Wow, how time flies! I can hardly believe that it has been a month since I was in Vegas at the Miss Rodeo America Pageant! As much as I would like to make excuses as to why I haven’t updated everyone about the details of the pageant…..the truth is I have simply been enjoying this wonderful Utah weather. I’ve had some close calls while learning how to drive a snowmobile, learned what a “scorpion” fall in snowboarding is (consider yourself lucky if you have never landed in this position!). I am also the victor of “the snowball fight, to end all snowball fights.” Oh ya…. I went back to work as well; I have to say, that was tough!
But I’m sure you would rather hear about the pageant….

There are no dull moments in my life, and the eventful week in Vegas began a little early in nearby Salt Lake. The games began as soon as I met up with Suzie in the airport. We went to get my boarding pass together only to find out that my driver’s license wasn’t valid in their system. I was slightly panicked because by this time by parents were in southern Utah and I had nothing else with me, I shrugged my shoulders and exclaimed jokingly, “Well…. Guess I’m not going!” That idea only lasted about a half a second in Suzie’s mind as she authoritatively requested the problem be solved. Our next stop was the security line. Suzie and I both teased that the other would be the one to go through the “upgraded” system. Her theory was that I draw so much attention to myself that they would have to pick me, and I teased that I was the decoy and they would go for the chaperone. Well it’s a good thing there wasn’t any money on the line because I am now a proud survivor of the TSA’s full body scan. Although, I think the TSA might be more impressed that they survived my four totes of crown, belt, jacket, boots, jewelry, etc.

My week in Vegas was long, memorable, and honestly kind of blurred. There was so much going on in such a short amount of time that I really don’t think I took it all in! However, my favorite moments and people will stick with me forever. For instance, my roommate Celesta and I had a great time together. I have to admit that we got off to a rough start. We both had some misconceptions about each other that made the first three days of the pageant rocky to say the least. I laugh at what I would consider the defining moment between us. I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed when I heard this outrageous crash and then I heard Celesta scream. She started pounding on the door and all she said was, “Martina, I didn’t do it!” Both curious and concerned, I opened the door to find my clothing rack had toppled over onto my bed scattering clothes everywhere! We laughed and tugged on it trying to stand it up; from that point on Celesta was a great friend and mentor. I loved hearing about her life and her advice to me.
I think the best part of the pageant for me was reuniting with some of the girls that I had met and getting to know the rest. We spent most of our time practicing the dances for Fashion Show and Coronation. (Yep, you heard me they gave me hours upon hours to learn those dances and I still couldn’t do it! We all have our weak points!) Dance practice is definitely where everyone’s personalities shown the best! Plus, when everyone is running a little low on sleep, everything is extra funny! I adore those amazing ladies and the uniqueness they each showed. I am so grateful for the love that was shared with me from friends both old and new!

As I look back at my experience competing in the Miss Rodeo America Pageant, I can’t help but have mixed emotions. I’m grateful to have competed, to have met so many beautiful girls, and that I was able to learn so much about myself while I was there. My final conclusion about my week of competition is that God has a plan for each of us. I know that week will always be a defining moment in my life; however, I also know it won’t be the only defining moment. I am looking forward to my upcoming “Big Events,” both related to rodeo and personal and I can’t wait to continue sharing these moments with you as Miss Rodeo Utah!

Next stop Denver, Colorado!

With much love and God bless,

Marti

Hey all! First off I would like to say wow!  My first week of being Miss Rodeo Utah 2010 has been amazing, hectic, and the greatest week of my life!  I would like to thank my parents, family, rodeo family, and sponsors for helping me reach this lifelong dream; I couldn’t have done any of this without all of you!

For all of those who don’t know me, I’d like to use this opportunity to share a little about myself.  I am the twenty year old daughter of Mitch and Deanna Wardle of Lehi, Utah.  My love for horses began when my grandpa let me ride his cow cutting horse in the local 4H program, after that I was hooked.  Not long after that my aunt and uncle introduced me to the world of rodeo, and thanks to them I learned so much more about livestock, my western heritage, and the responsibilities related to each.  More recently I graduated from Lehi High School and then attended two years at Utah Valley University where I earned my associates degree.  I plan to continue my education after my reign as Miss Rodeo Utah.

So what’s new?  In my first week on the job I had the opportunity to travel in my new Larry H. Miller Dodge truck to, “the daddy of ‘em all,” in Cheyenne, Wyoming.   During the week I got to know some of the other state queens, and what an amazing group of girls they are!  I was also able ride in three of the famous Frontier Day’s Fly-bys. 

 Now let’s be honest here, I am very well known for being ridiculous and keeping everyone entertained with my simple mistakes… otherwise known as blonde moments.  So I thought I would share a few that happened while I was in Cheyenne.  My first night in Cheyenne I made it in just in time to attend the night show and concert.  This was my first time meeting all the girls and I was really hoping to make a good impression.  Shortly after I arrived and had introduced myself to everyone I noticed a song I recognized playing in the background, I’m sure many of you know the tune, “Toes in the Water” by the Zach Brown Band.  As the song continued to play I noticed some of the words were different than I recognize and loudly exclaimed that I had never heard the “unedited” version of this song.  All the girls around me stared wide eyed and all burst out laughing at the same time.  Then someone laughingly said, “Well, now we know Utah is here!”  What can I say, I like to make an entrance.

The following evening at the Miranda Lambert concert, I had another memorable “moment.”  I was sitting next to the lovely, and very funny, Miss Rodeo Oklahoma, Chassity Sisco.  I turned to her and asked her if she knew the time, and then laughed and said, “Oh, wait I have a watch on.”  I looked down at my watch but then realized it was far too dark at the concert to see the face on it.  So I held it up trying to catch the light for a moment, and then turned back to Chassity and asked her if she had a light.  She immediately pulled out her phone and shined it on my watch, but we were still having a hard time seeing it because of the glare it was creating.  A moment later we both gave up on the watch, turned to face each other and started to laugh.  Chassity flipped her phone over and promptly told me that it was half past ten.  I’d like to blame this moment on my lack of sleep, but you can choose to believe whatever you’d like!

My next stop is Heber, Utah for the Mountain Valley Stampede.  The rodeo runs August 6^th and 7^thand start time is 7:30pm.  Be sure to get there early to get the best seating and for pre-rodeo entertainment.  I hope to see you there, and hey, maybe you can be there in person for my next blonde moment!

-Marti

Today I went to Nephi to sign autographs at Greenline/ IFA and also to do some radio interviews with announcer Mike Mathis and Q Country 97.7. The Nephi Ute Stampede is Thursday July 15th- Saturday July 17th and the rodeo starts at 8:00 each night.

One person that has been so nice to me all year long is Chris Williams from Dodge Rodeo. He has been to most of the rodeos that I have attended this year and has really become a good friend of mine. I always tease with him that I am going to steal his nice truck and pull the “illiams” sticker off of “Williams” and add “ade” for Wade.

The military presentation at the beginning of the rodeo tonight was so amazing. I was crying.

It brought back old memories to once again have Roger Mooney announce my name, only this time it was at the Vernal Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo and not Ogden Pioneer Days. I can’t believe that will once again be right around the corner when a new Miss Rodeo Utah will be announced in Pioneer Stadium on July 24th.

The royalty for the Vernal Rodeo is Queen- Kylie Brown, 1st Attendant- Tiffany Nielsen, and 2nd Attendant- Chasity Arnold.

This morning we had a wonderful breakfast while we watched the Miss Rodeo Nebraska contestant speeches and the Miss Rodeo Teen Nebraska Coronation. The 2011 Teen Miss Rodeo Nebraska is Shelby Peters.

My host family in Nebraska was awesome. Stacey and Jason and their two boys Josh and Zack. The whole family picked me up from the airport and made me feel at home all week long. It was great to meet them and I appreciate them for making the trip possible for me.

It’s the time of year when girls are starting to prepare for the pageants. Every April, girls begin working hard with the aim of representing some of the greatest rodeos in Utah. I remember those days well. I wish I would have known back then what I know now. It sure would have made life so much easier. I do, however, have some words of advice for those girls who are busy preparing for the summer pageants and rodeo season. It’s something I read recently — and it’s come to mean so much to me.

“Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don’t. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said this task would be easy, they just promised it would most likely be worth it.” And it has been so very much worth it. I can honestly say that being a rodeo queen — and Miss Rodeo Utah, specifically — is something worth putting your heart into, and I’ve lived life with no regrets.

As I reflect back on the year, I’ realize I’ve done everything that I had dreamed of doing since I was a little girl. I found an old drawing book that I had when I was probably 14 years old, and I had drawn a picture of what my Miss Rodeo Utah chaps would look like. Styles change a lot in 10 years, but I still had those bees and beehives on my chaps. I competed for Miss Rodeo America, the top event of all rodeo queen pageants and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I had a competition that I was proud of and I walked away at peace. I’ve done hundreds of things this year of which I am proud, and I can’t believe how fast it’s flown by.

In January I attended the National Western Stock Show in the Mile High City of Denver, Colo. I was able to carry sponsor flags, have my biography read from the President’s Box, and help with the mutton busting. I worked for Tandy Belts at the Merchant Market for two days, where I loaded up on jewelry, belts, and cowboy boots at wholesale. I appreciate Jodi Witt, the Denver Rodeo, and Tandy Belts for this great experience.

In February I bundled up to go the Ogden Winter Fest. The Ogden Pioneer Days Foundation sponsored and organized the Skijoring Event where a single tow rope is looped around the horn of a western saddle and the horse and rider pull a skier at a fast pace over a course of snow as the skier navigates through jumps and obstacles. The skier is timed during the course and I made an excellent flag girl for the timers.

A week after playing snow bunny, I flew to warmer weather for an excursion to Florida. This was one of those trips where you can’t decide if you’re there to work or there to play because they made the week so much fun. In the mornings we went air-boating and to the beach, the late afternoons were rodeo time and Special Kids rodeo events, and at nights we went to Disney World and Hog Hunting. Thank you to Mark and Laura Kessler and my host mother Regina Roberts for such a fun week.

If you’ve read my blog you know that this year has brought a lot of first-time events for me: Disney World and seeing the ocean. But I am not complaining at all. I don’t feel one ounce deprived that I’m 24 years old and had never been to Disney World or seen the ocean. While the trip to Florida was a blast, I had the luxury of growing up in a rodeo family where I got to go on vacation every weekend and it didn’t include the Bahamas or Mexico. I was able to tour the pretty, great state of Utah from one end to the other — and that was my choice. I wouldn’t have had it any other way, and I appreciate my parents so much for their support over the years.

March has included some school visits, queen contests and Rodeo Queen Boot Camp. I have been to the Utah Rodeo Queen Boot Camp every year for the last 12 years in some capacity or another, and every year I have watched as Miss Rodeo Utah has taken an active role on its amazing staff. This year was almost surreal to me as I was able to stand in the boots of the women I have admired for such a long time. It was an amazing experience to actually be Miss Rodeo Utah and talk to girls about how to be the best they can be. It was an event to which I was looking forward since I won the crown last July. I’d like to thank Mesia Murphy and Jennifer Flint for inviting me to be a part of their event.

I watched the girls from Boot Camp put their newfound knowledge and motivation to action at the Oakley Rodeo Queen contest a couple weeks later. I was able to sit back and relax as my mom judged the contest and did a fine job picking the royalty. I was Miss Rodeo Oakley in 2006, and I watched them announce Jamie Udell as the 75th Miss Rodeo Oakley. Her attendants are MaKenzie Maughan and Ashley Mortensen. All of the girls did a fantastic job, and I promise you will have an amazing summer.

This week I will be going to the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo to create another set of wonderful memories in a year that has gone by way too fast. I appreciate everyone that has made all my dreams come true this year, including the Miss Rodeo Utah Committee, Ogden Pioneer Days Committee, my parents and many other wonderful people.

Happy Trails – Chris Wade, Miss Rodeo Utah 09