Down in Missouri and Up to No Good!

Ok, so the title is slightly cheesey I know, but I am trying to be creative! June 25th, mom and I left the great state of Iowa and headed to Missouri. Thursday night we made it to Memphis, Missouri. It was a D Bar D event, and I was greeted and settled in by Debbie and Linda Daniels! During the performance they had me hand out some cute little bull riding coloring books. I thought that was a fabulous idea! A huge thank you to Kelsey and Todd Renfrew for letting me ride Chester! Before the show started Kelsey and I rode around warming up the horses and chatting it up. Good luck in all of your barrel racing endeavours Kelsey. We all survived the heat to watch a great show put on by everyone with D Bar D, I can't wait to work with them later in the summer. The next morning, Mom and I made the trek to the other side of Missouri, to Carthage. After checking into the Precious Moments hotel, which happened to have a pink exterior, fitting for a queen, we went and ate at a cute little diner on Route 66. The next morning we lived a rough life laying pool side catching some sun! Before we knew it, it was time to head to Lockwood, Missouri, for a High Point event. We pulled into quite the event, several horses, campers, and people, all ready to watch some great bullriding. A huge thank you to all involved with the High Point company and for allowing me to come. Another thank you to Sarah Freeman, for helping me out, letting me stay in the air conditioning for a bit, and supplying me with a horse. After a jumping start to the National Anthem we made a proud lap around the arena carrying the Red, White, and Blue, and then it was show time! Great bulls plus great cowboys equals a great show. Of course, this time the crowd had a special interest in this event, at the beginning they held a calcutta auctioning off all of the cowboys, and the winner recieved 40% of the pot, and a little girl needing to go to China for eye surgery recieved the rest. It was a huge success! Again, thanks to High Point for allowing me to be a part of their event! Until next time!

Blazing Temperatures & Bullriding Long Prairie, Minnesota style

This last weekend the whole family loaded in the car to head north to Long Prairie, Minnesota, to a Great Frontier Bullriding event. Saturday morning before the bullridng my cousin, Dan Weber, had his graduation party, so we ate great food, spent sometime visiting with family, and had a little partying time, then dad and I had a nice road trip to Long Prairie. Once we arrived at Prairie Fest, I was met by Jennifer Kattevold, the lady in charge of it all! After all of the introductions were made, my horse arrived! I was ridding in style, on a beautiful paint horse. They even had the tail braided for me, now that is a true queen horse! I made a smoking lap, ok, well maybe it wasn't that fast, but I let that pleasure horse rip, then it was show time. During the show there was a boot race for the kids that I helped out with. I even got to sign a few shirts to be thrown out into the audience. After one terrible T-shirt throw, almost taking someone out, we handed that job over to the entertainment, Slipknot! It was great to see one of the judges that I had got to know down at the finals! Thank you to the Kattevold family and the Great Frontier Bullriding Company for making my time in the Northern state so much fun! See you all in Memphis and Lockwood, Missouri this weekend!

Frontier Western Celebration- El Dorado, KS

No more rest and relaxation due to the mono for this queen. After a fun week of vaccinating pigs, 4,800 pigs to be exact, my mom and I made the trip to El Dorado, Kansas, for the Frontier Western Days. I arrived and went right to work, helping with the mutton busting! After 14 cute little cowboys and cowgirls took their turn braving the sheep, it was time to start the bullriding. I felt pretty important being introduced with the champion bullriders, including Henry Yoder himself! For those of you that don't know Henry was the named the NFPB champion the very same day I was crowned Miss NFPB! Friday nights event had a great crowd, fantastic bulls, and of course some pretty darn good cowboys! Unfortunately the bull fighter was flipped by the bull, breaking his leg in 2 places. He is on the long road to recovery, but will be missing the rest of the summer events. Some of the cowboys traded in their boots for some comfy tennis shoes and put on their vests to help with the bull fighting. I think that shows great sportsmanship! After that misfortune, it was time for the championship round. I think the bulls won that night, but the cowboys put up a valiant effort. Before I knew it mom and I were headed back to the hotel to catch some much needed sleep. Saturday we headed into downtown Wichita to see what Sheplers had to offer! A HUGE thank you to Kandy Schramm at the Sheplers hat counter for cleaning, shaping, and fixing up all of my queen hats. They were in dire need of some TLC. Kandy did a fabulous job, so if you are ever in the Wichita area and need a hat doctor, she is your lady! After hours in the Sheplers dressing room, and doing my part to support the Kansas economy, it was time to head back and get ready for a night of bullriding. Saturday we had 18 mutton busters. With some tough cowboys and cowgirls, a few hard falls, and the occasional tears, the mutton busting was a huge succes, and as always, a crowd pleaser. Then it was bullriding time! I think the bulls were having a better weekend, but none the less it was a great weekend. Thank you to Matt Williams, the contractor, for allowing me to be a part of their event. I was very impressed with all of his bulls, including, Free Beer and Funny Grass, among others. I had so much fun and really enjoyed the Kansas hospitality, I felt right at home. Another thank you goes out to Scott Fry and his music man for making me feel right at home. I hope to see both of them down the road, even if they aren't Iowa State Cyclone fans! Kansas was a great time and I can't wait to visit again. It is time to head to Minnesota next weekend to see what the northern states have to offer! Until next time!

Dan Larson Memorial Bull Riding - Albia, Iowa

Greetings Rodeo Fans! After a week of rest and relaxation due to an unfortunate case of mono, I was ready to hit the road again. I headed to the other southern corner of the state to the Dan Larson Memorial Bullriding in Albia, Iowa. From the moment I drove up I felt like Royalty. Right away there was an autograph signing with some of the cowboys, where we signed autographs and greeted the fans. I was honored to be able to visit with the local radio station to remind people to get on down to the arena. Then I had a few minutes to chat with the announcer, Rex Strayer, whom I had met at the Finals, so it was great to see him again! Before I knew it, it was show time. A huge thank you to John Reed for letting me ride his trusty steed, Smokey! I was introduced with all of the bullriders, then after a moment of silence for Dan Larson, it was time for the National Anthem. Another big thank you to Dave Larson's granddaughter for helping me do that, she carried the Iowa flag, and I think we made a pretty good team. Then it was show time. I walked around chatting it up with the crowd then had the chance to sit and watch some bullriding. No worries, I didn't have to sit and watch by myself, I was in good company. Marie Mahaney, a fellow queen, and good friend was with me the whole evening to help me out and take wonderful pictures. Watch out professional photographers Marie will give you a run for your money. Actually she was there to watch another friend, Josh Thames, but it was great to see them both anyways. Dave and Liz Larson put on a great show, and had great hospitality. Thank you to everyone who helped make my stay in Albia so great! See you next weekend in El Dorado, Kansas!