This snowy and cold weekend, I was off to Lewistown for the Montana Winter Fair and Kiddie Rodeo. The drive up turned out to be a lot longer than we had figured, partly because of the two foot high snow drifts. But the second problem we encountered was Kate Ruland’s drivewa y. It turns out that a little car with only front-wheel drive can’t make it ALL the way to the top of her driveway! So thankfully Pat, Kate, and my mom got behind the little car and pushed it almost ¼ of the way up! Thank you to the Ruland’s for letting us stay with them. Bright and early the next morning, we were all off to the Kiddie Rodeo. And if you ever want to see the 80 cutest kids in cowboy gear, Lewistown is definitely the place to be! Mary Knerr and the Judith Basin Back Country Horseman did an amazing job putting on the kiddie rodeo. After a good couple of hours of wild cow milking, mini barrel racing, and roping, the prince and princess of the rodeo were named and given a giant stuffed animal, cowboy hats, and chaps!

            After that, my mom and I walked around the exhibits with Dan and Deb who were our lovely “tour guides”. While walking around, we got to see a beautiful western quilt that Kate made. Then I helped auction off some delicious s weets made for the Death by Chocolate bake off, which almost had me drooling by the time it was over! I can’t wait to go back to Lewistown in the fall for the Montana Trappers Association Rendezvous and see everyone again!

The Miss Rodeo Ravalli County Pageant was like taking a trip down memory lane. I held this title last year (for 2007), and it’s the title that helped me to get to where I am now. I learned so much traveling to different rodeos and meeting new people and it really helped me to get an idea of what was expected of rodeo queens.

I was so happy to see so many girls come out this year! This was definitely a really fun event for me. It was kind of odd being on the other side and not competing for the title, but at the same time it was great getting to know each young lady. It was also nice to be able to sit and watch instead of stressing about what my next impromptu question could be! Kristi and Quincy  Gibbs did an awesome job of organizing the pageant this year, and thanks to Kelly Ralston and Quincy for being our judges.

This year we had six young ladies compete for the Junior Miss Rodeo Ravalli County title and two compete for Miss Rodeo Ravalli County. The 2008 royalty court is Callie Roberts as junior queen and Ciara Zacha as queen. Congratulations girls, I know you will do a great job this year!! I will be seeing them both at the end of the summer when our hometown fair is here on August 27-31.

Hello everyone!

I am so excited about my fundraiser celebration that’s coming up on April 19th! Its going to be a blast! It’s going to be at the Bedford Building (now city hall) in Hamilton. There is going to be live music by J J & Company, so bring your dancing shoes! And the catering will be by A Place to Ponder, so you know it’s going to be delicious. If you haven’t been by their new location yet, it’s definately worth it to stop. And while you’re enjoying the new building try one of thier tasty sandwiches, and some dessert too!  The silent auction and no host bar will open at 5:30 with the opening cerimonies  begining at 6:15. We will also be having a silent and live auction with some items you don’t want to miss!

The tickets are $20 per person, and reservations are requested but not required. They are available by calling Kathy at 406-381-5704. Hope to see you there!!

All my best to you and yours,

Jennifer Marshall

Miss Teen Rodeo Montana 2008

I can’t believe how quickly these past few weeks have gone by! It’s only been a little over a I month since coronation, but it feels like three! But to start off, I am so lucky to have had the pleasure to have met all of the contestents. They are some of the most outstanding ladies I know, and I hope to I see them all again this year.

Day one as Miss Teen Rodeo Montana started off as an early morning with plenty of hair spray, lipstick, and leather … pretty much the same as every other day of the pageant. But what I didn’t know was that in just a few hours, I would earn the amazing opportunity to serve as a role model to our youth. And believe me, I had no idea who it would be. And when they called my name, I had to think for a second just to make sure it was actually me! And it still hasn’t quite set in!

From there it was just a whirlwind. As soon as Audrey and I were crowned, we were rushed off to sign contracts. From there we swapped our leather and fringe for some starched Wranglers and took off to the MPRCF to watch the final rounds, and present awards.

Since then I have traveled about 2,500 miles. My first trip being the Montana Winter Fair and Kiddie Rodeo in Lewistown, which was a blast. Thanks to Kate Ruland for letting my mom and I stay with her! The kiddie rodeo was by far the smoothest and most organized I have ever been to! I even got the chance to brush up on my stick horse riding while I was there. And I couldn’t believe how many kids participated in the kiddie rodeo, I would bet there was about 80. Thank you to Mary for the invitation and to Dan for being a great chaperone! From there it was straight to Billings, which isn’t a bad drive if you can sleep the whole way like I did. There, I went to the Hall and Wall of Fame Banquet, and helped auction off some beautiful items.

After that, I went to the trade show in Bozeman where the Montana Trappers Association had set up a booth. There I met Jim and Frann Buell who taught us all sorts of things about traps, animal prints, and different types of furs.

Then came my first big rodeo, the NRA finals in Billings which was a lot of fun. I am so glad I got to see one of my fa­vorite queens, Hannah Burlingham, who holds the Miss Rodeo Western Montana Princess title. She is always making me smile. Thank you to Scott and Hannah for letting me share Twister, even though it got kind of hectic switching back and forth in between flag runs! I also saw Little Texas and Neal McCoy in concert while we were there.

But other than all of that. I’ve just been working on my fund raiser, which is coming up soon! We have finally set the date to April 19 at the Bedford Building in Hamilton. Now we just need a fun band, some tasty food, and all of our friends and family, and we’ll be set to go! Hope to see you there!

HappyTrails
Jennifer Marshall

Miss Teen Rodeo Montana 2008