Cowboy Christmas takes place the first couple of weeks in July and is the busiest rodeo season. There are more rodeos booked than any other time of the year. Jayden could go to a rodeo nearly every day for the next two weeks. Friday July 1st we headed to Leon Iowa, a two hour drive. We got hung up in Des Moines traffic, hitting the rush hour and moving slow around a bad accident. It was stop and go and with our horse in the trailer, I was stressed out. I had a headache after that and it lasted until I went to bed. Jayden was in slack so we got to sit and enjoy the rodeo. Morgan N. was Jayden's sidekick from the time we pulled in until we headed home Saturday night. She is very mature for only being 11 and sweet.
The Leon rodeo was very well run, fast with lots of entertainment. IT was a great night of rodeo with temps in the 70's. After the rodeo, barrel racing was last in slack. Both Jayden, Morgan, and many other girls knocked barrels. If Jayden's barrel had stayed up, her time may have placed. However the Leon rodeo is 4 nights with over 150 barrel racers from all over in IRCA, MRA, URA, The competition was tough and many times came down to the thousandths. It was a disappointing night to leave thinking of the possibilities if the barrel had stayed standing. From the rodeo, I headed to my ISU college roommates to spend the night. I had my share of trouble with the horse trailer throughout the night and driving to Heidi's was a challenge. My first wrong turn was a left instead of a right. I panicked and wondered what was I going to do. My stomach felt sick and my head was pounding. The Lord was watching out for us as I looked in front of me and saw not one, but two field drives directly across from each other. There was just enough room for me to make a U turn on the highway. Not once, but three times I had to make a U turn this night and managed with difficulty. I don't think I will ever be able to handle a larger trailer. I appreciate when Mark can drove so very much. We arrived at Heidi and Lance Bell's home, 5 miles from the arena, at midnight. They came out and helped us set up corral panels along the horse trailer so Ace could have a place to move around. Jayden and I stayed in the basement and slept until 9. Southern Iowa, just like home is very dry and the corn was starting to roll and tassel. In the morning, I could not believe it when I heard rain drops and looked outside to see it had been raining for awhile. That was great for the Leon area, but we never got a drop back home. It also was unusually cool, just below 60. Ace was wet and shivering and we had to figure out what to do for him. We put him in the trailer and went to the big western store in town and bought a water wicking blanket. In the meantime, we picked up Morgan, Jayden's adopted sister for the day, and took her with us uptown. The plan was to have breakfast at Heidi's Coffee Shop, but it was noon by the time we got there. Ace dried in the trailer while we had a light lunch and yummy smoothies. Heidi surprised us by paying for it all. She also sat with us for a good visit. It was so fun to see her and we realized it has been nearly 5 years since our previous visit. We both decided to do better about meeting. Next, we hit the road and headed for Bloomfield. Morgan wanted to ride in our rig and we followed her family. It wasn't long and the girls were both sleeping.
We arrived in Bloomfield as it was still lightly raining. Fortunately the Bloomfield rodeo is under a very nice covered arena. Jayden and Morgan rode bareback and hung out with her little brothers, Tyson and Mason. Jayden was surprised when Cousin Karlee came up to see her. That was a lot of fun catching up with her. Lavern and Verna Mae came to watch the rodeo too. Lavern bought our supper.
Jayden's run was really nice. She touched the second barrel and was so tight. The announcer said"If you aint rubbing, you aint running". She had a fast time and a great run, we just didn't know if it would place. There was some very serious tough competition and Ace was right in there. Natalie Fouctch ran and beat everyone by almost a half second. She is amazing. She was only a couple people out of making the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas. She runs a big palomino and is PRCA. After she ran, Jayden took Ace to hose off his legs and Natalie was there with her horse. We talked to her and she is very kind and asked Jayden questions. I recognized her from my rodeo days. I made the IRA finals one year with her. Jayden was impressed that she was not too good for us or rude. She told me she wants to be like her someday, good at what she does, humble, and kind. It was a good night and we headed home in a great mood. It makes the drive much better when things go well. Jayden and I talked all the way home, listened to the radio and made sure we were wide awake. It was very late when we got home.
The rodeos in Leon and Bloomfield brought back a lot of memories. Mark and I went to the Leon and Bloomfield rodeos our fist summer in 1998. I won money at the Leon rodeo and was so excited! Bloomfied, I remember the covered arena and meeting Mark's relatives. I am enjoying experiencing the rodeo road with Jayden through her young enthusiastic eyes. She often asks me to run with her and get back into it with her. I feel like my time has been and I enjoyed it then, but I have moved on to a different season in life. This here and now is her season. I just pray she has a good year and a safe year.
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