It's spooky season!

​It’s officially spooky season! I love this time of year, it's getting cooler, the leaves are changing, and my favorite holiday, Halloween, is right around the corner. I was able to see the first beginnings of fall as I spent my first weekend of October in Tennessee. I had an amazing time in Lebanon, visiting the National Guard, schools and even having a break to go kayaking with my amazing host family. It was my last rodeo with Hedrick Pro Rodeo Company which made me sad but I was so happy to see the crew one last time. It was made even more special as my Dad was able to make it out to my rodeo. He even got to crash a special all girl's luncheon tradition at the chocolate covered strawberry. I don't think the ladies minded though!
 
Next, it was time for a quick bulls, broncs and barrels in Mississippi. It was actually my first rodeo in Mississippi of the year and I'm sad it was, because southern hospitality is really a real thing. I had so much fun getting to meet the crew and even met a barrel racing Princess. I had to stop and take a quick picture with her because not only was she decked out in rhinestones, her pony, whose name was Princess, was as well. I thought Mississippi was all swamps and gators, but it was beautiful weather and the arena was bice and sandy! It kind of reminded me of all of the arenas we had on the Central Coast of California. Basically, I grew up on one giant sand dune.
 
I was really excited for the next rodeo as it was my second hometown rodeo, the Brazos Valley Fair and Rodeo. Now I know this is not my hometown per se, that would be Santa Maria, but this is the rodeo that I have been to faithfully every year since moving to Texas, it's where I went to grad school and where I live. So I'm counting it as a second hometown rodeo. You can't rodeo in the Brazos Valley without being some kind of A&M fan. They even passed out the white towels we wave at football games, so everyone in the stands had a white fan towel to wave and whoop and holler when they saw something they liked in the rodeo arena. And let me tell you, the stadium exploded when the fans learned that I was a Texas A&M alumni! I hope the people watching on the Cowboy Channel had access to their remotes because the volume was incredibly loud! It was so nice to rodeo at home after a year being on the road; I saw so many familiar faces in the stands and on horseback. I even made some new friends, The Lone Star Cowgirls! They welcomed me with open arms and plugged me right into their sponsor flag carrying team.
 
Being at home did not last long though, as I quickly drove myself to the airport to hop on a plane for the Indian Finals Rodeo. It was a great honor to be chosen as a horsemanship judge for the Miss Indian Rodeo pageant. They had nine girls competing this year from all over the United States, many from Montana and Wyoming, but also some all the way from New Mexico and Arizona. Their pageant has many similarities you would see at Miss Rodeo America or Miss Rodeo USA, but a portion of their pageant is scored on their native traditions.  Every girl competing has to be a card holding member of some tribe in the United States or Canada and the traditional dress portion of their competition is aimed to highlight each girl's Native tradition, dress, language and customs.  While I was sad I missed the traditional dress portion of the pageant, I was so excited to be with the girls their first two days of the pageant.  The first day I actually got to know the girls, because I wasn't technically a judge that day. And then the second day I had to put on my scary judge face. I'm so excited to watch their new queen, Autumn's, year!
 
My last rodeo in October took me to Berryville, AR for the Cowboy for Tyler Memorial Rodeo and Pageant. It was their first rodeo in Berryville but they still had a good turnout. This time the arena was covered because in past years they have always received buckets of rain! Six girls competed in the four categories.  As I was not a judge, I was really able to get to know each and every one of the girls. We crowned in the arena and everyone got to do a queen run. After doing sponsorship visits the day before, it was great to see some of those same sponsors and fans as members of the audience. I even got to see some old friend from that area of Arkansas because of previous rodeos. It's amazing the connections you make via rodeo! I thought spending my last weekend in October at my board member’s rodeo and pageant was a great way to end October. Make sure you contact JoAnne to become a pageant contestant for next year!