On The Road With Miss Rodeo America: July 2024 Brought To You By U.S. Rider

July by the numbers:

Rodeo Performances – 27

Horses –  12

Miles Traveled –  2,634

States – 4

July is what rodeo queen dreams are made of! Spending Cowboy Christmas in Cody, Wyoming was a week I will remember forever! Miss Rodeo Wyoming and I had a lovely time taking side-by-sides up into the mountains, riding in the parades each day, watching fireworks after the rodeo, and of course— rodeoing! The sweet couple who brought us matching palominos were so generous and let us turn their very nice barrel horses into queen horses for the week! I also got a visit from my mom and brother for a day which was such a lovely surprise!

Getting from Cody, WY to Estes Park, CO in time for an evening performance proved to be quite the logistical challenge. Thankfully, Miss Rodeo Wyoming was able to drive me from Cody to Riverton, where I flew to Denver and was picked up by my lovely host family to drive to Estes Park. We arrived 15 minutes before the performance and everything worked out perfectly! I quickly found out they call it the Rooftop Rodeo for a reason—  the arena in Estes Park has the most stunning views in every direction. My host family and I got to see it from even greater heights when they treated me to a rock climbing excursion the next morning. During my time in Estes Park, we also enjoyed a kid’s rodeo in the park and a parade through town before Miss Rodeo Colorado and I loaded up and headed to Colorado Springs.

The NFR Open and Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductions was a week I have looked forward to for so long and will always cherish. It was lovely to see all of the PRCA personnel and the many sponsors who I have grown so close with throughout this year, and spend some time with them in the middle of a very busy season for everyone! In the midst of one of the biggest rodeos of the year, the rodeo world took time to pause and recognize the accomplishments and contributions of a class of incredible Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductees. Being on stage and hearing the stories of each inductee was a heartwarming reminder of why we all love rodeo so much!

We wrapped up the NFR Open and I got on a plane to Idaho for the Miss Rodeo Idaho Pageant and Snake River Stampede. My ride for the week was a Boise State-themed pickup with blue turf in the bed! During the week we enjoyed pancake breakfasts, the Pink on the Dirt Luncheon, and the coronation of the next Miss Rodeo Idaho Court! From there I headed to Cheyenne, Wyoming where I got to stay with the kind people who hosted me last year as Miss Rodeo New Mexico. I got to experience the famous “fly-by” down the track, sign my name in the iconic “Chute 9,” and chat with Garret Yerigan in the announcer’s box before I hopped in the car and drove down to Eagle, Colorado. 

Right on the river, the rodeo in Eagle was a nice break from the July heat and another lovely week spent with Miss Rodeo Colorado. We visited a local Montessori school, took the gondola up the mountain, and played in some serious mud after a summer monsoon turned the arena into a swimming pool. 

I wrapped up July in Abilene, KS at the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo. For a tiny town, Abilene knows how to put on a big rodeo. I loved meeting all of the wonderful people in town! After encountering a closed-down tunnel on I70 while leaving Eagle to get to Abilene, I am especially grateful Miss Rodeo America has US Rider on our team! I left early in the morning to make my flight to Denver, and after several hours on the road in traffic, they rerouted us through a mountain pass. At this point, I was sure I would miss my flight, and we decided to have me get back on I70 and drive to Abilene. I know an already crazy day would have only been more stressful had I been going down the road with horses behind me. Thankfully now I know US Rider would have me taken care of no matter where I had ended up stuck between rodeos!