Bon Voyage!

Hello everybody! I am vigorously preparing for the Miss Rodeo America pageant. Clothes are coming in and I am studying morning, noon and night. If you think you can stump me I always like a fresh question so send them on!
My good friend Miss Rodeo Wyoming, Crystal Rivers, came up to Bozeman to visit me and study together. We had such a great time hanging out. She had never been duck hunting so I made sure she got to experience the thrill of dressing in camo and hunting birds. She had fun and we made sure we both had all ten fingers and toes by the time the shot guns were put away!
In just a few days I will be leaving for Japan. I can not wait to experience my very first over seas trip! I am a little nervous about the flight but once I get over there I know I will have a blast. I hope to keep a journal while I am over there so I can fill everyone in on what I did. I will be gone for ten whole days. Bon Voyage!!

Billings Horse Sale

It turned out to be yet another interesting weekend for me in Billings. I spent all of last week at home in Wolf Point with my mom and dad. We got to ride, work with colts and of course spend some quality family time. It was nice because I have been traveling so much that I haven’t been able to see much of my family this year; they always seem to be going the opposite direction as me!

On Friday of this last weekend we were headed to Billings for their monthly horse sale. My mom was selling her weanling colts and some mares and I was auctioning off a Toby Capp bronze for a fundraiser. It was going to be a crazy weekend and that’s exactly how it ended up. Since we were selling so many horses we had two trailer loads to haul. I hauled one load and my dad the other. I was driving the Miss Rodeo Montana pickup that my sister and I fondly call Forest. Well Forest didn’t make it to Billings unfortunately. Now the load I was hauling was pretty heavy but there were semi’s passing me up a hill about ten miles east of Miles City, so I knew something was wrong. I found a place I could pull over in the middle of nowhere and turned my pickup off. When I turned it back on it was blowing white exhaust. Not a good sign! Thankfully my dad was with me and I left it in his hands not knowing what to do. It wasn’t safe to drive so we had to leave the pickup with my name and Miss Rodeo Montana written all over it stranded on the side of the interstate. A few phone calls were made (thanks to the modern cell phone convenience) and one of my sponsors, Rathert-Fox Ford, drove all the way from Wolf Point to where my pickup was stranded to not only bring us a new pickup to haul the trailer load of colts to Billings but also towed Forest back to the shop in Wolf Point to get worked on. A huge thank you goes to Bill Rathert for going out of your way to help me and my family out. We got to Billings much later than we wanted to but at least we got there! I am just glad it happened when I wasn’t traveling alone!

Saturday was the horse sale and I helped my family prep the colts to sell and we all had a pretty good time. We sell our colts there every fall and it’s almost a tradition for us. With my brother and my sister both living in Billings now the whole Hardy family was together! I had a table outside the main entrance where I advertised my bronze and signed autographs. Thanks to BLS and Bill and Jan Parker for letting me do a fundraiser during their sale.

For an update on my vehicle situation, after a large number of people saw poor Forest either stranded or being towed and then parked at the shop, it’s not as bad as we first thought. I am still without a vehicle here in Bozeman and will probably be that way for awhile. But my pickup will be repaired soon!

Montana Fur Trappers Convention

This was definitely an interesting trip to Lewistown. Lorissa and I were scheduled to leave Bozeman to go to Lewistown on Saturday morning at 9. It didn’t really work out that way because as Lorissa will tell you, she had a bad Burger King experience that kept her feeling pretty ill that morning. Due to our late departure I drove the necessary speed it took to get us there as close to on time as we could while Lorissa slept off her flu. Luckily I made it there just about at the time we needed to be there and went to the Yogo Hotel where we were told the convention would be taking place this year. Lewistown was flooded with Choke Cherry Festival go-ers so we had to take a detour to get to the hotel. Once we got there no one knew anything about the Fur Trappers so we were left to find the Fur Trappers in the small town of Lewistown amidst all of the Choke Cherry people. Finally we discovered they were at the Fairgrounds and when we arrived…we were early! Whew, thank goodness!

The convention was filled with fun activities for all ages. They had trapping contests for men, women, and kids. Unfortunately, Lorissa and I didn’t get a trap setting lesson before we went and since we value our fingers we chose not to partake in that event. But there were some pretty fast times! We also got to see a beaver get skinned which was fascinating, once you got past the smell. The ever-so-famous skillet toss was pretty fun. The skillet wasn’t nearly as heavy as I thought it was going to be so we were able to throw it pretty far.

After the games and demonstrations was the fashion show and banquet. Lorissa and I got to model fur coats from Paparazzi Fur. The coats we modeled would be up for a drawing later in the evening. My favorite coat was a white sheared and bleached beaver; it was even featured in the magazine Vogue! Neither Lorissa nor I won the drawing but it was a lot of fun to wear the coats. After we helped with the live auction we left the fairgrounds and couldn’t believe that it was snowing! Thankfully for me, I didn’t have to drive in a snow storm the next morning. The hotel we stayed out was a little old but the room was very big. Good thing Lorissa and I like each other because it was one small bed for two queens! The room was very cold and neither one of us knew how to run the propane heater so for fear we would turn it on and gas ourselves to death we decided to bear the freezing cold and bundle up in whatever we had in our bags! Both of us made it through the night but we were both ready to be back in Bozeman on Sunday. I had a great time and I think Lorissa did too, even though it was quite an interesting day. Thanks to the Hebbe’s for being so generous to us all year and all evening. It was so nice getting to talk to them and listen to all of their fun stories!

Ellensburg, Washington

What a week! I was in Ellensburg, Washington for eight days for the rodeo and Miss Rodeo Washington pageant. They kept me pretty busy during my stay. I arrived on Sunday evening in time for the pageant pajama party where I met all of the contestants running for Teen and Miss. There were 4 in both categories and after spending a week with them I am pretty happy that I am not a queen in Washington. These girls were amazing.

The pajama party was fun as always and everyone should be proud to know that I took 2nd place in the Chubby Bunny competition, fitting six huge marshmallows in my mouth and still being able to mutter “I’m a chubby bunny!” The next few days were packed with pageant activities. I got to do a queen buzz during their horsemanship competition. Unfortunately, I was put on the horse that was rejected to the queen draw because he couldn’t carry flags. Little did I know he doesn’t like queen buzzes either because I soon as I got in the arena he immediately started bucking. I was able to ride him and keep waving at the same time so he must not have been bucking that hard. Later in the week we all had lunch at one of the Miss Rodeo Washington board member’s house. We were fed great all week but this lunch was special because Santa happens to have a workshop in Ellensburg and this is his busiest time of the year. He requested the rodeo queens to help out wrapping presents! He is definitely a busy guy but a smart one too for asking 10 or so girls help wrap Christmas gifts! We wrapped a ton and felt like we were a really big help.

The girls competing had the most amazing clothes provided by Riding High USA from right there in Washington. They were all dressed fit to compete at Miss Rodeo America and I couldn’t believe how polished they were. The style show was incredible. Their theme was “Pink Acres” and the association donated most of the proceeds to a local girl diagnosed with cancer. I even got to tell a joke during the Hee Haw portion of the show, “How many Montana State Freshman does it take to screw in a light bulb?” “None, that’s a sophomore course!” That was my only line and I nailed it! I was pretty proud of myself and even though my role was small, it was definitely a crowd pleaser!

The rodeo started on Friday and that was also the day of coronation. It was the closest pageant I have ever watched; the judges really had a tough job throughout the week. Congratulations to Mandy Melovich, the new teen, and Jessica Crouch, the 2008 Miss Rodeo Washington, they will both do an outstanding job next year. The rodeo in Ellensburg was pretty big and it attracted the top cowboys in the standings. Each day I felt like I was at Tour Finale rodeo because of the cowboys and also the stock. There were a total of 7 or 8 stock contractors who brought only the best bulls and broncs. The day of the finals I got to see the 3-time bucking horse of the year, Grated Coconut and his mom buck.

The girls and I rode in the huge grand entry and had a queen buzz every day. There were at least 150 people in the grand entries. We would enter at a fast lope and make it all the way around the arena and then slow down a bit, following the person in front of you, doing a serpentine pattern around 4 people stationed with American flags. I was very well mounted all weekend. Gary Rempel was a pickup man there so I rode his horses all weekend and during the parade. Sunday served to be an interesting grand entry for me. I was riding Gary’s horse Quizno and as we make our first buzz around the arena, my stirrup leather broke! The stirrup fell clean off into the arena dirt and my fender was hanging, slapping poor Quizno in the knee. He didn’t seem to mind at all and we finished the buzz and serpentine with one stirrup. Thank goodness Gary had another horse saddled for me to ride for my queen buzz after bareback.

I was amazed at how many people showed up to the parade on Saturday! It was the biggest one, by far, of the year…including Cheyenne. Ellensburg is a town of only about 30,000 people but Seattle is only 100 miles away and Spokane isn’t real far either. Labor Day is the official end to summer so now I progress my preparation for the Miss Rodeo America pageant. If you have any good impromptu questions, rodeo knowledge or something you think you can stump me on, I need all the practice I can get. Send ‘em on! Next week Lorissa and I go to Lewistown to visit the Montana Trappers Association. I am glad to be back in Montana!

Clothes for sale!!!

Hey everyone. Since I have a whole week to get some “housekeeping” stuff done before I am back on the road I am beginning to get my wardrobe ready for Miss Rodeo America. I have a lot of clothes that I can’t or won’t be wearing anymore or haven’t worn all year! If there is anyone interested in seeing what I have for sale please contact me! I have a variety of quality from princess on up and I have everything from dresses, skirts, jackets, and arena shirts and boots up to my neck! I wear a size 7-8 in boots, a size 7x36/34 or 9x36/34 in jeans, and medium jackets and shirts. I will try and start getting some pictures of some of the stuff I am selling and I can post them on here or email them to you. You can call me at (406) 209-1931 or email me at missrodeomt07@hotmail.com. Please help me get some of this stuff off my hands!!!!

Also, my family has a package deal on NFR tickets. We have 4 tickets for all 10 days of the rodeo and we are selling what we aren’t using to whoever would like them. They are balcony tickets and going fast! Please let me know what night and how many tickets you would like and we will reserve them for you. They will be waiting for you when you get to Vegas!

North Western Fair and Pro Rodeo

Well I am finally home now for about a week between events for Miss Rodeo Montana. I just returned from Kalispell where the Northwestern fair, rodeo and pageant took place. After traveling through the smoke where visibility was down to only a half a mile with some delays I arrived in Kalispell with a heavy heart from the sights of my beautiful state on fire.

Thursday night was the first night of Kessler rodeo in Kalispell. I met up with Bob Tallman, the talented NFR announcer, and we caught up since seeing him last in Calgary. The rodeo went great every night. All the Little Miss, Princess and Queen contestants participated and were announced every night which they all enjoyed immensely! Friday morning was the parade. What a turnout! Kalispell and the surrounding communities really take pride in their week of fair and rodeo and it is evident. After the rodeo that night the contestants, parents, committee members and myself had a pizza party where we all shared our most memorable and embarrassing stories of being a queen or queen contestant. It was a ball listening to all the girls’ stories and it was obvious that those girls were having a good time getting to know each other. I didn’t realize it but I have A LOT of embarrassing moments as Miss Rodeo Montana. I think everyone was pretty entertained that night!

Saturday the coronation was held and I have to say it was my first coronation that I have attended in a sale barn! It was a great venue to have it though because they got a pretty good crowd. Congratulations to all of the girls who won the titles and everyone who competed. The newly crowned girls were announced that night at the rodeo and I enjoyed showing them the “ropes” of chasing out cattle and helping where we were needed during the rodeo. Saturday night was also pretty special because once again Fred Whitfield made an appearance during the performance. He has made it to a handful of Montana rodeos this summer and each time he’s in the performance he is willing to meet fans and sign autographs. Overall I had a really nice time in Kalispell. Driving back to Bozeman I was again a little sad the fires have not let up. Please keep the people working on the fires in your thoughts and let’s all pray for rain!

Montana Fairs!

Oh my goodness I have been so busy lately I don’t know if I am coming or going! It’s been two weeks since I have even had time to write on my blog! In the past two weeks I have made a complete circle of the Big Sky state. You never know how big Montana really is until you spend the majority of the time on the highway. I was first in Great Falls for the State Fair, Big Sky Pro Rodeo Roundup and the Roundup Queen pageant. I was kept very busy but I had one of my favorite queens to assist me in my appearances, Miss Rodeo America, Ashley Andrews. Ashley and I have known each other since high school so it was great getting to hang out with her again. The girls running in the pageant had a great opportunity to ask her all sorts of questions about what she does and her experiences as MRA.

The rodeo went great each night. I was on my favorite queen horse, Cisco again and got to hang out with Sue and Bailey Thompson which is always a great time. Congratulations to Kirsten, Tiffany, and Jennika on winning 2007-2008 Big Sky Pro Rodeo royalty. Lorissa was there to help with the pageant too but unfortunately we didn’t get to see much of each other because our schedules didn’t line up the same.

I was home for one day until I drove to Missoula for their fair and pageant. I went a day early to be at the Auto Spa for a mini-fundraiser. They gave me $1 for every car that was washed that day. At this point in my year that is wonderful because every dollar matters! Thanks Auto Spa! I felt right at home staying at Laura Bakker’s house with her two little dogs. We had a great time while I was there. The contestants had a BBQ and kicked off the fair by all of us riding the Merry-Go-Round at the carnival. I am glad they picked that ride because I am pretty sure my stomach couldn’t handle anything faster than that! Wednesday night was the PBR and I carried the American Flag. It was an almost sold out performance and of course Flint Rasmussen was there to entertain the crowd.

The rest of the fair and rodeos flew by! Lorissa and I were kept pretty busy emceeing the style show and horsemanship portion of the pageant, hosting kiddie rodeos, signing autographs, and even handing out cake at the Wells Fargo bank. I tried my best not to raise to much controversy over the fact that I was in Grizzly country but I couldn’t help but say “Go Bobcats”, during the style show. I definitely wasn’t the most popular emcee at that point! Friday night was coronation for the contestants and congratulations to all the girls who won, Leslie, Reagan, Skylar, and Hannah. All of our new Montana royalty are going to represent the state and rodeo very well all year!

Saturday Lorissa and I drank a lot of coffee in order to drive all the way to Glasgow for their North East Montana Fair and rodeo. We witnessed a different kind of kiddie rodeo at the fair grounds. Instead of barrels and roping they had greased pig race and a chicken race where the kids had to catch a greased pig and chickens and put them in a barrel. It was pretty entertaining to watch but the best part was when a pig got out of the pen and ran through the arena and into the fair with a herd of kids chasing after him. Thankfully the pig farmer didn’t have to cut his profit because the kids finally caught him somehow. We put on a standard kiddie rodeo at the Elderly Home in Glasgow. One of my favorite parts of being Miss Rodeo Montana is visiting with the residents; they are always so happy to see a smiling girl. My sister, Vanessa, brought in her horse Topaz for me to ride during the rodeo so I was very well mounted once again! Kirsten, the new Miss Big Sky Pro Rodeo Queen, Lorissa and I carried flags at the rodeos and helped Tessa Weifrich chase cattle out of the arena. I had a pretty good time because Glasgow is practically home for me being only 45 miles west of Wolf Point. So of course I ran into many people who were glad to see me so close to home again.

Last Chance Stampede

I am definitely in the middle of the busiest time of my summer. I am sitting in my hotel room in Great Falls waiting for the State Fair and Big Sky Pro Rodeo festivities to begin. The Last Chance Stampede just wrapped up this weekend and boy did I like that rodeo!

I drove up on Wednesday morning to help out with the stick horse rodeo that took place at Capital Sports and Western Wear. There were so many kids that showed up in the 90 degree heat; what a great turn out! They participated in the barrels, roping, and bull riding. That morning I also met Libby, Miss Last Chance Stampede Rodeo and Fair. She is only 15 but shows a lot of promise and interest in getting more involved with the queen pageants. Thursday morning was the official kick off to stampede weekend that started with a kid’s parade. I always enjoy the kid’s parades because you get to see everyone dressed up like its Halloween! At the conclusion of the parade they drew to give out brand new bikes! Another great turnout brought several hundred kids to the park to participate and Lorissa and I signed a lot of autographs. It was also good to see Kirsten, Miss Big Sky Pro Rodeo Princess, who was in town for just one day.

Every night proved to be a great rodeo combined with Kesler stock, 2005 Announcer of the Year, Wayne Brooks and rodeo clown, Brian Potter. Sue and Bailey Thompson of Western Sky Equine brought down horses for all of us girls. I was reunited with Cisco and love him even more every time I ride him! The parade was on Saturday and I think I am getting used to being able to sit in the blazing sun with chaps on without feeling like I am going to pass out! After the parade I went to one of my favorite sponsors, Murdoch's, to sign autographs at their store in Helena. I think I did more shopping than signing!! That night at the rodeo Lorissa and I didn’t realize it but parked next to Fred Whitfield and his travel partner. It was great seeing such a legendary cowboy make an appearance in Helena. I returned to Bozeman that night after the rodeo.

While I was in Cheyenne I was very disappointed that I was going to miss the Thunderbirds air show. The queens got to go but I had to leave before the show. Well it must have been meant to be because this weekend the Blue Angels air show was in Bozeman and flying on Sunday; the one day I was going to be home! I wasn’t going to miss it for anything. They were well worth sitting in the 100 degree heat. I can not imagine what an adrenaline rush it must be to fly one of the FA-18 jets! If you ever have the opportunity to see an air show I strongly suggest taking advantage. It’s an experience I can’t describe in words. It’s truly amazing what those pilots and their planes can do!

The Daddy of 'em All

I only have a day to update everyone on my trip to Cheyenne before I am gone to the Helena Last Chance Stampede. I had a wonderful time in Cheyenne the past week. Before I went, Lorissa and I met up in Billings to attend the Montana Pro Rodeo Hall and Wall of Fame scholarship awards BBQ. We got to see top high school cowboys and cowgirls get awarded with scholarships from the Hall of Fame. They award opportunities for the seniors every year through these scholarships and the amount just get better every year.

I stayed with my brother in Billings that night and began the trip to Cheyenne the next day. You wouldn’t think it would be such a long drive but I felt much like I was driving across eastern Montana again as the only landmarks for miles were the mile marker signs and sagebrush! I arrived at my host family in time to unpack and pick up Miss Rodeo Tennessee to head over to a BBQ at Esther’s, the gal who would be taking care of us all week. I got to meet some girls I hadn’t met before, Miss Rodeo Florida and the NEW Miss Rodeo Texas, Alyssa. We bonded instantly! I told of the southern queens that they rubbed off on me every time I went out of state because when I return to Montana I find myself saying “y’all” and “fixin’ to”!

Friday morning was the rodeo queen luncheon. The Cheyenne Frontier Day’s queens were the hostesses. I have never seen so many queens in my life! There were only eight of us state queens and the rest were up and coming queens and princesses from Wyoming and Colorado mostly. Someone said that there would be 60 some girls there! What a great sight it was to see so many girls that are the future of rodeo. The rest of the day was open to us girls to do some serious shopping. I tried my best to stay away from the Rickrageous booth! It was a great beginning to soak in the fact that I was at the legendary Daddy of ‘em All.
Saturday morning was kicked off by the parade. Harry Vold brought in his black horses for us to ride for the parades and rodeos. These horses are FAST but you would have never guessed it if you saw us in the parades. There were thousands of people that made it out for the occasion and people from all over the country were there. The population of Cheyenne is about 50,000 and they say that doubles every day during the Cheyenne Frontier Days. I could definitely see that happening as I walked through the parade and saw so many people lined up against the streets. After having lunch with some of the committee members we were ready to rodeo!

All of us state queens were going to be introduced in the “running grand entry”. They call it that for good reason. The rodeo arena is set up on the infield of the track with the track running all the way around it. It’s the biggest arena I have ever seen! Well, they run the grand entry not in the arena but on the track. The state queens perform the infamous “fly by.” The name is fitting because that is exactly what we did. We were on the fast Harry Vold horses that have been on the track doing this for many years and they get faster as the years and the days go by. I was last and of course Spanky, my horse, did not want to be the last one to the barn! He ran at break neck speed and I waved, although we were going so fast you might not have noticed that I actually was waving! I have ran barrels and poles all of my life but never have I gone quite as fast as the fly by’s in Cheyenne and never have I experienced such an adrenaline rush as when they announced my name as Miss Rodeo Montana at the Cheyenne Frontier Days as I am zooming past the crowd of 15,000 people. The guy helping us with our horses, Kip, came buy after the second day of fly by’s and commented to me, “Most people try to hold this one back but you just kind of rode the speed. I have never seen him or any of these horses go quite that fast. WOW!” What can I say; I have a need for speed!

Saturday and Sunday nights were the Reba McEntire concerts. Trisha Yearwood was opening for her and it was my first time to see both of them so I was pretty excited. The ladies were amazing in concert; all of us girls had such a blast! Reba even let us take a picture at the front of the stage. While she was singing she bent down to take a picture with all of us girls. It was such an incredible experience for me as you all know I get kind of star struck!

My last day in Cheyenne was Monday and we were up at dawn for the pancake breakfast. It was no ordinary breakfast though! There were thousands of people waiting already as early as 7am for pancakes! All of us girls got to introduce ourselves and cook pancakes. I was well practiced after my trip to Calgary! Later that morning we got to visit the Cheyenne Frontier Days Museum. It was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. As expected there were tributes to two of my very favorite cowboys, Lane Frost and Chris LeDoux. It was time for me to return home after that. Thank you to Cheyenne and everyone involved in the great production for having me and allowing me to be part of a legendary event!

Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede

After what has probably been my busiest week so far this summer I am roasting in the heat in Bozeman trying to catch up on some sleep before I leave again. After Calgary I was home in Wolf Point for the much anticipated Wild Horse Stampede. As a rodeo competitor they always say that the toughest rodeo to compete in is your hometown rodeo. Even though I am a rodeo queen and not a competitor it’s not much different for us rodeo queens. I was overwhelmed with the attention I got in Wolf Point. Everyone who has ever met me or any member of my family was sure to say hello. It was so great getting to see so many of my neighbors, distant relatives, and old friends. I heard the phrases “You probably don’t remember me….” Or “Wow, you sure grew up fast, I knew you when you were in diapers” a lot!

On Thursday I did a radio spot and the rodeo that night. The Stampede has a history of being held on the hottest week of the summer and I think this year was no different. I think I sweat off an extra five pounds in the three days I was there. On Friday we had a parade and I had enough time to walk around and visit my sponsors before the rodeo. Many Wolf Point business have been so gracious in helping me out financially this year; one afternoon wasn’t enough time to thank everyone. That evening held another great rodeo by Brookman Rodeo Company. Everyone attending the rodeo got a pretty good laugh as once again my infamous ski story from Pocatello came up during the calf roping. I have to admit though, the story sounds much scarier when Dave Weifrich tells it the way he witnessed it! Saturday was the last day of the Stampede and in years past, Miss Rodeo Montana has not been able to stay for the last day because of the rodeo in Stanford. I was lucky and got to stay in my home town all three days. I am glad I did too because the Stick Horse Rodeo was Saturday. It’s always a pretty big event held at the Faith Luthern Elderly Care Home. I visited with some of the residents and of course the stick horse rodeo was a big hit. A special thank you to my A-Crew, Vanessa and Quinn, who helped me set up, tear down, and stay organized. It would have taken me twice as long if I hadn’t had the help! The daily parade was directly after the kid’s rodeo and the heat about did me in; I heard it got all the way up to 115 degrees! The last rodeo performance went smoothly and the weekend wasn’t over.

I was off at the crack of dawn again on Sunday for the Stanford rodeo. I was glad to see Lorissa and Jennika O’Neil there to help me with sponsor flags. It was once again an extremely hot rodeo but the queens survived! I would like to say a really big thank you to tie-down roper, Travis Caldwell for letting me use his horse and also to Dr. Gee for bringing in Lorissa’s horse and an extra horse if needed. I drove back to Bozeman that night and crashed immediately after my very long week. My adventures continue this week as I head down to “The Daddy of ‘Em All” the Cheyenne Frontier Days!

Calgary Stampede

What an amazing past couple of days I have had! I just returned from the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta Canada. It was quite the drive to get there and an even longer drive to get back to my home town of Wolf Point for my next rodeo. To see the legendary Stampede was well worth the drive though!

I rested for a day or two after my fourth of July weekend and was off and running on a start of what is going to be a very busy month of July. I drove up to beautiful Wilsall to present the American flag for the Montana Reining Horse Association. What an honor it was to be involved in such a prestigious association in Montana. They were truly thankful for having me there and I got to visit with some old friends and meet new ones who were very eager to hear about what I have been up to. Leaving early Sunday morning and meeting up with my family in Shelby, close to the border, got us in Calgary just in time for my sister and I to take in our first Chuck Wagon Race experience. Who better to learn about it than from Jody who has been going to the Stampede with her husband, Gary, for about 15 years now! I was allowed one companion pass that got that person behind the scenes pretty much anywhere we wanted to go. My sister, Vanessa, was the lucky one out of the family that got to come with me. We were in awe of all the activity, new sights, and big name celebrities that were in our presence.

Monday morning was a pretty early morning for Vanessa and me. We were hosted that day which meant we were going to be driven around to different functions meeting people and seeing Calgary. Well not only was it about 40 degrees outside and sleeting but there was a slight mix up with the courtesy car that was supposed to pick us up. We ended up waiting for over an hour because someone crossed me off the list to be picked up! Everything got straightened out but we did need some extra time to warm up and a special thanks goes to the courtesy car drivers that picked up and dropped off my family and I the entire time we were there. That morning our hosts brought me and some of the Canadian royalty around to different pancake breakfasts to meet the public, we saw the history of the Calgary Stampede queens and walked around the Roundup center that had lots of good shopping!

Off to the rodeo after that! The Calgary Stampede is such a prestigious rodeo that the cowboys and cowgirls compete on invitation only. So prestigious that the one and only Dan Mortenson came out of retirement for this rodeo only and I happy to report he won the performance on Tuesday along with bull rider Beau Hill from Montana as well. It is not a PRCA or CPRA sanctioned rodeo yet but is on its way. This rodeo pays up to $1.75 million after the competition is over!! The format changed slightly this year to a tournament style rodeo where there are two groups of 10 competitors that ride 4 days in a row. After both groups ride they take the top 12 to the semi-finals round and the top 4 contestants for the final round. With our VIP passes Vanessa and I got to be right down in the middle of the action…my favorite place to be! I was introduced on stage in front of over 20,000 people that afternoon; what an experience. Later on that evening we took in the chuck wagon races again and the night show. The night show was like nothing I have ever seen before. It was 3 hours long but felt like 30 minutes. I felt like such a little kid again watching my first fireworks show. They had so many fireworks that the entire metropolis of Calgary had a plume of smoke above it. The night show had every sort of entertainment for the viewers, comedy, drama, singing, dancing, daring stunts…you name it! I was in such awe!!!



After the long and somewhat overwhelming day on Monday I needed a little time on Tuesday morning to sleep but the city of Calgary would have none of it. At 7am our hotel hosted a Tough Enough to Wear Pink benefit concert…right outside our hotel room window. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep in that morning! My family and I took in the rodeo again on Tuesday afternoon and walked around the grounds to see more of what the Stampede had to offer. I saw a dog show, a marching band competition, miniature horse show, miniature chuck wagon races, a cutting horse show, a break dancing competition, 2-time World Champion Indian hoola-hoop dancer and ate some good fried food off the mid-way! The experience in Calgary was definitely a memorable one. I was so honored to be there and represent my state of Montana across the border. With all of that in mind nothing could overshadow the excitement in appearing at my home town rodeo, the oldest rodeo in Montana, the Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede! Take care and God Bless.

Cowboy Christmas

During what is known as Cowboy Christmas there is a total of $2.5 million prize money available at 32 sanctioned PRCA rodeos across the country. I was only able to make it to two of the 32 but that kept me plenty busy! I started out in Cody Wyoming at the Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede. What a blast it was too! I got to hang out and room with Crystal Rivers, Miss Rodeo Wyoming. We have been at several rodeos together before but in Cody we had a lot of time for some quality rodeo queen bonding by shopping in down town Cody! Ashley Andrews, Miss Rodeo America also met up with us later on Saturday. Our first event was the kick off breakfast where we learned the Grand Marshall was none other than Donnie Gay. Later on that day Crystal and I felt like little kids going up to Donnie and asking him to take a picture with us. I don’t have it yet, but I assure you, it happened! Saturday night was the Extreme Bulls; I had a feeling of being star struck that night but that feeling seemed to follow me around the remainder of the weekend. Sankey Rodeo brought in some rank bulls and world champions B.J. Schumacher and Dustin Elliot made some pretty good rides. Although all of the queens were kept pretty busy there was enough down time to experience the local history behind the town named after Buffalo Bill Cody. On Sunday we were up early to do a little sight seeing and later that day was one of the highlight of my trip: white water rafting. The river our guides took us down was fairly tame as far as white water goes but Ashley, Crystal and I had such a good time and even got wet! That night was the PRCA rodeo and the only performance I would be able to stay around for in Cody. I rode in the Grand Entry and Crystal and the rodeo committee were nice enough to let me stay in the arena to chase out cattle. The other highlight of my trip to Cody was getting my picture taken with my favorite cowboy…Trevor Brazile! He was so nice to Crystal and I as once again we felt like small children wanting an autograph.

Monday morning I awoke early to get to Livingston in time for the parade; it was a blistering hot next few days in Livingston. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Katie Krouse the Miss Livingston Roundup queen and Chanda, Miss Big Sky Pro Rodeo was also there to help out with sponsor flags. We survived the heat through the parade and rodeo in Livingston. (I was pretty excited when I saw that Trevor Brazile was up in the performance in Livingston that night too!) I got to talk on my favorite radio station XL Country 100.7 with Mark Longie, host a kiddie parade on Tuesday, and of course watched the fireworks every night. This coming week holds a very busy schedule for me. I can not wait for it to get under way because I am off to the infamous Calgary Stampede and my hometown rodeo the Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede! Stay cool Montana!

Chinook and Augusta Rodeos

It is HOT, HOT, HOT!!! I have just returned from the Chinook and Augusta rodeos this past weekend and even though they are in relatively different parts of the state they were both very HOT rodeos! I am sure that it was just a precursor to what I will encounter during the July and August rodeos. Through the heat Lorissa and I managed to have a pretty great time; we kept well hydrated thanks to our lovely mom’s and my sister. Thursday night was a BBQ and Calcutta in Chinook to kick off the weekend of rodeo. Chinook is a pretty small town on the hi-line so when the rodeo wasn’t going on there wasn’t a whole lot to do but thankfully I had my mom and sister with me this weekend to keep me company. I really enjoyed spending my down time with them. The rodeo on Friday had a few minor glitches, like the sound system shorting out, but once we got them worked out it proved to be a pretty great rodeo with a beautiful sunset. Saturday there was a parade and like I said, Chinook is a pretty small town, so in order to make the parade longer, we went through town twice! The rodeo that night went as smooth as glass and it was a beautiful evening. Shane and Heather Schwanke with the rest of the Bear Paw Roundup committee and of course Brookman rodeo provided the spectators with really great rodeo action.


Sunday morning Lorissa and I left Chinook at the crack of dawn in order to get to Augusta to sign autographs before the afternoon rodeo. The Augusta rodeo has a reputation for being the “Wildest One Day Rodeo in the West” ; I have never been so I was curious to see just how wild it got in Augusta. I can tell you now, it lives up to its reputation! When we arrived at ten the streets were already busy with people shopping, eating, and socializing. Lorissa and I signed autographs at a cute little store called Latigo & Lace where we met many tourists, locals and familiar faces we would see at the rodeo. The afternoon brought so many people into the tiny rodeo grounds of Augusta, MT! There were people everywhere; thank goodness I was on trusty Cisco again! Kesler’s brought in the stock to Augusta so of course the stock performed wonderfully! I will be doing the usual catching up on things like my laundry this week before I start “Cowboy Christmas” for the Fourth of July. I will be in Cody, Wyoming and Livingston this weekend through next week. Happy summer everyone!

Belt PRCA Rodeo

I survived yet another wet and cold rodeo weekend. The rain just seems to follow me around the state and even out of state! I haven’t been to a rodeo thus far where we haven’t got rained on. Coming from a ranching and farming family in eastern Montana, I have learned not to complain about the rain regardless of the circumstances!! This past weekend I met with Lorissa again in Belt along with Janneka O’Neil and Hannah Heckman, Little Miss Big Sky Pro Rodeo 2006. I had a great time getting to know these girls a little better. Montana truly has a promising future of rodeo queens.

I got to sign several rodeo programs for the rodeos daily give-a-ways which I thought was pretty cool. I felt like a celebrity every time Kyle Shobe, the announcer, told everyone to open their programs if they have a signature from me they won something! Carrying the Dodge Pickup flag on Cody’s Royal Cisco was another thrill for me. I never had to worry about my horse spooking or not standing still. He was a dream to ride and I am so thankful to Jeff and Sue Thompson for letting me use him this summer. The other queens, Lorissa, and me were pleased that quite a few kids showed up for the kiddie rodeo and of course the entire town of Belt attended the annual parade through town. Thanks to those girls who helped with the kids rodeo! Overall, the 47th annual Belt rodeo was a blast and the rain didn’t keep away any die hard fans.

On Tuesday I was a model in an Ariat boots and apparel style show here in Bozeman. It was a lot of fun to model and see first hand what Ariat will be coming out with next season. I’ll give you a hint; there will be some pretty ‘exotic’ fall boots and very trendy clothes! After just a few short days home with my dogs, whom I think are beginning to feel pretty rejected because I am never home, I am driving up to Chinook and Augusta for their rodeos this weekend. I hope to see you all there!

NEBRASKAland Days

What a great time I have had in the last week or so! I ran over to Billings on Friday morning to meet up with Lorissa so we could have our photo shoot together. We drove to Miles City where Kara with On the Move Photography was ready for a day of taking pictures. Overall I think we got some really nice shots taken of me for the Miss Rodeo America pageant and of Lorissa and me for the Miss Rodeo Montana pageant. I can’t believe we are already talking about either of those!
The next day I was scheduled to fly out of Billings for the NEBRASKAland Days and Miss Rodeo Nebraska Pageant in North Platte. The queens weren’t scheduled to do anything until Sunday but my connecting flights wouldn’t get me there in time so I chose to go a day early. The plane ride into North Platte was a little shaky. I think there were only eight seats total and there wasn’t even a curtain dividing the cabin and the pilots. I had no idea what to expect out of Nebraska after that plane ride!

I wasn’t disappointed though, North Platte always arranges for the visiting queens (usually around 15 of us) to stay in host homes across the city. My host home was Jody and Cindy Smith; they were truly amazing hosts to me and I couldn’t have asked for better. They showed me what true Nebraska hospitality was!

Since I was crowned this January I have had several first time experiences. This trip served me no different. I got to ride my first motorcycle, a Harley, and I got to ride on a jet ski for the first time. Of course I let Jody of my host family drive the motorcycle and show me the town but the jet ski was a little different. On Sunday since we didn’t have anything scheduled the Smith’s took me to the local lake along with Katie, the newly crowned Miss Rodeo Arizona and Lindsay, Miss Rodeo Alabama. I hadn’t met either of those girls yet so it was great hanging out with them; we really had a blast. After watching the other girls who have jet skied before I decided to try my hand on one. I was hesitant starting off but really got the hang of it and was really glad to find out that this was something that I could crash…and it was fun to do it! When the day was done I even got to bring back a little piece of Nebraska sun as I improved my tan!

With the fun came some business matters. All the queens attended the horsemanship portion of the Miss Rodeo Nebraska 2008 contest. I have to say, Nebraska girls sure know how to ride. Later that evening the contestants and visiting queens all gathered for a get acquainted BBQ. For those of us queens not from the Midwest we got a little nervous when a huge thunderstorm brought in some pretty nasty looking clouds and severe winds. Needless to say we were moved to the garage and thank goodness I didn’t have to see my first tornado while I was there! My host family spoiled me so bad during my stay there that they let me drive a Grand Prix right off the car lot they own in North Platte. Most of the other girls were pretty jealous!
The next three days held a lot of fun events for the visiting queens. I signed over 500 autographs at local sponsors, banks, western stores and my favorite was the kid’s parade. It was the official kick off to the NEBRASKAland days and allowed kids to put on their costumes and parade around the block. I saw some pretty neat costumes while walking with the kids and signing autographs. Of course we were busy with the pageant events. This year was the second year they had a Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska so I got to see those girls model, speak, and ride. They were great girls. The Miss Rodeo Nebraska contestants were no different. The five young ladies competing for the title were obviously having fun and all did very well. Among the many highlights of the trip was the cowboy bowling where we bowled with the PRCA cowboys. We didn’t get to stay very long but that was probably a good thing because I was losing to Miss Rodeo Wyoming pretty bad when we had to leave. Before going out to the rodeo the last night there was a big group dinner including the Miss Rodeo Nebraska committee, queens, host families, etc. Paula Stobbs, one of the drivers during the week gave us all special queen awards for the week. One state girl was the Queen of Bling and wouldn’t you know I was the Queen of Crashing! The ski trip from Pocatello seems to be sticking with me and I was pretty excited to tell everyone about my bravery of crashing on the jet ski. Although on my trip back to Montana I was thinking I should be the queen of lost luggage because I haven’t flown anywhere without the airlines losing my luggage…ever! Queen or not, regardless of the length of layover, I think my bags are marked for it! I spent the rest of the day in Billings waiting on my bags which finally did show up. I was relieved to have them back and really glad to be back in Montana even though I had a blast in North Platte!

Shodair Telethon and Great Falls

Just another busy week for Miss Rodeo Montana! This past Saturday I traveled to Helena for a very exciting event at the Shodair Children’s Hospital; it was the hospital’s annual telethon fundraiser. Not only was it televised state wide but Miss Rodeo Montana has never been involved with this event, needless to say, I was pretty excited to be there! This event really meant a lot to me because the Children’s Miracle Network (Shodair’s) formed a soft spot in my heart after raising money for them while I was in Pocatello. The telethon rose over $200,000!!!! All of that money stays right here in Montana to help anyone who gets treatment at Shodair. I was again accompanied by Miss Montana, Christy Hageman. It was so nice to spend some more time with her; she is such a great girl and I will be sad to see her pass on her crown this month. The telethon lasted well into the night and by the end Christy and I were still having fun answering phones and being interviewed on TV but by 1am we were getting pretty giggly and tired!

After the telethon I drove over to Great Falls for a few more days to take care of a number of things. First, I had the wonderful time staying with the Thompson’s at Western Sky Equine. What a great family they are! Jeff, Sue, Tyrell, and Bailey all were so generous for welcoming me into their home and family for three days. On Monday I spent much of the day with Jody and the crew at KRTV taping media interviews for the upcoming rodeos in June. We drove out to Jody’s place to record three media commercials for the Augusta, Chinook, and Stanford rodeos. It was definitely harder than I thought it was going to be! By the end of the shoot everyone was just wishing I could remember my lines! Eventually we got it all taped and once they are edited I think they will turn out to be great commercials. On Tuesday I had some spare time to spend with the Thompson’s and Sue presented me with the wonderful opportunity to ride their stud, Cody’s Royal Cisco. He and I got along great; he is such a fun horse to ride! I spent the morning riding with Sue and that evening I traveled over to Stanford to meet with their rodeo committee about the upcoming rodeo in July. It sounds like it’s going to be a great rodeo and the guys are working hard already to get everything in line. Wednesday was my last day in Great Falls. I was the guest of Bill Beckman during the Great Falls Optimist Club meeting. The Optimists were wonderful to talk to and really appreciated someone coming into meet and talk to them. I am home for just one day before I am on the road to Miles City to shoot my second photo session with On the Move Photography; Lorissa will be joining me. Not only will I be glad to hang out with her again but I am excited for the opportunity to have someone else behind the wheel for a change!!

Rodeo Season Begins!

Even though the weather in Bozeman the last couple of weeks has not indicated that summer is any where near, I can assure you it is! I woke up to snow this morning and I am really glad it waited until today because I had just another busy week. Memorial Day weekend is the weekend America hits the road as the weekend that summer has officially begun. I didn’t wait until the weekend to hit the road. I left early Wednesday morning to talk to the Junior High students at Lewistown Junior High School. I talked to seven different classes for an hour each! It was interesting to see how the older students responded to what I was there to speak about. I changed the message in my presentation so they would be able to relate a bit better, as opposed to the elementary school presentation. I talked to all the young adults that day about dreams and goals and the importance of having them; some were a little more eager to share than others! After a hanging out with my friends Kate Ruland and Laura Lake in Lewistown that night, I went to a day care in Lewistown and the Moore Elementary School the next day. Both of these places were so happy to have me and I enjoyed myself immensely. I was able to sign autographs and hand out the coloring books that Audrey Sholte started with “Eat Smart and Play Hard;” they were all very gracious. The elementary school in Moore only had about 30 students in the whole school but they were so eager to learn about what I do and had the most wonderful questions for me!

After I returned to Bozeman I was off again on Saturday to Helena. I was taking place in a Celebrity Team Penning with the Montana Team Penning Association. A few weeks ago I sneaked over to practice with them for a few hours so I was ready to show up with my “A game”! The team penners recruited about a dozen “celebrities” to participate in this event in order to raise money for breast cancer. Most of these celebrities were significant members of the community or people who have been personally affected by cancer. Each of the celebrities was paired with two team penners and that team was auctioned off in a Calcutta. I wish I could tell you that not only was I the most expensive celebrity but that I won the whole thing…but I would be lying. The event raised $2600 for breast cancer awareness, which was amazing considering it was not a highly advertised event; and no I didn’t win. Actually, I didn’t even come close but I gave it my all!!

Memorial Day weekend is a three day weekend so as you might expect I had another stop to make on this busy holiday. I drove to Arlee for the Memorial Day PRCA rodeo, the first of the season on the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit! I had a really good time meeting up with some old friends that I usually only get to see at rodeos and also meeting new acquaintances that I am sure I will continue to see through out the summer. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate very well and we spent the rodeo in the rain on Sunday night and the cold on Monday afternoon. I have no idea what I was thinking leaving the house for a rodeo in Montana because I did not bring a rain jacket or even a coat; I managed though! It was a very exciting weekend of rodeo. I had the great opportunity to meet and work with the great Hadley Barrett, who was announcing, and Leon Coffee, who was the rodeo clown. What great guys they are and it truly added to the already exciting rodeo.

Special Olympics

Whew! What a big week I have had! I just returned on my “tour” of western Montana. On Wednesday morning I left for Great Falls where I was a guest at the Montana State Special Olympics. They kept me extremely busy all three days! I was first a member of the high five team at gymnastics. This required me to be nothing more than a cheerleader for all of the athletes. As they would tell me all week, they were very glad that I could be there. Next I met up with Miss Montana, Christy Hageman, where we left our hotel room together to meet and greet all 1,000 athletes and teams from all across the state. There were a lot of hand shaking and hugs! After the meet and greeting of the athletes Christy and I got to attend the opening ceremonies. This was my favorite event to attend; we got to lead the parade of athletes into the 4-seasons. It was the opening ceremonies just like you see on TV! Among the honorary talented guests was Montana’s own PBR and PRCA rodeo clown, Flint Rasmussen. He was entertaining as always. On Thursday I had a full day at the Eagle Mount Equestrian center. I was first assigned to take pictures and award medals to the athletes but was fast recruited to be the announcer. I felt right at home! It was a beautiful day to be at the arena and the athletes competing in the events had obviously worked hard to get there. The day’s events didn’t stop there. Christy and I attended a team BBQ where all the athletes were eager to tell us the day’s accomplishments; and then there was the dance! To be honest, this event was a little overwhelming. Everyone at the dance either wanted an autograph or wanted to dance with Christy and me or both. The attention we received was amazing and it was a good thing there was two of us because we certainly couldn’t have accommodated for all of the people wanting to talk to us alone! Christy and I were exhausted after our busy day but were up and at it again on Friday where we helped give away the final medals of the week at track and field. This was a humbling experience seeing how excited the athletes were to be awarded their medals. After the closing ceremonies I took a moment to reflect on what a great event I just took place in. The support Great Falls has for the Special Olympics is astronomical with almost a 1 to 1 ratio of volunteers to athletes and several dozen equally supportive sponsors. Great Falls will be the host for the state summer games one more year until it moves to Bozeman.

In between the chaos of the Olympics I got to stop downtown to visit with Mike from Hogland’s, one of my supportive sponsors. He set me up with a great pair of boots. While I was visiting with him I got stuck with a $3 parking ticket! I was the brunt of jokes the rest of the week because I thought I was innocent until Christy, Miss Montana, asked me if I paid the parking meter before I went in to the store. She thought I was crazy when I told her that I have never had to pay a parking meter in all my life, so naturally I didn’t think the meter applied to me at that time. Another lesson learned!

After the closing ceremonies at the Olympics I jumped in the pickup and drove to the Paws Up arena by Missoula. I had never been to the Paws Up so I was in for a real treat. What a beautiful resort and arena! Paws Up was host to the 2nd annual Cowgirl U event. Last year it was at a resort in Texas so it is an honor to have it here in Montana this year. Cowgirl U is hosted by the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. Basically, it is a cowgirl camp where 30 ladies from around the US apply to come and learn how to be a cowgirl, which was to include roping, trail riding, branding, etc. Well instead of regular instructors the Hall of Fame brought in five ladies who are in the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame! So I got to mingle with the honorees and other ladies for the night. The Paws Up arena had an open house where there was a marketplace set up with different vendors from around the state. I met up with Sarah Capp who helped me with my booth. There were a lot of people interested in Miss Rodeo Montana and my duties!

Sarah and I stayed at a beautiful cabin between Seely Lake and Condon that night and drove to Kalispell the next day. Here there was to be the 2nd Annual LWI, Luke Warner Invitational. It was called Broncs, Bruises, and Braggin Rights which was a bronc riding only. I carried the American Flag, greeted the audience, and signed autographs. The horse I got to ride was extremely special! If you have ever seen the movie Open Range with Kevin Costner I got to ride Coyote who was the horse Kevin rode throughout the movie! Needless to say, I had a good mount for this already special event! It was a busy week and I am glad to be back in Bozeman for a few days until I am on the road again!

Helena Middle School

Well the weather is starting to really warm up fast across the Big Sky state which is a good indicator that the rodeos will be in full swing in just a matter of days or weeks. This week I got to go to Helena on Friday morning to visit with the Helena Middle School students. I had so much fun! It was their Vigil Annie days which involved the whole school in a parade and dressing up western. Their day started off with a special treat, an assembly with several special guests including myself. Cowboy poetry was read to them by Montana’s own cowboy poet Mike Logan. I talked to them about setting goals relating to my own experiences through rodeo and Miss Rodeo Montana. Then a crew of cowboys and I explained and demonstrated all of the rodeo events to the school. Thinking I would be the one to explain the girls’ events was a big mistake. The school voted and wanted me to demonstrate the bull riding, of all events. I am competitive by nature so the last thing I was going to do in front of a whole school was fall off! I stayed on for 8 seconds and scored 90 points! I am definitely not cut out to be a bull rider; I was fairly sore in various places the next day. I guess you can say my bull riding muscles have scarcely been used! I signed autographs and talked to some very curious girls who could be Montana’s up and coming barrel racers and future Miss Rodeo Montana’s! It was a great morning.

Saturday was MSU’s graduation so there were many friends in town and in the graduating class. It was a bit of a sad day around here because one of my room mates graduated and the other moved out of the house to go back home, not to mention many of my other friends moving back home or to new jobs after graduation. On the positive side, I was lucky enough to be in town for part of the day and join in on graduation parties, meeting family, and catching up with friends. I have a big weekend ahead of me now. I will be in Great Falls, Missoula, and Kalispell in a matter of three days! Check back next week to hear about that! Best wishes!

Wolf Point School Tour

Looking back on my blog history it’s been about two weeks since I have been able to inform everyone on what I have been doing! Well it’s been so long not because I have been too busy but just the opposite! I sincerely have not had anything “blog worthy” to report on! Since my last blog I have just been spending my down time working at Murdoch’s (who has become one of my latest sponsors!) and continuing to keep up on preparation for this summer.

This past weekend was my first weekend back “on the job” since Lorissa’s Gala. I traveled the seven hours back to my home town of Wolf Point. Located in the far north eastern corner of Montana it is a full day drive to get there! I had been really looking forward to this weekend as it was my homecoming since I have been crowned. The tiny town of Wolf Point didn’t let me down. I was treated like nothing less than a celebrity. During my time home I visited the three elementary schools including the one I attended in grade school, the Faith Luthern Rest home, and was the guest of honor at a mixer for the Chamber of Commerce. Not only that, but I got to help my folks on the ranch halter breaking the first of the spring foals. It was a busy weekend!!

At the three elementary schools the principals introduced me to the entire schools during an assembly. I gave my “Real Cowboy” demonstration and everyone loved it. Wolf Point is very educated in rodeo merely because the oldest rodeo in Montana takes place there. It is truly one of Montana’s greatest small town rodeos with big town heart. The families in Wolf Point and beyond make a holiday of the Wolf Point Stampede. I was proud to announce I would be able to attend all three nights of the legendary rodeo. So when I asked questions like what are some of the events seen at a rodeo, the students were able to cover them all with out too much thought. I signed autographs at every school and every other stop along the way. I think after the weekend was over everyone in Wolf Point and the surrounding communities have an autographed picture of me! I even had a line outside my pickup window at the gas station as I attempted to fill up!

The next thing was the visit to the rest home. With each visit to assisted living homes and rest homes I become more appreciative of what the elderly have to offer. It can sometimes be difficult but the reward is far worth it. My family has been in Wolf Point for over 100 years so no matter where I go there is someone who knows my family. It was such a treat seeing old friends and hearing stories about new friends and how they are connected to my family.

My hope is to get back to Wolf Point as much as I can. With it being in such a north eastern corner of a huge state it would be almost impossible for me to live back home and be able to travel as much as I do. The people in Wolf Point are eager to help me in my quest to become the first girl from Montana to win Miss Rodeo America but they couldn’t be more proud of Miss Rodeo Montana being from their tiny one horse town.