Mission Mountain Pro Rodeo ~ Polson

            As I drove past the Flathead Lake on the way through Polson, I couldn’t help but think how nice it would be to jump in before going to the rodeo… It was a hot weekend, but not unbearable, so I decided to save that for the next afternoon.

It was once again my honor to ride with some of the best pickup men around; RT, Kurt, and Kenny who pick up for JS Rodeo quite often. I also got to ride one of RT Hendrickson’s horses, but for the life of me, I can’t remember the horse’s name! I know he’s named after his previous owner, but that’s about it. For the night “sorrel” was all mine, since he had a healing injury. But don’t let that fool you. He still had a ton of go in him and was a blast to ride. The best part about the majority pickup horses is that they could care less about most things such as flags, loud noises, or just about any thing else. Someone else I was especially glad to see was Kurt’s daughter Mardee. We carried flags together a couple of times before at different rodeos, and she’s always fun to hang around. After the rodeo, my mom and I headed out to grab a bite to eat. The one thing I found out about Polson is that they don’t have too many restaurants open around the time that the rodeo gets out. It was a good thing that I packed a few snacks!

The next morning, my mom and I took off to do some shopping as usual. After that, we decided that a nice long soak in the sun on the beach sounded like a good idea. So we packed the cooler and threw on our bathing suits and headed to the park. We killed a couple of hours just relaxing and talking. Then it was off to the rodeo where I was glad to see Shantell Frame (Miss Rodeo Southeastern Mt.) Also visiting was her adorable younger sister Skyler. We had a fun time talking and telling stories after not seeing each other for quite a while. After we had finished our arena duties, we headed off to the grand stands to mingle and sign autographs. Then I headed to my home away from home for the weekend at the comfortable Port Polson Inn.

Until next time, I wish you all the best!

 

God Bless,

 

Jennifer Marshall

MTRM 2008

JS Rodeo Summer Solstice ~ Vaughn

            This is one rodeo that comes to mind when I think of HOT WEATHER! It may not have been the warmest weather I have ridden in this year, but the dirt seemed to stick to everything and I couldn’t get enough water. It was great to see the Thompson family for the first time since the pageant in January. And I couldn’t wait to hop onto another one of their awesome horses. For the first night I rode the old man, Sarge. He is one of those horses that thinks he can run super fast and puts his heart and soul into it… but in reality he just a sweet old horse. Thank you to the Thompsons for bringing Sarge and Holly to ride.

            I was happy to see all of the other visiting royalty and fellow flag carriers which included Jennika O’Neil (Little Miss Big Sky Pro Rodeo), Kirsten Svennungen (Miss Big Sky Pro Rodeo), and Audrey Sholty (Miss Rodeo Montana). Also riding was Bailey Thompson and Libby Gurnett who I hadn’t seen in what seemed like forever! We did have a chance to catch up when my mom and I headed up to the Thompson’s ranch to go for a relaxing ride. We had a blast running around their pastures and even herded the other horses up.

            The second night of rodeo I rode a sweetheart of a horse named Holly who I had a ton of fun on. But I must have been having too much fun to realize that my jeans were a bit looser than when I first entered the arena. After the first lap around for a queen buzz I realized that my belt buckle had come undone! It was a little bit embarrassing but I didn’t have much time to think about it before I had to run back into the arena. But I was glad that it didn’t come off or come up and hit me!

Until next time, I wish you all the best!

 

God Bless,

 

Jennifer Marshall

MTRM 2008

Belt Rodeo

            I was so glad to see O’Neil Family again when my mom and I finally arrived in Belt. It was also great to see the BEST Teen Advisor/ Bling Professional ever, Linda Rest and your 2007 MTRM, Lorissa Harris. And when we all got together, we had way too much fun! Thank you so much to the O’Neil Family who put all of us up at their house and fed us too! So after a little bit of fun and relaxation, we were off to the rodeo.

For the first night, I rode the cutest horse I’ve ever seen named Stubby. Thank you to the Sivertsen family for bringing him and Pistol for the parade. And even though Stubby had short legs he still had a LOT of go in him! After a flying lap around the arena for a queen buzz, we came back in for grand entry and he thought we were going to go right back out… So I had to do a little extra circle to get him stopped and in the right spot. After that I had a good time pushing cows with Jennika O’Neil, your Little Miss Big Sky Pro Rodeo and Lesli Furniss, your Miss Rodeo Western Mt.

Bright and early the next morning, the whole house was awake and full of hairspray as we all got ready for a delicious pancake breakfast at the fire station. Then we were all off to the parade. Night two of the rodeo went very well, and I had fun riding one of Dave and Cathy Weiferich’s horses named DJ. (I believe that is short for Duane Jr.) One thing that made the night extra special was that I got the opportunity to carry Old Glory into the arena for grand entry, and I even got a picture in the local paper!

Until next time, I wish you all the best!

 

God Bless,

 

Jennifer Marshall

MTRM 2008

MHSRA Rodeo Queen Pageant ~ Missoula

            The Montana High School Rodeo Queen Pageant was fun and brought back some nervous memories from the state pageant in January. For the first night I was there, we had an orientation/question and answer time. I even got the chance to do a little modeling with the girls after that. And I couldn’t wait to hear them do their speeches and watch the modeling the next day.

All of the girls were outstanding in every way and looked great too! One of them even had to model and recite her speech in her working rodeo clothes because she had an event to run in right after she finished! She still did great though and did even better in the modeling.

 I didn’t get to know who won until a few days after when I read the paper. Congratulations to our new queen, Carley Sikes! She is going to represent Montana very well! I hope I will be seeing her in the near future at some rodeos.

Until next time, I wish you all the best!

 

God Bless,

 

Jennifer Marshall

MTRM 2008