For the 1 st time since….I don’t even know when….I didn’t go to the Dillon Labor Day Rodeo! Now the fun stories that have been created in Dillon…this is almost a tragedy but the rodeo trail was calling so I went! BLESSED that spring rodeo cancellations had been rescheduled, I loaded up and headed to Wells, NV with Hoggan Rodeo.
Friday: Wells, Nevada - Drive from Idaho & feed stock when we get there
Meet the new crew that we'll be rodeoing with. Seem ok. Nice looking, if nothing else. lol...they grew on me by the time it was all said & done.
Saturday: Well, Nevada – Slack & Rodeo
Sort, load, run up the alley, run down the alley, re-sort, fix my mess ups....well...you get the picture. :)
LOVE Rodeoing with Regg! He is awesome! We are always on the same page & he makes every task go better just cuz we're doing it together!
THANK YOU to Wells, NV for having us! Hard working committee that took such great care of us. Matt rocks! Thank you also to the Mike Morrison Family! Not only are they good pickup men, they are just down right amazing people! Honored to call them friends!
Sunday: Wells, Nevada – Slack & drive back to Hamer,Idaho
No, I did not make it to the annual barbeque at Donna's Ranch. Yes, it is rumored that they still know me on a 1st name basis there.
David & I had a tire FALL OFF the Trailer on the way home. FYI: those get super super hot & are really heavy! It was just he & I. I happened to be the only one with gloves. Still burnt my hands trying to get it packed to the truck bed. Moral of the story: Next time I won't pack gloves ;) Limped it home on 3 tires. Aww, livin the dream on the rodeo trail!
Monday: Blackfoot, ID – IMPRA FINALS RODEO
It is an honor to be nominated to time the finals for the IMPRA association. Thankful for the opportunity to have a job and work with my Aunt Nancy
Tuesday: Blackfoot, ID – Fair food and the IMPRA Finals Rodeo. Yes, I ate more than one human should in a week. Yes, I tried the Donut Bacon Burger (Glazed Donuts instead of buns), Chocolate covered bacon, Strawberry Jam on my Turkey sandwich, and just about every weird thing you could imagine.
Wednesday: Drive to Elko Nevada & RODEO
Ok, so on the drive down I'm pretty sure I was running on not enough sleep...because I specifically remember putting on makeup in the car ....& Trying to convince David that he should let me put some on him. Seriously, I tried for atleast 15 minutes. lol....green eyeliner would compliment his red beard nicely :)
Thursday: Elko, NV – Slack and Rodeo
Everyday on the rodeo trail, always an adventure. Pretty sure the bullfighter was getting sick of sorting with me but I was the what he was stuck with. Worked pretty good together by the time it was all said and done.
Friday: Elko, NV Slack, Rodeo and OVERNIGHT to Lovelock, NV
Thank you to Mr. Tate Else for stopping by the rodeo to say hello! Love my Montana friends always!
Big day! Slack, Perf, Load the Trucks, and head down the road to the next one. I rode with David in the semi. The other 2 horse trailers broke down along the way they were quite a ways behind us.
Pulling into a new rodeo grounds in the dark, no idea where the loading chute is, how the pens are laid out, and trying to get unloaded around the small civilization of rodeo contestants that have set up camp at the grounds.
David gets on the truck to send me livestock to put in pens for the night. Nice men had fed some pens and we were just trying get everything to a pen with hay in it for the night. Stumbling around in the dark….the bulls were supposed to come steaming off the semi trailer….just as they’ve hit a high trot…..I’m supposed to stand in front of them to turn them around. Oh and the spot where I’m supposed to turn them from is a gate leading to a pen full of hay. Ya, that didn’t work. 1 in the morning, tired & hungry…they blew right over the top of me. Now, I’m trying to push them back out of this big ol pen….& off of feed. I get one side moving ….& then the other side is turning back on me. It was a vicious cycle. Yelling in my loudest bull voice & trying to get them pushed back. Finally a nice man comes to help me move them out. 2 people ended the circling cycle. However, in the dark, in completely foreign corrals…I hit a small hole….ankle gives out & WIPE OUT completely as a set of bulls is trying to come back. Yes, I’m sure it was as funny looking as it sounds : ) Luckily, it spooked the bulls and they moved out.
Never a dull moment : ) Thank you to Aunt Crystal who took us to the gas station at 2:30 a.m. to grab a bite to eat. Best lunchable ever!
Saturday: Lovelock, NV Slack, Rodeo, DANCE
2 hours to do the draw (yes, it was getting worse), Run cattle through, Slack, and then start all over for the performance. THANK YOU to the amazing committee! They were rockstars and so wonderful to work with! A special thank you to Colby, who ran the out gate and stripping chute! She is AWESOME! Thank you to Jim who ran stock out, helped sort, and ran cattle up the return alley for us. Blessed to meet so many amazing people on the rodeo trail.
David came down with a bug of some sort and was sick so I got to flank. I’m not gonna lie, I just love to rodeo and it doesn’t matter what job I’m doing, I usually am having a good time but….I DO LOVE when I get to Flank and everything goes well! Makes my heart happy : )
Lil’ Puker: So I’m standing on the bucking chute and I turn back to let the cowboy that he would be the first contestant out. He nods…..I thought he was spitting out his chew….NOPE…He was PUKING his guts out right by the chute! Holy mackrell, seriously! Lol…It’s a good thing David wasn’t there. He would’ve “chain reaction puked”
Dance! Dance! Dance!
The Senior Pro Rodeo Ass. contestants pretty much know how to have a good time. They are seasoned professionals. Laurette Cockburn is my HERO! She is an AMAZING runner in the 60+ Ribbon Roping event, can dance like no bodies business, and just an all-around good time! Such a LIGHT, she brightens the room with her smile and makes everyone in her glow feel just a lil’ more excited about life! Love her! I gave up on trying to keep up with them but I did follow the example of HAVING FUN!
Danced with a 69 year old CHAMPION Calf Roper. He's won the calf roping that day and was pretty much Bad A! A handsome young man and I even made a few twirls around the dance floor. Aunt Crystal, Carol, and I cut a rug for a few songs. I do have a confession to make…lol…I’m pretty sure when the music got really rolling….I was doing moves that ….well…pretty sure Zumba is the only word you could use to describe them…lol…. : )
GREAT NIGHT with friends wearing a big ol’ beaming SMILE all night long!
Sunday: Lovelock, NV –Slack & Rodeo
Another day on the rodeo trail, I got to flank again. David was there but pretty sure he just thought that kid might puke again : )
Last day of the rodeo run so everyone was pulling out and heading home. A rodeo grounds is like an empty cemetery after the rodeo is over. Silence fills the air and only memories remain. It was so quite that you could hear the rain hitting the ground before I even felt it. Pitter pattering as it collided with the hard dry Nevada ground.
Saying good bye to the crew, who was now Rodeo Family. Thank you for a great rodeo run!
Monday: Drive from Lovelock to Hamer, ID
I wrote a little bit about loading out to go home that morning.
Here is a link to: Loadin' Up
http://rodeotalesgypsytrails.blogspot.com/2011/09/loadin-up.html
Yes, all of these driving miles were with my Uncle David so feel free to sympathize for all the quality bonding time he had to spend with me : ) THANK YOU to David & HOGGAN RODEO for the opportunity to work!
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