Well, Old Glory flew proudly this past Independence Day week at the Warrenton Co. fairgrounds. This week on the 3rd and 4th of July in Warrenton MO, I attended my fourth bullride of the year, which happens to be my third with the D Bar D Rodeo Co. Everything was a blast I couldn’t have asked for a more memorable way to spend our countries birthday. Things were looking a little iffy weatherwise on the third with rain clouds hovering over the arena. However I had my trusty umbrella with me and things began clearing up. The crowd was awesome and for the first time I was able to carry “the greatest flag in the world” on horseback to the playing of our national anthem. I have to say displaying Old Glory both days was one of the greatest honors of my life to date, and a memory I will always cherish. From there the evening went off without a hitch. The Bullriding action was intense as always, with comic relief coming from funnyman “Porkchop,” who kept the crowd laughing nonstop. This evening I did a 50/50 raffle to earn money for my upcoming travels. In an unexpected turn of generosity the couple who won the half of the raffle donated it back to me. I would like to take this time to thank Don and Vicki Loukes for their kind hearted act, it is and always will be greatly appreciated. The following day was beautiful, never have I seen a more pleasant July 4th, the sun shone brightly and the weather was cool, not a cloud for miles. I arrived early on the grounds and was able to take in some of the fair atmosphere. From the 4-H barn and cattle show, to pottery classes and fair queen pageants the grounds were all a buzz. The most for me however happened when I visited the childrens petting zoo. I was able to play in “the sandbox of corn” with several children. It was a really fun experience. From there I headed back to the arena and entertained the crowd with some “Cotton eyed Joe ” dance moves. I also visited with those waiting for the show to begin. I also met the new Warrenton Co. fair Rodeo Queens along with Jr. Miss Rodeo Missouri, who helped me present flags at the start of the performance. Once again I carried our nations flag and, I must say today was the most special of all. It was a surreal moment standing there proudly with those colors on this day of all days, knowing in my heart what they stand for. Later as the fair committee set off a showstopping fireworks display to music, I watched from the announcers stand and felt what it truly means to love ones country. Never have I been more proud to be an American than on that day, at that moment. To all the brave men and women who have served or are serving in our nations military, thank you, from the bottom of my heart for what you’ve done. It is because of you I can say I live in the greatest country in the world, The United States of America, and can enjoy all of the freedoms that come along with that. Again thank you and God Bless you and the USA!
Odessa, MO
“On the road again…” Well this weekend on June 28th I reached a new milestone in my Queen travels. I traveled my farthest distance from home to date, 307 miles to the quaint little town of Odessa MO. It was an eventful night. I arrived on the grounds to find that dispite the beautiful sunshine above, it had rained the night before and the arena was well, lets just say it “lacked dryness”. I’m telling you what a fish would have faired better out there than the livestock did. It was slipping and sliding for everyone all night. However that didn’t stop everyone from having a spectacular time! It was a historic evening for the Odessa Chamber of Commerce with the help of Six Crowns Rodeo Co. They celebrated their 20th anniversary. I was fortunate enough to be given the use, by Katelyn Shipshank, of a sweet little horse named Cash. He was loveley to work with and, the mud didn’t stop him from gracefully helping me present the Six Crowns Rodeo flag to the crowd at the start of the event. I also met the new Odessa Rodeo Queens, and they were lovely to visit with. I even got to help them throw T-Shirts to the crowd at intermission, of course we made the recipiants work for them, dancing and jumping up and down were frequent attempts for the shirts. Then came the Mutton Bustin… the question wasn’t if your child was going to get muddy, it was how much of that was going to be on you car seats after the ride home! The kids were amazing, they held on to those sheep til the bitter end, and when they finally hit the ground they did it with style. One boy even threw his hat at the crowd. Our “Funny Man” Dusty Meyers was a riot setting off a “Rocket” during his first act (attemping to anyway) and doing a magic act later in evening, the crowd absolutly loved him. The whole experience was a blast, but the best part was meeting up unexpectedly with friends. As it turns out Clint Jackson, Tara Jackson and Frank Walkowe brought the bulls to this event. I was so excited to see them and, it gave us the chance to catch up, while getting details for upcoming events. So now things are really starting to pick up and I can’t wait til my next appearance! As the song says ”…Just can’t wait to get on the road again.” See you down the trail!
