To kick off my summer rodeo tour I headed to northwest Iowa for the Cherokee PRCA Rodeo. I had a WONDERFUL TIME and the experience of a lifetime when I got to ride Rodney Hayes' "Billy the Kid" before the rodeo. I was very honored to meet Rodney because he and Billy performed at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas last winter. They put on a great show, and Rodney is a one-in-a-million individual. I was impressed to find out for myself that Billy the Kid rides like a well-broke reining horse, complete with spins and bows!
During my time in Cherokee I was in the lovely presence of Racquel Telfer (Miss Days of '56 Rodeo and Miss Rodeo Lenox), Suzette Walker (Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa), and Amelia Elliot (Miss Rodeo Cherokee). We had a great time visiting the Bright Beginnings daycare, Cherokee Villa nursing home, helping out with the calf scramble before the rodeo (which was entertaining becuase the muddy arena didn't care we were all wearing white pants!), and helping the contestants during the second annual Exceptional Rodeo.
Megan Wiemold, Miss Rodeo Iowa 2004, is the coordinator for the rodeo and once again did a tremendous job with the event. There were approximately 30 contestants participating in bull riding, horse riding, roping, and goat tying. Everyone did great and had a wonderful time--including me! I was honored to get to meet and tag along with my partner, the one-and-only Roy Rogers! (However, since Roy is such a celebrity, he entered the rodeo under a code name.)
To top off the weekend, the queens and I got to ride in the rodeo parade on Saturday afternoon. The rain was nice enough to hold off for us, however, it made the arena one muddy competition area! The steer wrestlers appeared to trade in their rodeo ways for a new hobby of "steer water skiiing" because all of them had a little trouble getting their feet set! Reining world champion bull rider BJ Schumacher competed during the Thursday night performance, and reining reserve world champion saddle bronc rider Cody DeMoss rodeo Saturday evening.
My next stop was the Iowa Quarter Horse Association 7-Day Run in Des Moines. It was fun to spend the day with my feed sponsor rep, Bill Horton of Nutrena. I was busy handing out ribbons at the show and missed out on sampling some great Iowa Pork at the World Pork Expo, also going on at the fairgrounds. However, it was fun to watch the show and see all of the wonderfully trained equines in the state of Iowa!
My next trip takes me to the river town of Bellevue, Iowa for the Jackson County Pro Rodeo. I will check in with you again when I return! Take care!
- Amanda
