Last Chance Stampede - Helena

I was so excited for the Helena Last Chance Stampede! I heard it was so much fun and really exciting, and luckily for me the Last Chance Stampede did not disappoint me or anyone!! It was great to see Lesli and other visiting royalty too!

I arrived on Wednesday morning and drove straight to the Stick Horse Rodeo held at Capital Sports and Western Wear. It was one of the biggest Kiddie Rodeos I had ever been to during my year as Miss Teen! I had so much fun helping out and I even got to judge their rodeo queen pageant!! Unfortunately, Lesli did not make it to the Stick Horse Rodeo. She had a horrible case of the stomach flu which lasted until the second day in Helena! :( But she returned to her bright bubbily self in no time at all!!! Later that day I attended the meet and greet for Kristy Lee Cook and Little Big Town! It was so cool and they all really liked my cowboy hat! I watched the concert for awihle and then it was off to the trailer and then to bed!

I woke up the next morning and got ready for the Kiddie Parade. It was the first I have ever attended. It was really fun. Lesli and I got lost on the way to the parade and barely made it, but we did!! As the end of the parade was walking by Lesli and I quickly hopped in and fit right in with the mix!! After the parade we spent two hours at the brand new Helena Fairgrounds facility. It was so nice and as an added bonus there was air conditioning. Every day we would sit at the Tough Enough to Wear Pink Booth and sign autographs. The first night of the rodeo was military appreciation night so the grand entry was very tricky, but it turned out great! There were over 100 military troops in the arena, the navy had a boat in the arena, a gigantic American Flag, and all of the sponsor flags!!! It was crazy, but we all fit and it turned out excellent.

I had nothing to do before the rodeo on Friday so I hung around my trailer and my sister and I managed to fet on some rides!! We had way too much fun! :) Friday was Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night so before the rodeo I attended Chicks 'N Chaps event. Chicks 'N Chaps is a fundraiser to fight the disease of cancer and to find a cure. When I attended the fundraiser it seemed more like a giant paty to me!!! everyone was having so much fun and they raised a TON of money!! The rodeo that night was so much fun! I had a blast with Lesli and also with Libby Gurnett, the Big Sky ProRodeo Princess. She is so nice and made me laugh a lot!!

I attended the Saturday Parade and Lesli, Libby, and I got to ride in a carriage pulled by Mules!!!! They were so cute!!! I had tons of fun at the parade. After the parade Lesli had a webinar to attend so I headed back to the trailer. Saturday night was Hawaiian Night and everyone's horse had flowers around their neck! The Helena Last Chance Stampede did something I had never seen. Their announcer rode in the arena and announced at the same time!! It was so funny and he even interviewed the rodeo queens when we were in the arena! It was crazy but very fun! I also got to see my new favorite sport WILD COW MILKING!!! I have so much fun watching it. They had it all three nights and congratulations to Capital Sports, they are still the reigning champion!!!

I had so much fun in Helena and encourage everyone in the area to attend it next year! Congratulations to the rodeo comittee for putting on a fantastic show. I want to give a big thanks to Amy Robbins, BJ Geier, and Jay Sherley. They were all so helpful and nice! That's all for now!! See you down the road.

God Bless,

Sam

C.M. Russel Stampede - Stanford

After having a short weekend break I was off once again to a rodeo, the C.M. Russel Stampede in Stanford Montana. I was very excited to go off to a new place where I had never been to before, and as an added bonus I would get to attend the rodeo with my comrade Lesli!!!! :)

My family and I hit the road early Saturday morning planning on getting there for the Stick Horse rodeo just before four o'clock in the afternoon. Everything was going as planned and we were on the road in no time at all. As we were chuggin down the road in our truck we heard a loud bang come our horse trailer. We pulled to the side of the road and found out that one of our trailer tires had blown out!!! My mom and dad went to work right away trying to figure out to get the spare on the trailer and if it hadn't been for a sincere nice elderly couple we might just still be stuck there!! This couple pulled up and lent a hand in helping. Without them my parents would not have been able to get the new tire on the trailer. I greatly appreciate them and their help!! So that was that we we're successfully back on the road and only a few minutes late now.

I called Lesli to inform her I would be a few minutes late to the Stick Horse Rodeo. As I continued to get ready in the truck I noticed smoke coming from the other side of a hill that we were soon approaching. As my dad kept driving people drove the opposite way trying to get us to turn around. For those of you who haven't seen our truck and trailer it's not something you can just turn around easily on a two lane road, so we kept on driving. As we went around the bend in the road all I saw was a line of about ten cars backed up and a horrible crash up ahead. Just then a life flight helicopter flew over head and landed in a near field. At that moment I got a horrible feeling in my stomach and noticed that everyone had the same look in their eyes, sadness. We waited in a line of semi's for about two hours and finally got re-routed. My heart goes out to all the family and friends of the people injured in that horrible accident. I jope and pray all is well. Unfortunately I missed the Stick Horse Rodeo, but luckily I made it safely to Stanford.
I arrived just in time to help out with the auction on Saturday night. It was a great auction and they raised a ton of money!! The next day I awoke early with Lesli to help with slack. I had a lot of fun and it was a great warm up for my horse. That day for the rodeo I carried two sponsor flags and pushed cows in the performance. It was so much fun and I really enjoyed it. I also got to experience something I had never seen before. WILD COW MILKING!!!!! It was so funny, yet very scary but at least I had a good laugh before I hit the road to head back home.

The rodeo comittee in Stanford were so so nice and really helpful while I was there. Mick Kirby was a great host and I want to thank him and everyone else. That's it for now, see you soon!!! :)

Happy Trails,
Sam

Home of Champions - Red Lodge

Red Lodge is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my entire life! It has rolling green hills and our trailer was parked right next to a streaming creek. Other than the mosquitoes everything was perfect at the Red Lodge Home of Champions Rodeo.

I arrived in Red Lodge late Wednesday night and was greeted by my great contact Corinna and she helped me get settled in at the rodeo grounds. The next day I awoke early to help out with slack. It was there that I met all the rodeo Royalty. The Red Lodge Home of Champions Queen is Miss Alyson Grinestaff, the Princess is Miss Jessica Roller, and the Little Miss is ShayLe Hildebrand. They all treated me very kindly and helped me out so much. Right after slack we attended the first of several Red Lodge parades. I couldn't believe all the turnout they got for

these parades! There were so many people. There was one problem with the parades though... It rained everyday right before the parade!! You try keeping curly hair during a rain storm!! :) Luckily though on the Fourth of July the rain held up and it was a beautiful day for a parade in Red Lodge Montana.

There was a Kiddie Rodeo held after one of the parades and I had so much fun! There was an announcer and everything and plus I really think the kids enjoyed it, I sure did. After the Kiddie Rodeo had ended we headed back up the hill to the rodeo grounds where we had a small break before the rodeo... just enough time for me to re-curl my hair!!

There were three nights of PRCA rodeo and let me tell you they were incredible! There were the biggest names in rodeo there! Including Fred Whitfield, James Irish, and even Tuf Cooper! It was a great experience to see all of these athletes perform. I had a blast doing a queen buzz and pushing cows every night.

I want to give a big thanks to Corinna, my contact, she was so very helpful. And also to the Home of Champions Royalty. They were very accomadating and helped me out so much. Congratulations to the Home of Champions Rodeo comittee they put on a great show. "80 Years and Still Bucking!" See you at the rodeo!

Love,

Sam

Bear Paw Roundup - Chinook

I had so much fun attending the Bear Paw Roundup in Chinook! I met some of the nicest people and had a blast carrying flags at the rodeo each night. I've been to many towns throughout my life, but this was my first in Chinook!

I arrived early in Chinook on Friday, infact I arrived just in time for the rehearsal for Grand Entry. I was carrying the Montana Flag and Lesli would carry the American. Ahhhhh Lesli... I have had so so so much fun with her at all of the rodeos. She is doing such a great job as Miss Rodeo Montana and I know she'll do great at Miss Rodeo America!! After the Grand Entry practice Lesli arrived and we headed over for the Kiddie Rodeo. It was a blast. There was a total of about 5 kids but we had fun anyways. Whoever invented the idea of a Kiddie Rodeo was a brilliant person. They really teach the concept of a rodeo to young kids.

After our fun with the kids Lesli and I went and tacked up our good ole horses Hank and Billy. Finally it was time for the rodeo! The grand entry went great except for one slight problem.... Lesli was riding one of my horses Billy and all was going good except for when Lesli posted Billy in the center of the arena. It seemed that he was so nervous that he had to tinkle! :) He started peeing right in the middle of the National Anthem!!! Luckily everything else was fine so it wasn't to terrible, but now we make sure Billy pees before he goes in! For those of you who have ever been to Chinook Montana you know it's a pretty windy city.... and these weren't little flags we were carrying!! And for those of you who have seen my horse Hank you know he's not all that big... more like a pony. Let's just say my arm hurt very bad after that rodeo!!

All in all it was a great weekend of rodeo and I had a great time in Chinook. I want to give a big thanks to the rodeo comittee in Chinook. They were so very nice and helpful. They put on a great rodeo also! That's all for now. See you down the road. :)

God Bless,

Sam

Belt Rodeo

I don’t believe I’ve ever been rained on more in my life then when I was rained on in Belt Montana! I was very happy to be able to attend the Belt Rodeo, but I might’ve passed on the rain! The Belt Rodeo was a superb rodeo and I would encourage everyone to attend it in upcoming years. It was a great experience for my second rodeo.

My family and I arrived in Belt Saturday afternoon under a grey cloudy sky and after touching base with my great contact for the rodeo, Laurie, I headed to the trailer to tack up my little pony Hank. Lesli, Miss Rodeo Montana, arrived shortly thereafter with Jordan Han, Miss Big Sky Pro Rodeo. We then got on our horses and did a flag practice. Now, the Belt Rodeo being very professional had a very clever way of carrying the flags! There were 6 other flag girls and then Lesli, Jordan, and I. The 6 girls carried sponsor flags in a circle to the right and then Jordan and I carried flags going the opposite way and lastly Lesli carried the American Flag. Let’s just say I got a little dizzy after grand entry!! I also enjoyed the Belt Parade. It was a huge attendance and it was great to get to see the town! Hannah Heckman, Montana High School Rodeo Queen, was there also. I would like to give Hannah a big congratulation! She did great at the pageant in Bozeman.

Back to the rain… Aw rain. Now usually I really enjoy rain, but the rain I experienced in Belt Montana was like nothing I’ve ever seen!! It was like we were trapped in the rain forest, except for instead of having proper rain forest gear we all had sparkly tops and wrangler jeans on!!! I know it was an experience I won’t soon forget! Unfortunately my mom couldn’t take any good pictures out in the rain! It was also really great to see my advisor, Linda Rest, at the rodeo. She didn’t enjoy the rain either! J I, only being 15, do not travel alone. I have some very good travel partners that keep me company! My dad, mom, sister and our three dogs are all great traveling buddies! I was not the only one who got the great privilege of being Miss Teen Rodeo Montana in Belt…. So did one of my dogs!! She, unlike me, didn’t enjoy it as much.

I was sad to leave the little town of Belt when the weekend came to an end, but I know I will return there at some point in my life. Hopefully without the rain! I want to give a huge thanks and a big congratulations to the Belt Rodeo committee. Great job on putting on a flawless rodeo. Thanks for reading! See you down the road!

Reach for the stars,
Sam