Marias River Stampede ~ Shelby

            As I pulled into Shelby, I couldn’t believe what a cute little town it was. It was so small that I probably would have missed it if I wasn’t trying to get there.

            After meeting my horse Mooney and his owner BJ, I took a few laps around the arena with the Weiferich girls and Kirsten Svennungsen. It was great to see the Weiferich family and their awesome bucking stock once again, and I couldn’t wait for the rodeo to begin! I had no idea that we would also be joined by Tiffany Sinclair (Miss Big Sky Pro Rodeo Princess), who I hadn’t had the chance to meet yet. And when I did, I found out that we are very similar!

            Grand entry went smooth and very quickly, and everything seemed to be just perfect. Then all of the sudden a terrible and freezing cold north wind came out of nowhere. The wind gusts had to have been at least 35 mph! Unfortunately, this cleared out the packed stands and sent us girls running for cover behind anything we could find. We eventually ended up behind the ambulance with one of the EMS who thankfully didn’t mind the company. After about 45 minutes of wind, it finally stopped just in time for the bull riding. Then I got the chance to take a look around the fair and see what kind of fried food I could devour since I had an early lunch. I of course had to have my fair comfort food, a greasy cheeseburger.

            The second night of rodeo went very well and thankfully without ANY wind! It was my honor that night to carry Old Glory, but my horse wasn’t to keen on standing still in the arena after doing a flying lap. So we did a little dance in the middle of the arena while the anthem played. And when it was over, he was more than happy to run out. Kirsten and Tiffany couldn’t make it to the second night of the rodeo so I recruited Tessa and Tasha Weiferich to help me clear the arena and boy can those girls ride! They did a great job as always and even gave me some inside info on the stock that was coming out for each ride.

            So after a good two full days of rodeo and fair fun, I headed back to the hotel to pack up once again. In the morning, I was off to the CM Russell Stampede in Stanford.

            Until next time, I wish you all the best!

 

God Bless,

 

Jennifer Marshall

MTRM 2008