The past two weeks have been so much fun! I flew out to Ada, Oklahoma for the first week to the Ken Lance Memorial Rodeo. I arrived to the airport and was met with a poster that read “Welcome Miss Rodeo USA!” That was such a nice touch that warmed my heart! Thank you to Dayna and Kobi Brown for the sweet hospitality! We took a short road trip to Ada and then had a slumber party with the local queens and contestants for the pageant. There was pizza, pool time, and lots of great conversation with everybody. The next few days brought many sponsor visits, radio interviews, and new friends. Jocee Neal, Miss UPRA, joined me for the remaining of the week and we had a blast together! We hopped on a few Razr’s at an outdoor adventure sponsor for photos and high hopes to obtain the keys for a few minutes. That didn’t happen, but we sure had fun checking out all the cool toys that were offered. We also judged the Ken Lance Rodeo Royalty Pageant during our time in Ada. Rodeo nights were both successful with a good crowd despite the high temperatures. Friday night I helped with the coronation of the new queens. I enjoy crowning the new girls and seeing the excitement on their face! During the Friday night performance, the clown asked Jocee and I to help with his act. Of course, we said yes and volunteered Donnie, the Miss Rodeo USA Pageant director to participate too. The clown had asked me which act we thought he should do; our choices were cowboy Olympics or dancing. I said cowboy Olympics because I can’t dance at all! All three “contestants” entered the arena and Turtle (the clown) went over what we are supposed to do. It started by one person sitting in the chair, running to the jumprope and jumping that 10 times, moving on to the hula hoop to spin 10 times, and then off to the dizzy bat and kick a ball. I was thankful it wasn’t much more than that! Jocee went first and had difficult with the jumprope, but made it through the course. I was up next and had trouble with the jumprope too. Turns out jump roping in deep dirt is more difficult than it looks! Not to mention that all I could think was how much dirt I was slinging on my white hat! Donnie went last and the clown made him rush through the pattern to beat us! Saturday Jocee and I headed to the Seth Wadley Chevy dealership of Ada for four hours of handing out free tickets. This dealership loved having us there and we had fun driving the golfcart, signing autographs, and taking photos. I think the most fun that we had was making boomerang videos! Both of us had never figured out how to do that until Saturday, and then we just couldn’t stop! We figured out how to both pop out of the truck sunroof with our big hats on in 4 seconds flat! I don’t think all the fun that we had at this sponsor visit will ever be topped! Donnie’s birthday was coming up soon on Sunday so I decided that we should celebrate early. I got a cupcake cake and 47 candles and surprised him at the rodeo with it! We all shared a cupcake and then gave many away before they melted! It was time for me to head back to Kentucky after a wonderful time in Ada. I had two hours of sleep Saturday night before heading back to Oklahoma City airport. I made it back to my hometown around 2pm and then Mom, Dad, and I jumped in our plane and flew to Cloverdale, Indiana to see my Sunbelt director, Cindy Wynn and friends! They were at the Ranch Horse show and it was awesome to see my “peach tribe” and watch Cindy compete! We had a smooth flight back to the house and I logged some serious flying time that day! During the week I attended the annual Kiwanis meeting in my hometown. I was asked by a dear family friend of mine to be their speaker for the Friday meeting. It was wonderful to attend a community organization meeting that was in my hometown! I really enjoyed seeing a few familiar faces and sharing my platform and rodeo queen story. What I really liked to share to my community is how wonderful Kiwanis (and other organizations alike) benefits the community. One thing that I can say that all my rodeos have in common, is most are put on by community organizations such as Kiwanis, Rotary Clubs, Exchange Clubs, etc. The rodeos are put on by the volunteers of the organizations who may or may not know anything at all about rodeo. The point is, the community as a whole benefits others either through sending proceeds to children’s hospitals, burn units, buying children bicycles or Christmas gifts, and so much more. I love seeing the impact a rodeo can have on all the communities that I get the privilege of visiting! My second rodeo that I attended was at the Wranglers campground in Golden Pond this past weekend. It was nice to be able to load up my horses and head to the rodeo to trail ride and camp at the rodeo grounds. At that rodeo I saw many of my college rodeo friends, including my rodeo coach, JD. It was great to catch up with everybody and catch some saddle time too. The weather was super warm and I actually sweated off my eyelashes, believe it or not! I didn’t know that was possible, but now I do! The next few weeks are going to be busy, but who would expect anything else!
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Sponsors are such an amazing and supportive part of what makes the Miss Rodeo USA Association successful. Without them, this organization wouldn’t be near what it is today! So THANK YOU to the wonderful people that support this association! This blog is dedicated to all of the sponsors!
I love coming home after being gone to a rodeo and finding a box waiting on my doorstep! It’s like your birthday all year long! Throughout the year thus far, Miss Macie Boots has been a generous sponsor and sends me a new pair of boots every so often! In this past two weeks, I had another package waiting for me at the door. I hurriedly grabbed it and ran inside to see what the latest fashion boots were! It was a solid, classy black pair of dress boots! Black goes with everything right?! I think so! I love the colorful boots they send that seriously dress up any outfit. Thank you to Miss Macie for allowing me to “walk into my purpose” in their fashion boots! Oh, and did I tell you that every pair of Miss Macie boots comes with pearls and has a different bible verse on the bottom of every boot?! Yes, they sure do! That is what makes Miss Macie such a unique company and I am thankful for their support! Not too long ago I acquired a white American hat. It appeared as it had been through the ringer – more than once! It for sure wasn’t white anymore, but that didn’t bother me. You know why I bought the hat? Because American Hat Company has a really cool program where if you have at least a 40X hat, you can send it back to them to get refurbished! So I contacted the awesome Mr. Mundee and he told me to just send it back and they will refurbish it for me. I placed the hat back in its original box, which was about as flat as a pancake, and sent it back to Bowie, Texas. In a matter of a few weeks, I came home to a perfectly wrapped hat box. It was no secret what was in the box. I opened it to find my old white hat, looking brand new! Literally! The hat was white as can be and looked amazing! Not only did they do an awesome job on refurbishing the hat, they replaced the broken down hat box and sent me with a new one! American Hat Company has wonderful customer service and I highly recommend that you make your next hat American! This time my package came in the mailbox in a little envelope. Bubble wrapped in all, the return address said Gypsy Tails! I opened the package to find several red, white, blue, and pink MRUSA feathers! They were stoned and ready to go! This was an exciting find that are always fun to put in a horse’s mane and tails! Amber with Gypsy Tails is the sweetest and knows how to make your horse look great for all events! Can you believe it, I received another mailbox surprise! This time in the form of Lipsense from Mary Beth! She is a wonderful sponsor that keeps me supplied in Lipsense products. From eyeshadows to lip color and gloss, she has it all! My favorite product that I use daily is the caramel apple lip color with the glitter gloss. Yes, I said glitter and it’s the bomb! It’s great for rodeo nights and matches perfect with sparkly shirts! Check out Mary Beth’s Facebook page called Live, Laugh, Lips for more amazing colors and tutorial videos! This is just a few highlights of the past few weeks with wonderful sponsors! I love wearing their products and telling you guys about them! I can’t thank all the supporters enough for helping this organization grow and go on to benefit others each year. That’s what it’s all about, helping others along the way! The next few weeks are going to bring even more exciting adventures and I will be sure to tell you guys all about them! One thing that I have learned about traveling all the time, is that the views never get old. I am blessed to head in a different direction almost every time that I hit the road. I headed out to Blairsville, Georgia a couple weeks ago. I enjoy seeing the countryside and take in all of God’s beautiful creation! I am so thankful to have the opportunity to travel where I meet many friends for life wherever I go.
During my trip to Blairsville, I passed through the Ocoee River in the Cherokee National Forrest. I winded around mountains, valleys, and scenic routes for what seemed like forever, but had beautiful views every corner! Passing through the Georgia state line, I found my way to the Union County Saddle Club Arena. I arrived just in time to sit in on the saddle club meeting and attend dinner with the crew. Thanks to Art and Debbie Miller for allowing me to stay in their beautiful home during my time in Blairsville. Might I add, it was great going into a home that had dogs! What I miss most about being gone is my four legged friends! The Miller’s had a few sweet dogs for me to visit with, so that was a plus! Friday I did what I am calling the “normal”, that is visiting sponsors and attending events! Later, it was time for the rodeo production meeting and then everyone’s favorite, RODEO TIME! It was a packed house on Friday and it’s safe to say that everyone had a good time! Friday night was Tough Enough to Wear Pink night and I was excited to finally where my newly designed, Maid of the West shirt! I had the shirt made this year by Maid of the West, in memory of my cousin, Amber, who passed away a little over a year ago to Breast Cancer. It meant a lot to me, to proudly wear my pink ribbon shirt in honor of her! Saturday morning everyone got up in the morning for a big breakfast with Danny and his crew, plus the saddle club members. I helped with the pancakes and then made a quick trip to the gas station (on a borrowed gator) to pick up peanut butter. Yes, you read that right, I eat peanut butter on my pancakes! It’s just not the same without it! Topped off with syrup and you have got the next best thing to chocolate chip cookies! I headed off to visit a dealership that was the main sponsor of the rodeo. As soon as I got on my way to there, I received a call from Brunswick, Georgia. It happened to one of the Exchange Club members who showed me around town and took me to the airshow earlier in the year. John and his wife were in town and wanted to meet up. I met them at the dealership and it was great to cross paths again. We took photos, chatted a little bit, and then parted our ways. This is when this year starts coming full circle. When the people I met earlier in the year reconnect and we get to catch up. There are truly so many wonderful people in this year and I have to say, John and Charlene Franklin are one of them! After the Blairsville rodeo, my next stop was Gray, Tennessee for the rodeo with the Jericho Shriners. I arrived early morning Thursday for a TV interview with Mr. Bud Campbell, potentate of the Jericho Shriners. We promoted the rodeo and headed off to visit sponsors. Here is where I insert a funny story that you are only going to get to read in this blog! Bud and I are at a dealership thanking them and visiting with the people for a little bit. As we are talking, a lady working there offers us both a cookie. As you well know, cookies are my favorite. I said no thank you, but ended up taking one anyways (go figure!) I had two colors of the sugar cookies to choose from, it was either red or blue icing. I purposefully picked the red, thinking I didn’t want blue teeth. Bud and I ate our festive fourth of July cookies and then a gentlemen comes up to ask for some photos outside with a truck. Of course, I say yes! But first, I grabbed my phone to check the reflection of my teeth for the all clear. Yep, everything looks good, no sign of the cookie. I go outside and we probably take 10 or so photos with a few vehicles. Five minutes later, we are done and walk inside to the group of about 5 people all standing together. Some small talk goes on and then the lady that offered me the cookie said, “well honey, they should have told you that you were taking photos before you ate the cookie, your teeth are blue.” I replied, “oh, I don’t think they are, I checked before photos!” We all kind of snickered about it and then it was time for Bud and I to leave. As soon as I get in the truck, I thought maybe I should check my teeth. I mean they couldn’t be blue because I ate a RED cookie. Sure enough, the lady wasn’t joking, I had smurf blue teeth! Yikes!! And all I could think about was those photos weren’t on my camera and I couldn’t delete them! So moral of the story, don’t eat a red icing sugar cookie with blue sprinkles before you have to smile for photos! The next day we drove around Bristol, Tennessee to various sponsors, radio stations, and news channels for even more marketing opportunities. During our drive, we passed the guitar sign, but had to go back for a photo of course! We also passed the Bristol Motor Speedway, but just to look as we drove by. Along the route, we stopped in the Shriner’s Children Hospital and walked in for a quick visit with any children that might be available. I love to stop into places that those people are not able to get out and make it to the rodeo. Just by one small act of kindness as simple as this, you can never know how much of a difference that you can make in a child or adults life. During my time in Bristol/Johnson City/Kingsport (I visited these cities multiple times), I learned a lot about Shriners and what all that they do. I also learned with that, there comes a lot of terminology that I had no clue about. They have potentates (the president), names for every official that I can’t recall, and they have “has beens” too. Most importantly, I learned how the money raised not only from the rodeo, bur from other community events, goes to assist children who need transportation to and from the children’s hospital. They have helped in just last year, over 900 families with expenses associated with their children’s medical needs. A big thank you goes out to all the Shriners who work hard year after year to keep children’s hospitals funded with excellent doctors, staff, and state of the art facilities. Our world is a better place thanks to the hard work of the Shriners! Shady Dale, Georgia is a very small town where 5 roads intersect, and that’s about it. But who would know that a small town like Shady Dale would hold one of the largest outdoor IPRA rodeos! The contestants and fans sure do because everyone in the surrounding towns came out to see the rodeo! For the last two weeks I have been burning up the rodeo road traveling from one state to another, but that’s what it is all about, making it to rodeos and representing the IPRA.
I am sure you picked up on how small the town of Shady Dale is, but for such a little area, there sure was a lot going on during rodeo week. I arrived and started visiting sponsors first thing, promoted the rodeo through radio interviews, and made appearances at special events. I went to Monticello for a farmer’s market on the square and then attended the Shady Dale festival, which included a parade! Along with Southern Rodeo Company, I trailed along in the parade on a beautiful bay roan horse. Rodeo performance nights were both so fun! The drill team did a beautiful flag presentation and I was honored to carry the American flag. The arena was super muddy the first night as it downpoured the day before, but don’t worry, that didn’t stop the contestants for giving it their all! Mud and all, the rodeo was held and the calf scramble was pretty funny to watch! You could see kids running and then losing their shoes in the mud. Some actually never found their shoes! I go to many rodeos over the course of the year and most have a lot in common. But, Shady Dale proved to be different because they offered watermelon AND brownies at their concession stand! I didn’t understand why they didn’t sell a whole pan of brownies instead of individual packs! I ate my share and took a few for the road of course! Overall, I had a blast in Shady Dale and will remember the small town in Georgia! I left the blazing heat and humidity of Georgia and my next stop was in Ozark, Arkansas. My drive was filled with beautiful views of the mountains and sunny weather. I visited many sponsors during my time in Ozark and met the Hampton’s with Hampton Rodeo Company. I did a really fun radio interview in Ozark, but it was a little different from the rest. The radio host made a reference to Arkansas sports, and of course, I am a rodeo queen and am no way interested in any sports, but I do love the Kentucky Wildcats! Go Cats! Being from Kentucky, I have to bleed blue, I just choose to wear the color blue more than attend games! Anyways, the host picked on the wildcats and we sure had a fun time during our interview! One evening I visited the local farm to art festival in downtown Ozark. On the square you could find several local vendors with fresh farm produce, homemade sweets, or boutique items. The committee had a table set up for autographs at the square for me. I sat there a while and kept hearing people say they were going to get hot tamales. Apparently, they were the best in town and always sell out. Since I had never tried a tamale, I figured that I would go get one. To my surprise, I couldn’t just buy one, I had to buy a dozen! I bought my dozen and took them back to my table where I had my caramel frappe handy if I didn’t like the tamale. Micki, the pageant director for the NFC queens, made sure to laugh at my faces with my first experience with the hot tamales! It wasn’t what I thought it was and after waiting a little bit, I decided to sell my tamales to a friend who was sad that the lady didn’t have any more tamales! I think it was a win win situation! So I tried my first tamale, and won’t forget that moment at the square in Ozark! Friday night performance of the rodeo kicked off with some pre-rodeo fun of mutton busting. The kids gave it their all and had one heck of a time in the arena! I did too cheering for the kids and helping out. The rodeo was great with a wonderful crowd, many rodeo sponsors present, and cowboys and cowgirls doing their best! Saturday brought another parade! Two parades in two weeks! Then it was time for the last night of the North Franklin County Rodeo and the crowning of the new NFC rodeo queens! It is always so exciting to be a part of the crowning moments! The crew in Ozark work so hard to put together a wonderful rodeo and queen pageant year round. It’s great to see the end result during the rodeo! Overall, I met many wonderful people during my time in Arkansas and will be back again later in the year! |
Miss Rodeo USAFollow the adventures of Miss Rodeo USA 2017 Brittany Howard as she travels the country representing the IPRA. Check back often for updates and new blogs! Archives
January 2018
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