Sunday, January 11, 2009

Rodeo Banquet

We had a great time at our rodeo banquet this afternoon. They had brisket to eat and everyone brought a side dish or desert. It was all really good food. Then they went through some announcements and thank you's. Then they did a little presentation for a girl named Savannah. She rode in the rodeo club. She was not older than 15. She died in a car accident not long after our rodeo season ended. Savannah's favorite color was pink, so, all the kids go to take a pink balloon and go outside and all together let the balloons go. Savannah's mother was also there to accept a gift from the rodeo club. It was a scrapbook of pictures bound in a tool leather cover. It was really special and very sad. Savannah's Dad mad some leather crosses with her initials on them for everyone to put on their saddles or bridles. It was a really nice gift from her father. I could only imagine the pain of loosing a child. My heart goes out to their family. After the ceremony, they gave out the year end awards. Everyone who participates gets a bunch of goodies and belt buckles. Then the top two winners get special prizes. The Champion gets a saddle, which were very nice with colored ostrich skin seats, and Reserve Champion gets a really nice saddle pad with cow hide and their names engraved in the leather on the pad. It was all really neat. So, here is all our loot from the banquet. All four of us got hay bags. And the hay bags were filled with more goodies. Everyone got a fun pair of muddy boots, t-shirt, feed scoop, huge box of brushes, tie down, and belt buckle. It really was some fun stuff. I love the kids' boots. Big Cowpoke's rubber boots were brown and Little Cowpoke's boots were black. Very fashionable. I love that they look like cowboy boots. My boots just had a fancy design on them and Mr. Cowboy's rubber boots were just plain brown. They didn't have any fun designs in the men's sizes. Men are no fun. Then there are our belt buckles. I am not sure if this is a new fad that is coming out or what, but I haven't seen belt buckles like these before. The main part of the buckle is a rust color. I think I am a fan of the shiny bling belt buckles. But then again, I might just be old school, and these types of buckles might be all the rage. Here is Little Cowpoke's buckle. He rode in the "Tots" division. Very cool. He was really excited about winning his very first belt buckle. Then there was Big Cowpoke's buckle. He rode in the Midgets division. That division has some serious competition. The ages are 7-10 and boy can those older kids ride!! You have to be one heck of a dare devil 7 year old to keep up with those kids. Then there is Mr. Cowboy's buckle. They accidentally put that Mr. Cowboy rode in the Junior Division. Which I think is funny. Mr. Cowboy said they could leave it because he isn't going to wear the buckle, so it doesn't make a difference. Mr. Cowboy has a trunk full of buckles plus a buckle showcase full of buckles. He doesn't get too excited when he wins a buckle. But me, I get really excited, because I have only ever won one buckle. So, this is my second buckle to win. Can you see that? I was the Rookie in the Senior Division. I was the highest scoring new senior. Even though I trotted around most of the barrels. I am such a scaredy cat. But when everyone else is flying and knocks down barrels, the I guess the slow and steady one wins!! So, I was pretty excited about my buckle. And I think my buckle is really cool looking!!

We are thinking about trying out a different rodeo club. They ride from February til May, and then pick back up again in September. It's nice to have the hot summers off. Plus with Big Cowpoke spending most of the summer with his Dad, he will get a chance to rodeo. The first rodeo will be February 7th. That is coming pretty soon. But we still are going to rodeo with the same old club. We really like how family oriented it is. They are great. And we have a really wonderful time. We will have to see how the other group pans out. Big Cowpoke would be the only one riding and the rest of us would just wait for our normal club to start. We had a great time at the banquet and can't wait for rodeo season to begin again.

12 comments:

Pony Girl said...

I liked your loot! Your boots have a toille design on them, very french-country, hee hee!
How sad about the girl who was killed...those crosses her dad made were really special!
I kind of like the darker buckles, different, but kind of cool. Then again, brown is one of my favorite colors, LOL!
Next year, run the barrels, girl! ;)

Cactus Jack Splash said...

Great prizes. Congratulations on your first buckle

Wendy said...

What a great night to be a part of! I never mentioned but I love your purse! We miss you guys.

kdwhorses said...

Great loot you got there! Congrats on the buckle!

Sorry to hear about Savannah, what a great thing her father did.

Mrs. Mom said...

Andrea you had me teary eyed reading that tribute to Savannah. And then I looked again at the cross... and yeah... tears. For sure. (So I am sappy...)

Congrats on all your goodies!! Sounds like you had a blast there, and the kids did too! Cant wait to see more pictures and hear the stories from this years rodeos! Always an adventure going on at your place ;)

Karen said...

What a score in the prize department! I love the boots.

Melanie said...

Ooooohhhh....congratulations on all of your cool goodies!!!! And belt buckles too??? I want to move to Louisiana! :0

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

Yayyyyy!! Congratulations to your whole family!! I can see in the future, people are going to be disappointed to see you guys pull in...they will just throw up their hands and say "There goes the High Point"-LOL.

Love the other prizes too-I would go for one of those camo hay bags in a heartbeat!!

Grey Horse Matters said...

Congratulations on all your prizes. Glad to hear you had a good day. So sad about the little girl.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

That cross was such a generous gift that surely wasn't expected. Most times gifts are given to the family of the deceased not the other way around.
That cross is lovely.

Andrea your belt buckle is the best of 'em all. It's got a bit of bling and even your name on it. Of course, I'd be feelin rather old with the title of Senior on my buckle. lol! I suppose it's better than Junior, right? hehe

You got a lot of great goodies at the dinner. Sounds like everyone had a great time, too.
I wonder if we 've got something like that in our area.
I've never checked before.
Got any idea on where to look?

~Lisa
aka~Rapunzle

gtyyup said...

That's a great rodeo club you belong to...great prizes!!

Congratulations on the buckle win!!! WhooooHoooooo...two thumbs up cowgirl!!! You know that's my goal in life...you're an inspiration!

The Wades said...

Man, cool stuff! I dig those rubber boots and now want them. Good job being the rookie senior--love that buckle.