God Bless,
Jenna
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Lets go to Vegas!
On November 6th, I traveled East bound with Hannah Hilsabeck, Miss Teen Rodeo 2010. We gathered near Miss Rodeo Iowa 2011, Heidi Gansen's hometown to help send her off to the Miss Rodeo America pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada. During her send off, we were lucky enough to see all of the beautiful outfits Heidi would be wearing during the Miss Rodeo America pageant. In addition, Heidi also gave a practice run of the speech she would perform during her time in Las Vegas. Several of Heidi's friends and family were in attendance, and were able to bid on some great silent auction items. We all gave Heidi our luck as she headed off for the pageant in December. Although Heidi did not come home from the pageant with the title of Miss Rodeo America 2012, she still did an outstanding job! She has represented our great state, as well as the way of life we all have come to love, very well. Congrats Heidi for an awesome year and thank you for all of your hard work!
God Bless,
Jenna
God Bless,
Jenna
Monday, January 2, 2012
Let's Get Started!
I can't believe its finally here, I am no longer a "lady-in-waiting"!
It all started off on Thursday, September 8th as I checked in to the pageant, and then saddled up for the first performance of the PRCA Tri-State Rodeo in Fort Madison. As a Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa contestant, I was introduced before the rodeo officailly started, did a queen's run, and then came back a few minutes later to join the ever so crazy grand entry. Once I survived the exciting (300+ people in the arena at one time) grand entry, I hit the crowd to compete with Rachel Burton, the Miss Rodeo Iowa contestant, for the People's Choice award. We each had made a bucket prior to the pageant to collect money from the crowd for the Miss Rodeo Iowa Scholarship Fund and whoever collected the most money at the end of the pageant won the award. Rachel and I left the rodeo grounds that night at around 9 P.M. to head beack to the hotel for dance practice. During the fashion show portion of the pageant, all the conestants, along with the reigning titleholders (Heidi Gansen, Miss Rodeo Iowa 2011 and Charity Howk, Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa 2011) perform a choregraphed dance. Which, if you can imagine taking roping, riding, country girls and teaching them to dance.. it can be an interesting time! Luckily the next day wasn't too busy. Friday was the day of horsemanship. In this category, we performed a reigning pattern which consisted of several figure 8's, sliding stops and also rollbacks. Once we had completed the pattern, we were to ride over to the judges and dismount where we would be put to the test on our knowledge of horses. Each contestant was asked a variety of questions, mainly pertaining to equine, or the equine industry. Following, we mounted up again and we were judged on our "queen's wave" as well as our ability to carry a flag. That part is always my favorite! When the evening came, it was full of excitement once again as we played a part in the second performance of the Tri-State Rodeo. We were introduced, rode in the wild grand entry, and then hit the stands to collect money and finish off our Peoples Choice competition. Following the rodeo, we headed back to our hotel to practice our dance that we were to perform the next day. When morning came, (and let me tell you, it came early!) we all put curlers in our hair and got ready to head out to the rodeo grounds, grab our horses, and then run into town to saddle up for the parade. This took place on Saturday, September 10th, the day of the fashion show and coronation, but also the day that the Cyclones faced the Hawkeyes in their annual football game.. Not to mention the score of that game with the Clones coming out on top :) haha! The nerves came out when the fashion show began. We started off by giving speeches that we had prepared prior to coming to Ft. Madison which were either about Iowa, or Western Heritage. Mine ended up regarding the boots of a PRCA cowboy and the many places he had traveled, which brought him to professional rodeo. Following, Rachel Burton and I went head to head in a rodeo term trivia game. We were given a term that is associated with rodeo, and whoever "buzzed in" first, got a shot at defining the term. Next, we all scurried to change our outfits and get ready for the contestant dance which ended up to be a blast to perform! We weren't going to let the light mood and easy-going atmosphere end though as Rachel and I came back to model our "fun" outfits to the song Giddy On Up by Laura Bell Bundy. This was by far my favorite part of the pageant becuase we each got to wear comfortable and fun outfitts and show a little personality in our modeling. Once we all had a laugh, the pageant became more serious and elogant as we modeled our western style, leather dresses. Cross your fingers and say a prayer because it's coronation time! Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for arrived, and we got crowned. Rachel Burton, Miss Rodeo Iowa, myself, Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa, and last but not least Emma Bair, the first ever Miss Jr. Rodeo Iowa. The pageant had been a blast, but there was still more excitement to lay ahead! We headed to the rodeo grounds for the fnal performance and saddle up as Iowa's new rodeo royalty! We each got announced, and took part in the grand entry however instead of hitting the stands, we chased out cattle and ran sponsor flags for the various events that evening. The Tri-State rodeo had come to an end, but Rachel, Emma and I were all smiles and back at it Sunday morning as we helped out at the community breakfast that was served. We filled coffee cups, threw plates away, and had a great time socializing and getting to know the community members of Ft. Madison. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I can't wait to see how the rest of the year will unfold!
God Bless,
Jenna
It all started off on Thursday, September 8th as I checked in to the pageant, and then saddled up for the first performance of the PRCA Tri-State Rodeo in Fort Madison. As a Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa contestant, I was introduced before the rodeo officailly started, did a queen's run, and then came back a few minutes later to join the ever so crazy grand entry. Once I survived the exciting (300+ people in the arena at one time) grand entry, I hit the crowd to compete with Rachel Burton, the Miss Rodeo Iowa contestant, for the People's Choice award. We each had made a bucket prior to the pageant to collect money from the crowd for the Miss Rodeo Iowa Scholarship Fund and whoever collected the most money at the end of the pageant won the award. Rachel and I left the rodeo grounds that night at around 9 P.M. to head beack to the hotel for dance practice. During the fashion show portion of the pageant, all the conestants, along with the reigning titleholders (Heidi Gansen, Miss Rodeo Iowa 2011 and Charity Howk, Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa 2011) perform a choregraphed dance. Which, if you can imagine taking roping, riding, country girls and teaching them to dance.. it can be an interesting time! Luckily the next day wasn't too busy. Friday was the day of horsemanship. In this category, we performed a reigning pattern which consisted of several figure 8's, sliding stops and also rollbacks. Once we had completed the pattern, we were to ride over to the judges and dismount where we would be put to the test on our knowledge of horses. Each contestant was asked a variety of questions, mainly pertaining to equine, or the equine industry. Following, we mounted up again and we were judged on our "queen's wave" as well as our ability to carry a flag. That part is always my favorite! When the evening came, it was full of excitement once again as we played a part in the second performance of the Tri-State Rodeo. We were introduced, rode in the wild grand entry, and then hit the stands to collect money and finish off our Peoples Choice competition. Following the rodeo, we headed back to our hotel to practice our dance that we were to perform the next day. When morning came, (and let me tell you, it came early!) we all put curlers in our hair and got ready to head out to the rodeo grounds, grab our horses, and then run into town to saddle up for the parade. This took place on Saturday, September 10th, the day of the fashion show and coronation, but also the day that the Cyclones faced the Hawkeyes in their annual football game.. Not to mention the score of that game with the Clones coming out on top :) haha! The nerves came out when the fashion show began. We started off by giving speeches that we had prepared prior to coming to Ft. Madison which were either about Iowa, or Western Heritage. Mine ended up regarding the boots of a PRCA cowboy and the many places he had traveled, which brought him to professional rodeo. Following, Rachel Burton and I went head to head in a rodeo term trivia game. We were given a term that is associated with rodeo, and whoever "buzzed in" first, got a shot at defining the term. Next, we all scurried to change our outfits and get ready for the contestant dance which ended up to be a blast to perform! We weren't going to let the light mood and easy-going atmosphere end though as Rachel and I came back to model our "fun" outfits to the song Giddy On Up by Laura Bell Bundy. This was by far my favorite part of the pageant becuase we each got to wear comfortable and fun outfitts and show a little personality in our modeling. Once we all had a laugh, the pageant became more serious and elogant as we modeled our western style, leather dresses. Cross your fingers and say a prayer because it's coronation time! Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for arrived, and we got crowned. Rachel Burton, Miss Rodeo Iowa, myself, Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa, and last but not least Emma Bair, the first ever Miss Jr. Rodeo Iowa. The pageant had been a blast, but there was still more excitement to lay ahead! We headed to the rodeo grounds for the fnal performance and saddle up as Iowa's new rodeo royalty! We each got announced, and took part in the grand entry however instead of hitting the stands, we chased out cattle and ran sponsor flags for the various events that evening. The Tri-State rodeo had come to an end, but Rachel, Emma and I were all smiles and back at it Sunday morning as we helped out at the community breakfast that was served. We filled coffee cups, threw plates away, and had a great time socializing and getting to know the community members of Ft. Madison. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I can't wait to see how the rest of the year will unfold!
God Bless,
Jenna
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