those goals. The teachers were exceptionally nice and very appreciative!

April 18

The day after my fundraiser we got the sad news that my Grandpa Bill had passed away. He was and still is the heart of our family, and because of him my family has this great agricultural backround. He always loved to see us horseback, whether moving cows or in a rodeo. I strongly believe that if it weren't for him, I would have never had an opportunity to be Miss Teen Rodeo Montana. His legacy will live in all of our hearts forever.

On April 23, I left for a DECA trip to Louisville, Kentucky. This was the National Convention. We spent a few days at the convention, then headed to Nashville. In Nashville, we had the opportunity to tour the Ryman Auditorium, and watch a concert there. Later that week we went to the Grand Ole Opry and got to watch a concert there as well. It was awesome to get to see all the legends on the walls of these places. We left Nashville an hour before it flooded! We then headed back to Louisville to go to the KENTUCKY DERBY!! The derby was by far one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Since there were 23 of us on the trip we had cheap seats, but a few other girls and I stood on a cement wall right at the start gates! We started quite the trend! Those horses are so amazing. After the race, we drove to Indianapolis to fly home the next day. Long story short, we missed two flights and our bus broke down, so we didn't end up leaving until the next night. It was so nice to be home with my family and to see my horse Digger and my dog Alley!

Fundraiser!

April 17th I had my fundraiser. It came and went before we knew it! So many people came to support me and my year as Miss Teen Rodeo Montana. I am so fortunate for all of the help from across the state. We had a lot of auction items donated, and so many sponsorships! I need to thank three families: my Aunt Ellen and Uncle Wayne, Tim and Carol Gill and their three boys Levi, Cody and Chase, and John and Marcia Allen. These families along with my parents made this whole thing work! My parents worked so hard for roughly three months to make it happen, and I can't thank them enough. We had a live auction, a silent auction, music and dinner. It was such a success and I got to spend some time with Jourdon, which is always so fun! It was a relief to have it all together finally, but went by so fast! Thank you to everyone who contributed!