Kootenai River Rodeo ~ Libby

Talk about an absolutely GEORGEOUS drive! If you ever want to just get away, then take a drive up to Libby, MT. I was completely blown away by the beautiful winding river and the majestic mountains. It seemed like a “postcard” town! And the rodeo grounds were no different, nestled back into the trees with a horse and buggy path leading to it.

But enough about how beautiful the town was, lets talk about the lovely young ladies who were competing to represent it. There were three young ladies vying for the title of Miss Kootenai River Rodeo. However, none of them knew that I would be attending that night, or that I would be the one crowning the winner! So as show time rolled around, I stayed towards the back of all of the commotion and waited to hear my name. And when I did, the girls had no idea what was going on. After a buzz lap, I hopped off and helped present awards. And finally it was time to hear who had won… your new Miss Kootenai River Rodeo is Cassidy Hand! (Does that name sound familiar to anyone else??? I thought so too..J If you can’t figure out why it does sound so familiar, it’s because Miss Rodeo Montana 2006 was Cassidy HAN without a D) Congratulations to her and I hope she has an awesome year. During the rodeo, I finally got the chance to talk with the girls and get to know them all a little better. I would have hated to be a judge, because they were all sweethearts!

The next morning I met up with all of the girls and their moms for an impromptu clinic. I talked to them about my year and what it takes to be a state titleholder. Then we did some questions and answers and a little trivia. I really enjoyed being able to talk to them all one on one, and I learned a lot too.

The rodeo that evening was just as fun as the last. And I got to ride one of my favorite horses, “Sorrel.” I also rode “Sorrel” in Polson, and even though I ask his real name every time, I can never remember it! So for me, Sorrel works just fine. Thank you so much to RT Hendrickson for letting me use him for the two nights of rodeo. He’s a great horse and he’s a blast to ride.

After two blistering hot days of rodeo and “queeing” fun, I was ready to head back to the Bitterroot and rest up a little before the State Fair.

            Until next time, I wish you all the best!

 

God Bless,

 

Jennifer Marshall

MTRM 2008

CM Russell Stampede ~ Stanford

            It was a bit of a drive in the morning from Shelby to Stanford, but I stopped feeling bad for myself when I saw some horse trailers from the rodeo in Shelby on their way up too. I feel SO thankful for all of the generous families who have let me ride their horses while I travel, so I can save some money and not tow a trailer. This was the first time I had been with Audrey at a rodeo in what seemed like forever! It was great to see her again and to hear about all of her travels and crazy stories. Also attending was Jennika O’Neil.

            After meeting with the Eagle 93 morning show host, Scott, I got to play a little horse swapping. At first I was going to ride a huge bay horse, but after talking with the pickup men I ended up riding a dun. The only thing about borrowing a horse that is brought to pickup is that you have to be able to get off quick when someone tells you to! I ended up switching to a barrel instead of a horse during one event when Sparky, the owner of Gold Buckle Rodeo Co., needed a horse.

            Unfortunately about ¾ of the way through the rodeo, I started to feel a little bit queasy. And after bull riding started, I couldn’t take the hot sun anymore. So I told my mom I wasn’t feeling well and let the other girls know that I just needed to sit in the A/C and drink some ice cold water. Thank goodness I didn’t get sick but I did sleep the whole way home.

            Until next time, I wish you all the best!

 

God Bless,

 

Jennifer Marshall

MTRM 2008

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

Drummond Pro Rodeo

            The Drummond Pro Rodeo started off with a good ‘ole hometown parade right down Main Street. And one thing that kept me smiling and laughing through the whole parade was my horse’s name, Booger. So I may have looked a little crazy as I was walking through the parade laughing to myself. When the parade was over, I found out just how much traffic we had held up, because I couldn’t get down and across the street. But I found the perfect solution to my dilemma, just act like you’re driving a car down the street. So I cautiously hopped into the traffic line and used arm signals so I wouldn’t get ran over. Thankfully, Booger was calm and very tall.

            When I finally made my way back down to the arena, I couldn’t help but ask how Booger had gotten his name. He got the name because he used to be a little skittish and act like a booger, so that was that. As it got to be show time, I was loaded up with Old Glory and ready to go. However, no one was around to carry the Montana flag. So the arena director, Butch, recruited one of the pickup men who wasn’t too keen on the idea. David’s horse was pretty green on the rodeo trail, so we tried to find someone else. And they found the perfect person who was most definitely experienced. Carrying the Montana Flag was Carolynn (Seay) Vietor, a former Miss Rodeo America from Texas. After grand entry was over, I was talking to Carolynn when she asked if I knew Audrey Sholty. I said of course I do! So I found out what a small world it really is.

            Until next time, I wish you all the best!

 

God Bless,

 

Jennifer Marshall

MTRM 2008

Livingston Roundup

WOW! What a rodeo! This was the first time I had been to the Livingston Roundup, and it was definitely a great show.

            On the way up, my mom and I had planned about an hour of extra time for the unknown. Little did we know, an hour wouldn’t be enough. We ran into three different areas of road construction that put us behind by about 2 hours! I was getting a little nervous about being able to make the parade that afternoon when Erika Blough, one of the queen contestants, called and asked when I was planning on getting there. And when I told her where I was, she just paused for a second and then asked if I would like her to get my horse ready. I would have liked to tell her not to worry about it, but I didn’t have a minute to spare. Another dilemma I had was that I was still in a regular button up and blue jean wranglers… not what I was planning on wearing in the parade. But since I didn’t have one minute of spare time, I decided the best option would be to change in the car. Putting on tight wranglers is hard enough when you’re in a standing position, let alone in a tiny crowded car. Nonetheless, I crawled into my makeshift changing room, also known as covering my self up with a blanket, and threw on my jeans and long sleeve. Thankfully, there was close to no traffic, and my mom remembered to bring a very large blanket.

When we finally found where the parade started, Erika’s dad Kent was waiting with my horse for the weekend, Chester. When I finally caught up to the rest of the rodeo queens, I was SO relieved that I had made it in time! The funny thing was that all of us queens were all wearing different colors of the hobby horse sequin blouse. It seemed that we all got the same memo that morning! The parade went well and I couldn’t believe how many people were out to watch.

That evening at the rodeo was TETWP night which is always fun, and is a great way to support the fight against breast cancer. When the rodeo started, the stands were packed and I found out that my horse Chester had some GO! I had a blast riding him, and he cleared cows without any help from me. After the rodeo was finished, they had a HUGE fireworks show that shook the ground. And that wasn’t even the biggest of them all. They were saving the biggest fireworks for the 4^th.

After sleeping in, I went and checked out the local western shops as usual and then headed over to the farmer’s market. They had everything you could ever want and then some. My mom and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent a good 2 hours just walking around looking at all the booths. The rodeo that evening was just as great as the night before with a packed house and tough competition. I even watched world champion barrel racer, Brittany Pozzi-Pharr run.

The final night of action packed rodeo was a special treat for me because of a very exceptional young man attending. The horse I was riding, Chester, used to see quite a bit of rodeo action as a bull-dogging horse. But that adventure came to an end when his owner and rider, Cory, was in a horrible car accident. The accident caused severe brain damage and therefore limited his mobility, speech, and brain functions, so Cory could no longer ride. What I didn’t know until that day was that his sister was Erika Blough and their whole family, including Cory, would be at the rodeo that evening. The moment I won’t ever forget is the smile he smiled when he saw his horse back in the arena. I don’t think I have ever been so proud to carry Old Glory. It was the perfect night of rodeo on the 4^th of July.

Right after the first event, it was time for the coronation of the new Miss Livingston Roundup. I rode out in a brand new dodge pickup and then each of the contestants came in and made a buzz lap and parked in the center. As they announced the awards, I started to get nervous for all of the girls. And when they announced the 2008-2009 Miss Livingston Roundup, it was Erika Blough! A huge congrats goes to Erika, she did very well and she’s going to have a fun-filled year! I’ll hopefully be able to see her every once in a while, since she’s starting college in Missoula!

After the rodeo got over, I went to meet Cory and the rest of the family and even signed an autograph for him. Then I sat back and watched the fireworks show.

Until next time, I wish you all the best!

 

God Bless,

 

Jennifer Marshall

MTRM 2008