It seems like just yesterday I was at the Winterset Middle School for the Miss Rodeo Iowa clinic. April 14 and 15th brought girls from all across Iowa to learn the steps of becoming a rodeo queen. Jordanne Blair did a great job of organizing the clinic and it was so neat to see all the girls grow and gain confidence! I was joined by Miss Rodeo Iowa 2012, Rachel Burton as well as Miss Jr. Rodeo Iowa 2012, Emma Bair. There were so many Miss Rodeo Iowa board members and past titleholders there as well, including Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa 2010, Hannah Hilsabeck. A big thank you to Connie Weimold for all the delicious meals!
From Winterset I headed South to Fairfield, Iowa. This day was one to remember! I had the opportunity to help with a Special Needs rodeo in the morning and present Old Glory before the performance that night. This night was so special because it all began with a little girl named Addison Tarrence who was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) when she was 3 years old. All the proceeds collected that night were donated to help find a cure for SMA. A huge thank you goes out to the Smith family, Bud, Beth, Casey, Colton and Carlee. Carlee and Addison formed a bond that urged the Smith family to raise money for a cure. As owners of the Young and Wild Rodeo Company, the Smith family hosts several events throughout the year and are extremely involved in them. It was such an honor to be there and I had such a great time!
Following, I headed from the Southeast corner of Iowa towards the Northwest for the first Professional Rodeo, Cherokee! Rachel Burton and I had a fun-filled weekend, starting out with pulling kids out of mud before the Thursday night performance, literally! We enjoyed being introduced and helping during the Grand Entry Thursday night and then we worked the crowd to promote rodeo. Unfortunately the weather felt like a cold November night instead of June! Friday morning we had an early wake-up call as we joined Miss Rodeo Cherokee 2011, Kearsten Brown and Miss Rodeo Cherokee 2012, Jaci Hermstead and headed to a radio interview. Shortly after, we were all invited to a a delicious breakfast held by the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce. As the day went on, we all piled in Rachels truck and headed to a lunch held at the local Dodge showroom. Let's just say, none of us missed a meal that day! We also had the opporunity to meet many Cherokee citizens as we visited a nursing home. It was so great to talk with all the residents and hear their stories! It was such a beautiful day until it came time for the second rodeo performance, where it decided to rain. We all still had a blast through the rain though and it soon disappeared as we were once again introduced, helped with Grand Entry, and signed autographs for many of the loyal rodeo fans. Luckily we were able to sleep in the next day! Saturday brought us to a Train Depot where we watched a train robbery skit and enjoyed a lunch. It was so fun to pose in the train! Not long after, we hooked up Rachels trailer and loaded our horses as we headed a couple blocks from the rodeo grounds to line up for the parade. All our horses got pretty excited when the attention was on them walking down the street! When we reached the end, we hurried to get ready for the final rodeo performance. This night couldn't have been better as the sun was shining and the stands were full of people ready to see a great show! Cherokee was the perfect way to kick-off the rodeo season in Iowa and bring us in to the summer months!
Until next time,
Jenna
