7/6/16 It was a humid hot day when Mark,
Luke, and I took Jayden to her rodeo in Marshalltown. I think Luke is one of
Jayden’s biggest fans and likes to go along to the rodeos. We parked and got a
bite to eat bfore the rodeo started at 7. It was still plenty hot until the sun
went down. This was a county fair rodeo in a dirt arena. Jayden got to run in
the performance, number 7th. We could hear rumbling in the sky as we
watched the clouds move in huge white mushrooms. On the radar, there was one
very small system directly over Marshalltown and nothing anywhere else in the
whole state. Shortly before Jayden ran there were sporadic raindrops. It rained
lightly for the rest of the rodeo but not enough to really soak things. Jayden
lined her horse up and he gave her a little trouble at the gate going in, but
once she got him moving forward he ran hard and fast to the first, turned it
tight, the second she rubbed as she came around and touched it with her hand to
ensure it would not tip, it was as tight as a horse could get, and the third
she came in with a wider pocket but Ace came around the backside and shot out
tight and fast. Her time, a 13.597. During the performance we watched a few
fast runs that we thought might beat her time, but nothing came in faster than a
13.8 everyone else ran 14’s. It was pretty awesome and we were so excited for
Jayden. There were 35 barrel racers yet to run in slack, but we felt confident
she would place and win some money. She needs to keep pulling checks in order to
keep her up in the rookie standings and top 15 for finals. It is about the
money in this association. The money also pays Jayden’s entries from rodeo to
rodeo. Jayden hosed her horses legs off and Luke and I toured the county fair
livestock barns. I found an old college friend, Cecliy. She was excited to see
me, talked about her husband roping, her four kids, ,recent move back in the
area, and talked of old college friends. She is so excited to get together and
was in awe of Jayden and her run. It was fun to see her and I am finding more
and more rodeo people I know. We really
wanted to stay and watch slack to see how Jayden would end up. We watched for
an hour and decided it was going to get too late and take too long. Jayden’s
friend Karlee was running in slack and would give her results. As we pulled out
I saw Natalie Fouch ( I smiled and waved) she is the Pro barrel racer warming up. Jayden
and I have a lot of respect for her, not only is she an awesome barrel racer on
a sweet horse, she is humble and kind. Around midnight as we
were driving home, Karlee was confident Jayden won the rodeo. We were
celebrating and excited as we headed home. I was in shock and amazed. Jayden
keeps setting big goals for herself and reaching them. Her goal to win a rodeo, CHECK! It is really awesome. She ended up getting a check of $800!! We
keep praying for Jayden and thanking God for this season, for this great horse,
and for the results of her hard work and determination. These late rodeos and
long drives home are hard on the family, especially Mark who has to do chores
in the early morning. It was 1AM when we all got to bed.
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