My next adventure happened right in my own hometown of Pine Valley. Every year Pine Valley puts on a dinner/fundraiser on the 3^rd Saturday of August to support the needs of our little town. I am on the dinner planning committee for this event. We usually serve around 725 people. It is a nice time to get together under the pine trees in the cool of the mountains for dinner. This fundraiser helps contribute to our fire department and EMT services for Pine Valley (in addition to many other needs or projects that occur throughout the year.) I am proud to be a part of both those services in Pine Valley.  I have been a volunteer EMT for 4 years now. I was ecstatic to be asked to come to the occasion this year in my role as Miss Rodeo Utah. All the people that we serve at the dinner have watched me grow up and have supported me in all my endeavors. During the dinner, I was able to share my MRU pageant experiences, tell about my preparations for Miss Rodeo America and practice my speech in front of the crowd of 700+. It truly was a great time and I am blessed to have been a part of this dinner this year as both a resident of Pine Valley AND as Miss Rodeo Utah.

]]> http://www.missrodeoutah.org/archives/1312 Hooper Tomato Days Pageant – Hooper, Utah – August 16-17

Three days later, I could be found in Hooper, UT. I was invited to help with the ‘Hooper Tomato Days’ rodeo queen pageant.  I do have to say this has always been one of my favorite pageants. The pageant is run by Evaline McCloy and her mom Carol Johnson. They are two really, really neat ladies that have a true love for both Hooper and rodeo queens. They make their pageant so fun and yet relaxing. They pick great judges and have such fun judging activities.  This is the first pageant that I attended as Miss Rodeo Utah, and it was a treat to be on the other side of a pageant (meaning one where I was not one of the contestants competing.) I enjoyed being in the audience and didn’t realize how much my nerves would run crazy for the girls that were competing. It gives me an appreciation for the support of all the parents, family, and friends, as well as the judges. We are all just as nervous as the girls are!

The Tomato Days pageant runs for two days. Six beautiful girls tried out this year. The indoor portion (speeches, modeling, impromptu question, surprise judging activity and interviews) was held on Tuesday evening at the Timbermine Restaurant in Ogden. The girls were dressed in their formal western gowns for this portion of the pageant.

Another wonderful thing that occurs each year during this pageant is that someone from Hooper is picked to be honored with the “Spirit of the Community” award. This award is bestowed on them for their outstanding service and lasting contributions to Hooper. Mrs. Fay Beus was the recipient this year. The tribute to her brought tears to everyone in the room, but was also truly inspiring because of the amount of volunteerism and service that Fay as done. She was given a stunning granite plaque designed by American Monument.

The next evening (Wednesday) found us at the Hooper arena (in Hooper of course) for the horsemanship portion of the pageant. The girls had two rounds of horsemanship, one on their own horse and the second on the horse of another contestant. Chase Fuller (my friend and horse trainer) was one of the judges for the pageant, so we got to sit in the bleachers his wife Jill and also with his grandparents. I sure LOVE all of them, and don’t get to see them often enough, so it was an added bonus getting to spend a few hours in their company.

The second weekend in August brought me to the Cache County Fair and Rodeo in Logan, UT. Once again I was given above and beyond love and care – this time by my hosts by Kristan Jo Gibbs-Earl (Miss Rodeo Utah 2005) and her family. Trish Gibbs (Queen Coordinator) made sure I had a place to stay and a horse to use while I was at their rodeo (thank you Trish!!)

I borrowed one of Kristan’s horses for the weekend, so that I didn’t have to haul my horse again to Northern Utah.  I was very spoiled by this because the Gibbs would have him all ready for me – all I basically had to do was show up and ride. I could get very used to such special treatment!  However, it was funny how many times either Kristan’s parents or another queen would say “Oh…..good luck with HIM!” Some said that he does not like to hold still, sometimes gives girls a run for their money, and isn’t the easiest horse to handle, etc. By the time I got to the gate for grand entry I was nervous to ride him. I was sure that the Gibbs would not give me a dangerous horse, but there were a lot of inside jokes and comments floating around. By the end of that first night I decided that they were all just spoofing with me and having a little fun. My horse and I got along great!! He took care of me in the grand entry, was a gentleman pushing cows, and as long as I didn’t sit in one place too long we were quite the nice team. I am very grateful to the Gibbs for the hospitality I was given while in Cache County (and yes, also for the use of my perfect horse!)

Friday evening was “Tough Enough To Wear Pink”. I was absolutely astounded by how many queens (both local and visiting) were at the Cache County Rodeo. There were queens everywhere! It was truly an ocean of pink. I loved seeing that because there have been some rodeos I have gone to that were not very queen receptive, but the Cache County Rodeo recognizes the value of these girls and fosters that. Hurray for Cache County!!!

Besides a great rodeo, a few other highlights for me included: Watching the kids showcase their winning animals during the “parade of champions” in the grand entry of the rodeo each night, plus an impressive display of exhibits and vendors in the park – which of course is what a good county fair is all about. This was also the first time I was able to watch the “Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls” in action (they are outstanding trick riders and trick ropers.)

Saturday’s performance brought in a ton of familiar faces. I was so surprised by how many people I knew that night and got to visit with. Jackie Belnap and her family were there, as well as Marty Thompson, from Smith and Edwards, and his family were all there – just to name a few.

FUN, FUN, FUN in Logan, UT at the Cache County Fair and Rodeo!

The next day after the Morgan Rodeo, I headed up to Heber City, UT to ride in the Heber parade. I was beyond excited to be able to go through my first Utah parade, with the Miss Rodeo Utah truck and trailer following behind me. That truck and trailer are beautiful artworks that add to my presence going through a parade.  I am so thankful to Larry H. Miller and Utah Trailer Source for the use of them, and making me feel and look like a queen throughout my reign. My horse loves his new roomy ride as well!!

It wasn’t until my mom and found our spot in the parade line and realized that we had a slight problem. In order for the truck and trailer to go through the parade, you have to have someone in the driver seat. Of course my mom is quite capable of doing such a task, but if she is in the driver seat then who was going to take pictures? For those of you who know us, this was a little devastating to find out.  My mom couldn’t take pictures and therefore, I wouldn’t have any pictures of this parade! She tried to take a couple through the front window of the truck, but they didn’t work out so well.

While going through the parade it was fun to see Chris Wade-Price (Miss Rodeo Utah 2009) and her family out in the crowd. That evening after the parade, I attended Heber City’s Mountain Valley Stampede Rodeo. My job at this rodeo was to sign autographs and mingle with the crowd. After being so busy for the last couple weeks, it was nice to be able to sit for a few minutes and watch some of the rodeo.  It also felt so good to get a hug and chat from Tammy Wade who was part of the rodeo audience.

Cowgirl Hats off to the Mountain Valley Stampede! GREAT rodeo!

After being home for just a few days, I packed up again and headed to Morgan, Utah for a day and night at the “Morgan 100^th Anniversary Fair and Rodeo”. Morgan is 360 miles from my home. This was my first official engagement in Utah as the new Miss Rodeo Utah – and I could not have imagined a more wonderful experience. Besides being able to be there to share in their centennial rodeo celebration, and also the fact that I so love the friendly feeling of a small town rodeo, I was absolutely amazed at how truly excited they were just to have me present. That made my whole trip! The committee said they usually didn’t have a Miss Rodeo Utah attend their rodeo, so when I was able to come, there was quite the party – talk about making a person feel wanted!!

I walked around their fair and signed LOTS of autographs, and was able to get to know some of the very special people of Morgan. Every time I stopped, people were jumping up and down with excitement that I was there. What a welcome! It was so nice to feel such enthusiasm and that I was able to play a small part in their 100^th Anniversary rodeo and fair.

While in Morgan, I was also able to spend some time with the Morgan County Fair Royalty. They showed me the best stands to eat at and we enjoyed small talk at the autograph table. Also present was Bailey Woolsey, the Utah High School rodeo queen, who is a resident of Morgan. 

After packing up the MRU truck to head to Cheyenne and also packing our personal truck and trailer that headed back to my home in Pine Valley, we were finally off on our long drive to Wyoming. Mom, Sarin and I were all excited to go to the rodeo touted as “The Daddy of them ALL”. I was even more thrilled about being there as Miss Rodeo Utah. I would be staying at a host home with Miss Rodeo Texas, but my mom and Sarin needed to find a hotel. As we got closer I started calling around to see where they could stay. I had no idea it would be so difficult. Every hotel was booked, and if they did have a room available, it was at a cost of a couple hundred dollars per night. Some of the hotels that I called laughed at me. The biggest rodeo around was in Cheyenne, so of course the hotels were all booked! It was the middle of the night before we finally found a room at a Super 8 motel. 

On Thursday I went and checked in with my host home and then went to meet the legendary Arlene Kensinger at the rodeo grounds. While I had met Miss Arlene several years before, it was just during a casual meeting with a bunch of other queens, so it wasn’t even really much of an introduction. I think I was as much looking forward to being in the presence of Miss Arlene for four days as I was excited to be at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo – the best part was that I got to do both!

I was able to attend Cheyenne Frontier Days from Thursday the 27^th to Sunday the 31^st. There were double performances of rodeo every day beginning at noon. It was neat to experience a rodeo during the day because rodeos I have gone to in the past have customarily been held in the evening. Before the first performance each day, as part of the grand entry, the visiting royalty did a “fly-by” on horses provided by the Harry Vold Rodeo Company. Harry Vold is another one of those names that every queen should know – he is an 11-time PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year and PRCA Hall of Famer (just a tiny few of his accolades.)  Mr. Vold was definitely a commanding presence on his horse in the arena during every performance – leaving no doubt as to why he had the nickname “Duke of the Chutes.” Between him and Miss Arlene, I felt I was in the company of royalty (and truth be known, I was!)

Now back to those fly-bys. “Fly-by’s” are just what they sound like. Instead of doing a presentation ride around the arena like queens traditionally do, we literally flew by the audience at lightning speed on the race track that went straight in front of the outside of the rodeo arena. I had heard stories about queens falling off those horses during their fly-bys before, so while I wasn’t sure what I was yet in for, I was determined that as the new Miss Rodeo Utah, I was NOT going to embarrass myself or Utah by falling off my horse at Cheyenne Frontier Days – and I didn’t. Miss Arlene said the term “fly-by” came from her husband decades ago when he would watch the queens ride and wave to the audience. He would say, “Wow, look at those queens fly-by!”

During this rodeo was also the first time that I got to meet some of the state queens I would be competing with at Miss Rodeo America in December. I got to share my week with the state queens from Texas, California, Idaho, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Nevada, and Florida.

On one of the mornings we got to be a part of a HUGE pancake breakfast. This breakfast is absolutely FREE to the public and was held three times during the week. About 10,000 people show up for each breakfast. They were served flapjacks, ham and coffee or milk. I was absolutely amazed at the setup. They had to mix 5,000 pounds of pancake batter, use 650 lbs. of butter, 450 gallons of syrup, have 4,000 lbs. of ham, 8,000 pints of milk, 520 gallons of coffee, 125 pounds of sugar, and 12 gallons of cooking oil for each breakfast. It was truly, truly quite the production. Where do you mix 5,000 lbs. of pancake mix? In a cement truck, of course! The visiting royalty got to help flip pancakes and catch pancakes. Yes I said, “catch pancakes”. There were several cook stations set up in chuck wagons. As pancakes were ready the cooks would flip them up in the air and out the chuck wagon to where people with flat cookie sheet type pans would catch them. I got to be on both ends of the deal, cooking and catching. I was not a very good pancake catcher at first. Most of the flapjacks ended up on the ground, but I finally caught the knack and became a pro-pancake catcher. After the breakfast we went around to several different places to sign autographs for those who came out to eat breakfast.

During each rodeo performance we signed autographs in sponsor box seating around the arena and then also signed autographs on the race track after the rodeo was done. I went through literally hundreds of autographs sheets each day. At one point I ran out and had to quickly go get more printed. It was crazy how many autographs we all went through.

Each evening we got to attend a different concert put on in the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo arena. That was a fun and relaxing experience. I was able to see concerts performances by Toby Keith, the Zac Brown Band, Darius Rucker, Eric Church, and Kevin Costner.

I was also able to ride through one of the Frontier Day’s many parades. The parade started and ended directly in front of the Wyoming State Capitol Building. It was fun to have people in the audience clapping and shouting out their favorite states as we queens rode by.

After the parade, we attended another rodeo performance (with of course more autograph signings) and then we went over to Miss Arlene’s house/museum for a small party and dinner sponsored by Taco John’s. (Miss Arlene’s husband was one of the original founders of Taco Johns.) Her house is filled top to bottom with memorabilia and history of Cheyenne Frontier days and is a literal museum. She has rooms full of pictures and antiques that tell amazing stories not only of the history of this great rodeo, but also Arlene’s life. My favorite was all of her “Dandies” hats and pictures. The flag girls for Cheyenne Frontier days are the “Dandies” similar to Ogden Pioneer Days “Whoopie Girls”.  Arlene has been in charge of the Dandies since their inception and keeps one of their cowgirl hats every year from that year’s rodeo (every year the Dandies get a different colored hat.) She has them all hanging from her ceiling. While we ate lunch, Arlene told story after story of her life and adventures. I could have sat and listened to her for days! She is an absolutely amazing woman and icon, with such a positive attitude and outlook on life. She absolutely adores taking care of all the state queens and spoiled each of us.

I think my time at Cheyenne was quite a blur. I was still a little tired coming directly off my pageant competition week and trying to soak in just being crowned the new Miss Rodeo Utah, plus then taking in all of the sites and experiences of the “Daddy Of Them All” at Cheyenne Frontier Days. That week went by so fast, but it will definitely be a week I will never, ever forget.  I owe so much thanks to the city of Cheyenne, Miss Arlene, the Cheyenne Frontier committee, Harry Vold, my host family and the chaperones that drove us around – and all of the hundreds of amazing volunteers that come together to make Cheyenne a truly great rodeo experience.

     I have always wondered what happens to the new Miss Rodeo Utah on the day after coronation. Somehow, I envisioned a day of washing clothes and repacking for the trip to Cheyenne – and also somewhere in there a long nap after such a stressful pageant week. Boy was I wrong! For me, contract signing came quick and early the next morning. I heard several times, “Now that you have won, be prepared to hit the ground running.” They weren’t kidding. The day after coronation was quite a blur. At 8 o’clock in the morning, I met with Nicole and Suzie for my official contract signing at the Marriott Hotel. I listened to all the rules and what was to be expected of me for the next year. As I look at the pictures my mom took from contract signing, I am a little embarrassed at how tired and a shocked I still looked!!

     After contract signing, I quickly had a professional photo taken to have autograph sheets made up before leaving for Cheyenne Frontier days on Wednesday. Bob Bell and the folks at Riverprint were amazing to work with (they are also Ogden Pioneer Days sponsors.) I called and asked what kind of begging I would need to do to have autograph sheets printed by the end of that afternoon. Bob laughed and said, “Not a problem, come see me at 4:00 this afternoon.” I was thrilled that with such short notice, I would have autographs to bring to Cheyenne with me. Thank you RiverPrint (and I would continue to thank them again many times over for additional services in the next few months!)

     Also that morning, I conducted an interview with JaNae Francis from “The Standard Examiner” newspaper.  From there I went with Craig Bielik to my first official appearance as Miss Rodeo Utah. We went to a noon Rotary Club meeting in Brigham City. I ate lunch with the club members and then got up and spoke about my experience at the pageant, preparing for Miss Rodeo America, and also what my duties would entail for the next year as Miss Rodeo Utah. The Rotary members were very interested in what I had to say and asked all kinds of good questions concerning my schooling and future goals, but also about rodeo and animal welfare. Any time you get to be out with Craig you know you’re in for a good time and lots of laughs.

     Next stop was “Larry H. Miller – Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep” in Riverdale. During the pageant week Larry H. Miller was gracious to let the pageant use four vans to hall all the contestants around in. I was honored to be able to deliver those vans back to their dealership and thank them personally. Troy, the General Manager, was there to greet and congratulate me. He was also prepared to sign the MRU truck over to me to use during my reign. For the next hour we worked on signing papers and working out insurance. Everyone at Larry H. Miller was more than nice and so great to work with.

     Next my mom, Sarin, and I went back to our hotel room to start packing and organizing a little bit. We needed to do laundry and separate the things that needed to come with me to Cheyenne and the things that needed to go home. We were blessed to have our family friend Richard come with us to the pageant and help with the horse, and then he was also there to bring my horse, trailer, and pageant wardrobe back to my home in Southern Utah afterwards. This was not an easy process. We totally ran out of time to do laundry, but at least most of my stuff would be heading home.

     During the late afternoon, we picked up the new Miss Rodeo Utah trailer (compliments of Utah Trailer Source) and brought it over to Wright Signs and Graphics to have my name put on it.

     To complete the day, I was treated to dinner at the Prairie Schooner that evening. That was a such wonderful way to end a busy day. Prairie Schooner is another great sponsor of Ogden Pioneer Days and their food is absolutely to die for. I was able to spend time rehashing some of the pageant details with family and friends who I hadn’t been able to talk to during the pageant week, and also talking to them about what was going to happen next now that I was officially Miss Rodeo Utah. Little did I know that there was really so little that I knew – and my journey as Miss Rodeo Utah was going to be so much more than I could have even imagined!

     The one thing that I was totally in awe of was all of the incredible sponsors that Miss Rodeo Utah has – and I was just at the tip of the iceberg in meeting them. On that one day, I met the folks from Larry H. Miller Dodge, Wright Signs and Graphics, RiverPrint, the Prairie Schooner and of course the Marriott Hotel. Not only are they all so giving in their sponsorship of MRU, but they are also extremely, extremely nice and giving in their support of me personally.

Hello everyone!

I have now been Miss Rodeo Utah for 5 months. From the very first moment that crown was placed on my head during the July 25th Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo, I hit the ground running at amazing speed and haven’t come up for air even yet! So far I have logged almost 13,000 travel miles in the Miss Rodeo Utah truck, and of course that doesn’t include my miles traveled by air. In that time, besides traveling all over Utah, I have also gone to rodeos in Cheyenne – WY, Huron – SD, Denver – CO, plus competed in the Miss Rodeo America pageant in Las Vegas, NV.

I have heard from so many of you asking when I was going start telling about my journeys and experiences, and of course also about posting some of my mom’s amazing photos. I can not even begin to tell you how grateful I am for the interest! I am sorry that it has taken so long for me to post, but I have been so wonderfully living all of the experiences so I would have many, many things to tell you about – but because I have been going at full speed to gain all of these experiences, that hasn’t left me time to write about them! Now that the Miss Rodeo America pageant is behind us and I can think for a half a second, I am going to start writing. Therefore, I have A LOT to say, plus even more in pictures (literally thousands!) Over the next few weeks, I am going cram and overload you with my journey from these past 5 months. Keep watching this blog for those postings, as I hope now to be able to catch up on the previous five months quickly because I think the future seven will be even more packed. And if you see anything you like, PLEASE comment so that I know you are out there. Also if you haven’t already done so, please go in and “like” the Miss Rodeo Utah Facebook page because that will be another spot that I can (and will) post even more pictures. I am going to start with Day #1 and continue on to the present – so while much of it now will seem like old news, the telling would certainly not be complete without it.

And lastly I want to express my immense and heartfelt appreciation to each and every single one of you that has helped me during this journey as Miss Rodeo Utah. These are certainly not just my experiences, but those of all of us together! Thank you!!!

Miss Rodeo Utah 2011 is Jamie Udell!

1st attendant: Chenae Shiner

2nd Attendant: Morgan Blackhurst

3rd Attendant: Chantell Pilcher

4th Attendant: Regan Torres

Miss Congeniality: Raeshell Larsen

Judge’s Spirit Award: Shayla Summerall

Photogenics: Chenae Shiner

Test: Jamie Udell

Appearance: Chenae Shiner

Personality: Chenae Shiner

Public Speaking: Jamie Udell

Horsemanship: Jamie Udell