10/21/2008 1:05:22 AM  

 

Well here it is almost Halloween and I have not posted in months.  This year has been very trying for me in the competition arena.  I was so thrilled to get things worked out between the WPRA and PRCA and get to rodeo some this year but have had trouble keeping Belle healthy.

She recovered from the surgery to remove the bone chips really well.  I was able to take her to Salinas, one of our favorite rodeos, in July and she did really well.  I did not win anything but she felt good and tried hard.  Not bad for the first runs out of the gate, I did not even take a practice run anywhere before going to the rodeo!

It's kinda been downhill from there.  Belle got sick and was off a couple of weeks.  When we started back, we took a couple of bad slips at a couple of rodeos and she came up sore again.  She is so tough, it is hard to tell when she is hurting because she never shows it.  But we figured out that she had pulled a ligament in a hock. 

Because of that injury, I had to vet release out of the circuit finals.  That was tough because I went anyway to watch Mom and to fulfill director duties.  I have found that I am not a very good spectator, I would much rather be competing or not there at all.  It was a very good finals, though.  The committee does a great job and they had good crowds.  They put a lot of work in to make sure the contestants were taken care of and I really appreciate their hard work.

I am just going to start back on Belle, hoping she may be able to compete by the WPRA World Finals Rodeo in November.  As a member of the Finals committee, I have spent quite a few hours helping organize things for the Finals.  After all that time, I sure want to get to run!

I do get to rope in the team roping and breakaway.  I did terribly in the teams until the last couple months of the season.  I was glad to finally get it together.  Mom and I will rope together and then I get to heel for April Harms.  Mom will head for April.  I love that the WPRA has opened up the qualifications for the ropers and given people like me the chance to compete on the other end from where I ususally do.  It's a lot of fun and I hope we have some luck.

This last week I was so thrilled and honored to get to attend the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports and to participate in the Grand March of Athletes.  It is a bit overwhelming to find yourself in the midst of Olympic athletes, many of whom I watched on TV in August, and WNBA stars.  Most of the ladies are really nice, down to earth people and I appreciate getting to visit with them during the rehearsal, athlete's lunch, and the gala itself.  I also got the chance to meet and visit with the WSF Founder Billie Jean King.  I am amazed at her energy and tireless giving to others.

The event was held at the Waldorf=Astoria in NYC.  I had never been to New York so that was wild.  I have actually been lucky to travel a lot in my life, not just in rodeo but as a kid I got to visit Europe and Saudi Arabia with my grandparents but New York is a whole other deal.  It was a whirlwind trip -- I flew an all night red eye flight from Sacramento where I was visiting friends with my fiancee to Newark, NJ airport.  The WPRA First Frontier Director, Kathi Myers, picked me up at about 6:30 AM and we went to her daughter's apartment in West New York, which is across the Hudson from the city in New Jersey.  She has an amazing view of the skyline and river from her apartment!  After breakfast and short nap, I took a cap through the Lincoln Tunnel to NYC.

What a strange experience that was -- it only took a couple of minutes to go through the tunnel but it felt like traveling to another country.  I can't believe the traffic -- and I have pulled a horse trailer in LA!  Not sure I could do that in New York, the streets are so narrow compared to what I am used to and the drivers just pull where they want to go with no regard for anyone in their path.  We passed Broadway and Radio City Music Hall on our way to the Waldorf.

The Waldorf was beautiful, of course.  I went to a rehearsal in the Grand Ballroom and then a luncheon with the other athletes, Billie Jean, and the staff of the WSF.  After, I took a short walk down Park Ave -- I am goofy because I kept thinking of that line in "Green Acres" about Park Ave.  The older buildings are so interesting with the scrolling and bits of color here and there.  I enjoyed just staring at them.  Then I turned down one street and another and there was the Empire State Building.  I guess being from the west, it is disconcerting to have so many landmarks right on top of one another.

Back at the hotel and the WSF provides you with people to do your hair and make-up for the big night, which is great because I flunked both of those subjects.  The hairdresser was so cool, I really enjoyed visiting with her while she bent my hair to her will.  It sure never looks so good when I style it.

Then to the party itself.  There were nearly 1000 people there and the place was filled with tremendous energy.  Diana Nyad, the swimming great, emcees the Grand March and does an incredible job.  It was unreal to cross that stage with all those people and following Michelle Kwan, Shawn Johnson, Janet Guthrie and so many others.  I just feel like such a goof -- when we left the stage we had to march up the middle of the room in the spotlight and there were these photographers there taking pictures as we walked.  I just kept hoping I wouldn't trip on my heels and fall on them!  What a nerd.

We had a ton of fun and then drove home through Times Square.  That was interesting, I always had this vision of it as a huge place but it's really only a block or so.  Strange.

The next day was planes, trains, and automobiles.  We took a bus into the city and a cab down to Ground Zero.  They are rebuilding there but it was still an eerie feeling.  To this day I remember where I was and watching it all unfold on TV.  I can't believe it has been 7 years.

We took the subway, another first had no idea how hot and  noisy it is down there.  We got off on 5th Avenue and strolled down to Rockafeller Plaza.  Along the way we saw St Patrick's Cathedral and Saks and Cartier.  No shopping there but it was fun to look in the windows.  We went to the top of Rockafeller and took in the view.  That was so awesome!  We could see Central Park and everything else so well.  After a slice of pizza, it was back to the bus to go home to New Jersey, gather my stuff and head for the airport.  Kathi and her daughter, JimiBeth, said we should have taken the ferry home, then we would have taken every type of transportation available that day!

I was so tired when I finally got home to Arizona but what fun.  I can't wait to take a vacation there and have the time to really see the sights.  Not sure when, but got to pencil it in somewhere!

Well, that's the news for now.  Mom and I are leaving next week for the USTRC Finals in OKC and the Cruel Girl Championships roping.  Should be fun, we get to stay with my Aunt Nancy in El Reno, right up the road.  Can't wait to go.

Until next time, take care to all.

jolee

 5/1/2008 3:31:02 PM  

 

I can't believe how quickly time gets away.  A lot of news to report since last time.

First, Belle is out of commission for awhile.  She has been very up and down for the last year or so but never seemed sore.  After Laughlin where she was just awful, I finally decided I needed to get her to Dr. Kaufman.  After watching her go and even flexing her front ankles, we still weren't seeing anything major.  But, thank goodness, we decided to take some X-rays.  We found a chip broken away from the bone.

We were so fortunate to be able to get her to surgery within a few days and while on the table, they took more X-rays of the other ankle and found more chips!  In all, she had about ten of them in both ankles, no telling how long they had been there.  I felt so bad that I had been mad at her for not working but she never limped or acted sore in any way.

Dr. Kaufman said she should have been dead lame;  obviously, Belle is too tough for her own good.

So now she is on the road to recovery and is already tired of stall rest.  We have been getting to go for walks which she likes but she is stuck in a confined area for a while longer.  The prognosis is three months off, surgery was April 6, so we may be back in action as quick as July.  But we'll just see how she is doing and make sure everything is good before we get too carried away.

Twinkie is once again called to active duty.  Though we haven't been going much.  Mom's horse Bo cut his foot badly so she is down to the green horses so probably nothing but maybe a circuit rodeo or two for us for awhile.  With the fuel already at $4.08/gal, we are pretty limited as to where we will go.  Think everyone is in that bind and it's going to be so tough on the rodeo business.

For good news, Mom was honored by the Women's Sports Foundation at their Billies Awards in Beverly Hills.  Wow, what a night that was!  It was black tie and very inspirational.  It is amazing to see that other women's sports are struggling with the same issues that we are in rodeo but it is uplifting to see the successes that are being made.

Anyway, Mom was honored with fifty other female athletes, women like Michelle Kwan, Tamika Catchings, Tracy Austin, and of course Billie Jean King.  After the awards program, Elton John performed for about an hour.  It was so much fun!  There is more information on the Women's Sports Foundation and the Billies on their website, www.WomensSportsFoundation.com.

Other than that, we have just been riding some colts and roping some here and there.  It is nice to be at home after so many hours on the road.

Hope everyone else is enjoying the spring.

take care,

jolee

 3/13/2008 1:39:55 AM  

 

Whew!  That's about all I can say.  After finally coming to an agreement with the PRCA and about six weeks of crazy trying to run the WPRA office with all the transition issues, I am relieved to have packed up the computers, file cabinets, and everything else to ship back to Colorado Springs.  The WPRA once again has a national headquarters being manned by paid staff instead of Mom and I.  Quite a weight lifted from our shoulders when we saw that moving truck pull out of the drive.

And so, back to the business of rodeo!  We have been to four pro rodeos and it was a little weird being back at the rodeos after basically a year away.  Especially Tucson, a big rodeo.

Belle has not been on the best behavior lately, including a very lackluster showing at Yuma, Az.  I was really not wanting to go to Tucson after that but Mom talked me into it.  As usual, mother knows best.  Belle likes that arena for some reason . . . though we did not place in the two preliminary rounds, we made the short round, sqeaking in at 11th.  I was really proud of Belle, the other ladies have all been on the road rodeo-ing for the last year plus the first months of this year.  They are certainly sharper than we are, having been only doing some jackpots and regional rodeos.

Then she topped herself by making her best run in the short go, one that got pretty dicey with some questionable ground.  We won third in the round and moved all the way to fifth in the average.  After making the finals there on many occasions, this was actually our highest average finish.  It was fun.

I followed that glowing weekend up with a terrible ride at Scottsdale, hitting a barrel for what probably could have been a check.  Guess I am still a little out of sync!  Belle did make a great run at the GCPRA in Cave Creek for first, I barely stayed aboard!

The weather has been surprisingly good so we have been getting to rope some too and ride the young horses.  Due to the time we had been spending on the WPRA, we have three young horses who are VERY behind in their training and a couple more who are on the verge of being behind.  Guess we will spend the rest of the year trying to catch up.

The roping has been fun, I have been doing pretty well in the breakaway.  Placing consistently which has never been my strong suit.  I have even won a couple of battles of perseverance, placing on bad draws that I had to track down to rope.  Anyway, it has been steady, earning some points to get qualified to both the GCPRA and WPRA finals.

My folks and I entered a big roping in Vegas in a couple of weeks, $50K to the winner.  Can't wait for that one, should be exciting and how do you turn down a chance to win that kind of money, two hours from home?

Going to our fifth rodeo on Friday, Buckeye, Arizona.  Circuit rodeo.  Been drawing all slacks lately but this one we asked for due to me having to fly to Austin for a WPRA Board meeting.  Looking forward to it, though, the WPRA is at an exciting time, sort of like the phoenix rising from the ashes.  A chance to somewhat re-invent ourselves and create bigger and better opportunities for all our members.

Well enough for now.  Hope everyone is getting a little slice of the warm weather.

take care,

jolee

 12/31/2007 10:10:27 PM  

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The final hours of 2007 are winding down and of course, it is a time to reflect back on the past year.  What a tumultuous time it has been.  I don't remember many years with so many highs and lows but it all ends on a tremendous high note.

After over a year, the WPRA reached our trial date and won!  The moment the verdict was read is one that I will not forget, no matter how long I manage to live.  There were six of us there, plus our attorneys, and of course the rest of the Board was there in spirit.  All we could do was cry at the overwhelming emotion at finally reaching the end of this particular road.  I am so proud of this Board and our members . . . throughout the trial, as throughout the entire ordeal, we prayed together and separately, constantly asking that God's will would be done and believing that He would lead us to where we were supposed to be.  I truly believe the truth did shine through and I feel honored to have been a part of it.

Many people have asked, what now?  We do not have those answers yet, although we continue, as we have from the very beginning back in 2005, to be willing to negotiate a fair deal with the leadership of the PRCA.  We have put many offers on the table since this began in 2005, none of which were accepted by the PRCA's leaders, and we have put another in front of them since the verdict was handed down.  We pray that a deal can be reached which will protect the members of both organizations and the sport as a whole.

The WPRA Board has no wish to hurt the PRCA or the sport of pro rodeo, and certainly not the cowboys who are our husbands, fathers, brothers, friends.  But we will protect our members and our business to the best of our ability.  Here's hoping 2008 will bring some peace to the rodeo world.

On a personal note, we got a very welcome break from the world, and especially rodeo, with a Christmas trip to Cancun.  WOW!  That is all I can say . . . our hotel room was about ten steps from the Caribbean, it was eighty degrees every day, I made friends with a very cool dolphin named Balam, and, best of all, NO CELL PHONES!  I don't think any of us has been on a vacation like that in about eleven years so it was just the rest we needed.  The only bad part was when we had to come home -- quite a downer to land in Salt Lake where the temp was twenty degrees.

What a whirlwind end to a crazy year.  I figured I was home about eighteen days from the WPRA Finals in October until two days ago.  I rode my horse once from mid-November to December 30.  I haven't missed so many days in the saddle since I was in college and playing basketball.  Have to admit, after the first two days back at it, yikes, am I sore.  Just going to have to grin and get through it, this is the busy time for barrel racing here in Arizona, tons of great jackpots.  Great ground and great money.  And best of all, close to home so we don't spend so much on fuel.  Plenty of places to go run barrels and rope so lots to look forward to!

Well, thanks for visiting with me again.  May the new year bring you peace, prosperity, happiness, and faith.

God Bless and Happy New Year!!!

jolee

 11/24/2007 2:39:30 AM  

 

Well, the time has almost come.  The WPRA's trial against the PRCA begins on Monday, scheduled to go somewhere between five and eight days.  Mom and I are leaving early Sunday to go to Colorado, I have to testify and both of us want to be there to support this association.

It has been a very difficult and trying couple of years for this Board and the members and I sincerely pray that things will be resolved once and for all with the conclusion of the trial.  I deeply regret that it has come to this point but I do not regret anything we did.  We tried to protect our members and do what was fair by them.  Nothing else.

I'm not sure anyone really knows what the Board members have been through personally during this mess.  There have been plenty of attacks against some of us, both publicly and privately.  Hopefully, it will all be put to rest soon.

I read this recently and it spoke to me:  The Will of God never takes you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.

Hope you all had a happy thanksgiving.  God Bless.

jolee

 11/12/2007 1:28:38 AM  

 

WORLD CHAMPION IN OUR MIDST!

I am extremely pleased to be able to report that my mom won the WPRA World Championship in the heeling at the WPRA World Finals in Alvarado, Texas.  We had some tough luck going out of the average on our first steer and coming up one out of the money on the second.  The third round, held during the first perf, was no good to us either.  It was starting to get a little tense when we finally stuck one in the fourth round Friday night.  We ended up second in the that round and basically needed to catch something on the final one for Mom to cinch the title.  We did and ended up with an average check and she won the world.

I am constantly amazed at her:  less than two years ago, she was battling cancer, undergoing radiation treatments that left her very weak and tired all the time.  But she always tackles things with a "never weaken" attitude and positive outlook that I find hard to duplicate most of the time.  She is a fighter, a winner, and, most important, a good human being, one of my heroes, in and out of the arena.

The World Finals was a very fun time and a great event.  What a celebration of all the things women can do in rodeo!  There was plenty of barrel racing, as you would expect at a WPRA event, but also breakaway roping, tie down roping, and team roping.  I was very happy with how I roped all week, I ran one breakaway calf all the way through the loop and had to go with a second, but did not win as much as of course I wanted.  I did manage one go round check in the breakaway and a couple of team roping checks as well.

In the barrels, Belle started kinda rough in the first round with a 17.6 that was nearly a plus 5 at the third barrel.  She got quicker and stronger each round, though, ending with a 17.3 in the third go that placed in the round and put me into the last hole of the average.  I was thrilled to win a couple of checks and get some of that entry fee and gas money back!

We saved our best for last, running a 17.14 on Sunday in the Flat Out for Flat Screens 5D race.  It was good enough to win a check in the 1D and in the Adult Incentive, more gas money, yeah!  She felt awesome on that run and I really enjoyed feeling that speed and quickness again.

Mom came into the finals not only winning the heeling but also the all around but just really struggled in the breakaway.  She also had tough luck in the barrels, hitting the third in the third round and cruising to what ended up a 17.1 but probably could have pushed the fast time of the weekend.  Meanwhile, Debbie Robbins, who ended up second in the All Around last year, had an incredible finals, winning around $4800 to take home the title.  I guess if Mom couldn't win, I thought it was nice for Debbie to come back from a tough finals last year and win it all.

On the All Around front, Mom made up for it at our Grand Canyon Pro Rodeo Association finals.  She placed in both rounds and the average of both the breakaway roping and barrels (she won the barrels!) to take home the All Around Championship.  That is the second time she has won their AA title. 

I went into the finals winning the barrels and AA but didn't really have the weekend I had hoped for:  after not missing a calf in competition since Labor Day, I missed my first loop the first day and it went downhill from there.  Belle and I won the first round of the barrels but had a really bad run the second day.  I was lucky to end up second in the average there but with no go round money, and Mom's spectacular weekend, I ended up second in the AA.  I was really bummed to not do well but thrilled that she won it.  She is always best when she needs to be, another quality that I so admire and wish I was better at.  She can come up with just what she needs to do, just when she needs to do it, more than most people I know.

Belle and I did (barely) hang onto the barrel racing title, which was exciting.  I had never won a year end title in the GCPRA so that was cool.  They gave beautiful saddles to the winners.  It really is a great association that is growing and prospering.  They try very hard to work with all the different aspects of the rodeo business, contestants, committees, contractors, personnel, to make it better for us all.  I sure appreciate everything their Board has done the last couple of years.

We have one more week of rodeo this coming weekend and then Thanksgiving and the WPRA's trial in Colorado Springs.  I am so glad it is finally here, it has been a long, tough year.

Thanks for visiting my site and hope that you all have a safe, blessed holiday season.

More later,

take care,

jolee

 8/9/2007 11:22:11 AM  

 

Well summer is winding down and we can already feel the fall in the air around here.  It has been incredibly busy the last month.  We had a decent Fourth of July and then took a ten day trip at the end of the month to Colorado and Idaho.

We have been focusing on WPRA sanctioned events, of course, such as the Colorado Pro Rodeo Association rodeos and the WPRA All Women's rodeos.  We spent a week in Garden Valley, Iadho for the 9th annual All Women's rodeo series hosted by former WPRA World Champ Jan Youren and her family.  This is a fabulous event, one we all look forward to every year.  It takes place on Jan's family old homestead and is nestled in this beautiful valley.  The arena is in a field and there is a river across the street.  So everyone takes their horses down to the river every day and let's them play in the water.  The whole crew of contestants also took a white water rafting trip on our day off from competition.  We did some Class IV rapids, which was new for me.  It was a blast, even though I got stuck in front of the boat and got soaked at every turn.  Our raft guides even showed up at the rodeo to cheer us on!

I really struggled with my roping while we were there but Belle ran awesome, winning three of the rodeos and taking a second and third.  (Yes, five rodeos in six days!)  Mom did well in everything, picking up quite a few All Around points so she is now the leader for the World Championship in that.  She has been reserve to the World in the all around twice before so it would be so awesome to see her win it all.  No one deserves to win more than she does.

We also hit another AW in Pahrump the first of August.  I got my act together finally in the team roping but my partners both struggled.  That's team roping for you.  Again, Belle was super in the barrels so I won some money there to make it worth the trip.

Things are really heating up for the WPRA with our finals coming in just two months.  This is going to be such a great event.  Hope all of you are making plans to be there, there are so many opportunities to qualify.  And it is not too late to get there this year!  See wpra.com for a late season offer to all you ropers.  We want the full 75 competitors in our team roping, breakaway roping, and tie down roping this year so positions are still available.

The WPRA is also considering sanctioning goat tying next season.  We will be having an open goat tying jackpot at the finals in fact to help gauge interest.  I believe this event will have at least $500 added.  If you are interested in entering, contact Sharon at 541-595-3903.  Please also take a moment to visit wpra.com and take our survey regarding the addition of this event.

I want to take a moment to send prayers out to my dear friend Faye.  We were roommates in college and she was diagnosed with cancer just three months after my mom received her diagnosis.  Though the doctors only gave her a few months to live, she is beating their expectations and is now nearly cancer free.  She has been through radiation, several bouts of chemo, and two brain surgeries.  Through it all, she has kept the faith and been positive of her recovery.  She is amazing!  And so is our Lord who has taken care of her.  Cancer is a terrible disease and taking care of yourself is so important in keeping it away from us.  It is especially difficult for those of us traveling a lot but we all need to try to eat better and exercise!  Fast food is the worst.  At any rate, just a reminder to everyone to take care of yourselves and your loved ones and don't foget to pray.

Well, that's it for now.  Our babies are all growing like weeds--the Sticks an Stones, named her Mayday but my dad calls her Sequel, is huge.  And beautiful.  Not that I am biased or anything.  She sure has a lot of big sis Belle's attitude though.  She is not very friendly.  Hope she turns out as good as big sis.

take care,

jolee

 7/12/2007 4:48:40 AM  

 

Not sure how another month got away from me without updating! 

I guess the time has flown by because we have been so busy.  Mom and I took over the WPRA office for a few months, until our trial with the PRCA is done.  We drove to Colorado right before the end of May and helped move us out of our office on Lake Plaze Drive.  It had been our home since we left Oklahoma in 1995!

We got what we needed and headed home.  It is going OK so far, I think, but I know we are a little behind.  Mostly everyone has been understanding and patient, which is great.  It has been quite a bit of work but I think we are getting the hang of it. 

Things are starting to take shape for the WPRA's first ever Women's World Finals Rodeo.  That is exciting to watch--can't wait for it to get here, I think it is going to be a terrific event.  How cool is it to have a week long celebration of women in rodeo?

Along those lines, Mom and I have been squeezing in some barrel races and ropings here and there, trying to be sure we get qualified to the WWF.  We went to three WPRA barrel races with PRCA rodeos--Tooele, Cedar City, and West Jordan, all in Utah.  HUGE THANKS to those committees for staying with the WPRA.  They were all great rodeos, very enthusiastic crowds and good ground to boot.  Mom won Cedar with a smoking run and I placed at both Tooele and Cedar.  What fun!  Cedar is a brand new rodeo and was a rousing success.  (Plus they fed us dutch oven dinner with home made scones--yum.)

We also went to Reno for the first ever Reno Rodeo Invitational Team Roping--Ladies Only roping.  Another great event--just for us girls!  They had 94 teams and everyone had a great time.  Mom and I won a go round check and came back fourth high call in the big average ($20K to first!) but had some bad luck.  It was so cool to rope for a big paycheck like that against other women ropers.  We'll definitely be back next year.

The Fourth of July was very up and down for us.  Belle ran awesome at Chinle, Arizona but the ground was not great.  We managed a fourth place check, which was good.  I drew the calf to win the breakaway there and pitched it in the dirt--dang it!  Breakaway roping can make you nuts.  Mom ran her calf through her loop and hit a barrel so she was kicking rocks.

We went to the Taylor, Arizona open rodeo, which they have been having forever but we had never been.  It was very fun and paid good too.  They run all the barrel racers in the afternoon and then the top 12 get to run in the perf that night.  I placed sixth on the first one, which I was thrilled with after Belle tripped badly on the first barrel.  Mom got the second barrel.  Coming back that night, Belle did not run well in the finals so we ended up with a goose egg there.

Then we hit the Red Ryder Round Up in Pagosa Springs, CO.  This has to be one of the most scenic rodeos in the world--it is so beautiful there!  Belle was spectacular and we won the rodeo and a cool buckle.  Mom and Bo also smoked one on 'em, winning third.  We had no luck in the team roping and I was too long in the breakaway.

Next we headed to Collbran, CO and West Jordan.  Bo and Mom nearly went all the way down at Collbran.  So I jumped on Twinkie in the roping saddle and it wasn't pretty.  I caught a hind leg in my curl in the breakaway (CPRA rules say slick neck only) and we missed our steer.  At least the drive from Pagosa to Collbran was incredibly, breathtakingly beautiful and we saw tons of deer and a bear on our way there.  (Though I could have done without the bear . . . )

We ended our Fourth with Window Rock, the AIRCA rodeo which was cosanctioned with our GCPRA this year.  What a terrific rodeo!  I won fourth in the barrels and it paid $1300!!!  I was very happy with that, it helped make up for the fuel on the previous trip.  Dad got to go with us and rope but I starved him, waiving it off our steer to be very fast.  Poor guy, we also blew two tires on one side of the trailer en route so he got stuck changing tires and all that and then didn't even get to throw his rope with me.  At least Mom turned him one . . .

Well, I guess that catches me up with the goings-on of the Lautaret crew.  It's been a tough year but also a fun one--we have been to a bunch of rodeos that we had not ever been to before so the variety has been a welcome change.  We had a blast at Tooele and would probably never have gone to it, under normal circumstances, because it crossed over circuit rodeos that we used to go to.  So it's been different, and I mean that in a good way!

Hope you all had a safe and happy Fourth of July.  We are taking a weekend off before going on a ten day run to Colorado and Idaho.

We have some clinics in the works for the fall so check back for finalized dates and locations.  If anyone out there would like to host one of our clinics, email me with details and we'll see if we can make it work.

Best of luck, be safe, be blessed.

take care,

jolee

 5/21/2007 2:29:32 AM  

 

Another fun filled weekend of rodeo action has come to a close!  Sometimes it's just so not glamorous to be on the road . . .

We started off Thursday in Payson at the WPRA All Women's rodeo.  We got rained and hailed on as we drove to get there but the weather was beautiful in Payson, thank goodness.  Mom was the queen of one-out, ending up seventh in both the breakaway and team roping--they paid six, of course.  But she did win the barrels!

I have been struggling with my roping and with my horse, Twinkie.  He is still pretty green in the breakaway and at Payson just seemed to think we were scoring our calf.  Just a little late, like half the arena.  He blew into him great, once we got going, and I roped the calf but we were much too long for the tough roping that it was.  It took a 3.0 to win something.

On the team roping side I roped very well, turning both my steers in the money but both partners had trouble and we ended up with two NT's.  That's team roping--you win lots when not roping all that great and get blanked when you rope terrific!

On Friday I played rescue wagon to some friends who broke down on the way to the Pahrump GCPRA.  It was nice to be on the giving end of saving someone after their truck dies rather than the receiving end.

The Pahrump rodeo was a mixed bag in terms of how I did.  I won the barrels the first day and Belle really tried hard and worked nice.  I won second the next day and she blew very wide off the third, which was frustrating.  Mom won third both days, so she was consistent.

She also split the breakaway on the first day.  She is roping so tough right now.  I missed both my calves, though the first one was not a good draw and it would have been tough to get him caught fast enough to win anything.  The second day I threw the most beautiful horn loop you have seen.  I tried to fish it on as there were so few down but to no avail.

The team roping was ugly.  Just no other word for it.  Twinkie and I are having heck with the scoring.  I broke out on Mom's both days.  The second day it didn't matter since I missed anyway.  Dad and I were sixth on our first one but they only paid three holes.  I missed his second one as well.  The steers were tough and very uneven.  Most of the money was won on the same few.  But I just struggled badly.  Back to the practice pen, I guess.

So that was the weekend, we won just about enough to cover our fees.  Could be worse, could be better.

Not sure what we will do with the coming weekend.  Hope you all have something fun planned!

Until next time, be blessed!

take care,

jolee

 5/17/2007 1:40:51 AM  

 

Well, here we go, it's been a month since I posted.  I don't know where the time gets to but it sure goes fast!

I'll start where I left off last time.  We had a great weekend at Norco and Tucson.  Mom and I both placed in both the barrels and breakaway at Norco and thanks to the high added money, walked out of there with quite a bit of money.  That always takes the pressure off to do well on the first stop of a trip.  We headed out of there for Tucson, which went incredibly well.  Belle really worked great and we won first both days.  That is probably the best she has felt in some time.  Mom rode Bo and also placed high both days.  All in all, a terrific weekend, lots of fun.

We got home Sunday night late and loaded up at 4 AM Monday to head for the airport.  We arrived in Colorado Springs about noon and I spent the rest of the afternoon at our attorney's office.  The WPRA's hearing for preliminary injunciton began Tuesday.  I was a little nervous about testifying, just because I had never even been in court before and because this is so important.

It was an incredibly interesting process to say the least.  I was the first witness out of the gate on Tuesday.  I thought our attorneys did a wonderful job and really laid out a case that was easy to follow.  It sure was sad to sit there and here the evidence of how the WPRA was undermined in negotiations and to see former WPRA leaders whom I used to have tremendous respect for saying things about the WPRA that I felt were untrue and definitely selling our organization very short.  When the PRCA's attorneys claimed in closing arguments that it was the PRCA who brought committees to the WPRA and was basically responsible for all the WPRA's success, and former leaders of the WPRA were agreeing with that statement, I felt like crying.  It was too sad to see our great history denied, the sweat and tears of the women who founded our organization ignored.

I want to say a big thank you to Ardith Bruce, 1964 WPRA World Champion, for coming to the hearing.  She has been a member since the beginning and told us stories about individual members like herself going to rodeo committees and asking them to have the WPRA at their rodeos.  She talked about the strides the organization has made, thanks to the many strong women who have been its leaders and members through the years.  It was uplifting to here the truth told by someone who not only witnessed it but participated, and to hear someone take pride in what the WPRA has accomplished.  Thank you to you, Ardith, for your role in getting the women of rodeo to the place they are today.

Unfortunately, the judge denied our motion for injunction in a short brief in which he referred to the WPRA as the Professional Women's Cowboy Association.  As our attorneys said prior to the hearing, the standard for granting an injunction is incredibly high.  It was a little discouraging but actually has no bearing on the outcome of this case at trial.  We still firmly believe that our case is strong and are proceeding ahead.  Our next step is an eight day trial by jury in late October.

After spending a week away, I came home to a very fat horse!  Belle has always done better with a steady diet of runs, precisely why she is a good rodeo horse.  Unfortunately for me, her brain had gotten fat too and our first run back at the Bakersfield rodeo was not a good one.  Luckily, she ran hard and we were able to pick up a check. 

I want to take a minute to thank the Kern County Sheriffs Reserve Stampede Days rodeo committee there in Bakersfield for supporting the WPRA and keeping us for the barrel race.  This has always been a favorite rodeo of ours and now we just have one more reason to love them!  Thanks for backing the WPRA!

Last weekend we went to a GCPRA rodeo at Shonto, Arizona which is a very small community on the Navajo reservation.  We had never been there before so it was kind of fun to try a new place out.  It is actually very scenic and they have a nice fairgrounds with good ground.  Belle was still not back on her game and ran right over the top of the first barrel.  It actually scared me a little because she hit it so square on.  Thank goodness Mom is roping so well, she won the breakaway and we ended up placing in the team roping, too.  So we made our fees back, which is not bad considering the trouble we had in the barrels.

On Saturday we hit the annual FFA roping here in Kingman.  The arena is actually close enough we could ride to it, if we wanted, which officially makes it the closest thing we go to all year!  While I roped terribly, Mom and Dad won the fast time in the #10 roping.  Since Mom was roping on our paint horse Chloe, that made it Chloe's first roping check!  She is doing incredibly well, this was just her second time away from the house.  Mom has also been breakaway roping on her at home and she is awesome to rope on.  We were hoping she would be ready to start hauling this time next year but I think that timetable is moving up rapidly.  She is doing very well on the barrels, too, so she is really turning into a valuable horse for us.

We are off tomorrow for the Payson WPRA All Women's rodeo.  This is an annual event held the Thursday before Payson's PRCA rodeo.  Unfortunately, the committee decided to go PWBR for the barrel racing sanctioning for the rodeo so we will just be there tomorrow for the AW event.  Over the weekend we are headed to Pahrump for the GCPRA rodeos.

Best of luck to all this weekend, wherever you are headed!

God Bless and take care,

jolee

 4/17/2007 11:25:15 PM  

 

Back at a rodeo, what fun!!!  We had a great weekend down in Cave Creek.  The Fiesta Days Rodeo is always fun, the crowds are great and the committee there has really worked hard on their ground.  It was awesome this year, with new sand mixed in there.

Thank you, thank you to this committee for their hard work and for supporting the WPRA!

We started our weekend off with the annual Cave Creek All Women's rodeo.  Mom and I did great!  We roped fourth and fifth in a very tough breakaway roping, the calves were sure salty.  Then we won the team roping!  Mom also placed third with her second partner, Valerie Howell.

Belle was on her game this weekend.  We won the WPRA race and the open 4D (gotta love those carry overs) on Friday with a 15.90.  Belle had been finishing up her third barrel much cleaner in the past three or four runs but we got a little wide.  Thank goodness she is so fast!

We ran at the rodeo on Saturday afternoon, first and second out.  Belle ran much harder than she had the day before but went even wider off that third.  I wasn't sure what to expect, time wise when I was pulling up but we ran a 15.52!  We won the rodeo.

It was so much fun to be back running in a rodeo, I haven't been at a pro rodeo since last fall.  The excitement and the crowd and the butterflies!  I really do miss that aspect of the rodeo business, the competition.  I remain hopeful that someday I will have the opportunity to make another run for the NFR as a WPRA member, that is the only way I will do so.  Time will tell . . .

On Sunday we went to a big roping right here in Kingman.  They call it the Kingman Classic and it has been happening every year for about fifteen years.  I won a saddle here once.  This weekend was not so good.  Mom and I won the go round money for the fast time in the first go in the #8 roping.  We were 16 on two and only needed to tangle up the third one to probably be high call in the short go.  The steer we drew had little bitty horns that sort of bent back towards me so I thought I would use my head and rope him around the neck, not take the chance of waiving it off.  Well, it sounded just fine until the steer stuck his front leg in my loop.  Sometimes the only thing more aggravating than barrel racing is team roping . . .

 Then yesterday, our mare Diesel had her baby!  Mom is calling the baby Mayday.  She is beautiful, a daughter of Sticks an Stones with three socks and a blaze.  She is Belle's little sis and we think is going to be the same color of brown.  Unfortunately, she is already showing signs of having Belle's attitude--she was nursing and suddenly fired out and kicked the barn wall for no reason.  Just like big sis.  Of course, we are all already in love with the little cuss . . .

We are going on the trail a little this weekend.  Headed to Norco, California on Friday for a big CCPRA rodeo that is co-sanctioned with our regional association here in Az, the GCPRA.  Then back to Tucson for a big, two day WPRA race sponsored by our Az Chapter.  The race is a benefit for Chapter Pres Joanie Cowden who broke her leg very badly at our last race in Parker.  Hope we get a great turnout and raise a ton for a tough lady who has done so much for our chapter and the WPRA here in Az.

I will try to update after the weekend but may not get a chance.  I have to go to Colorado Springs for the WPRA's first hearing next week.  So, I will update when I can but it may be a couple of weeks.

Until then, hope you are all blessed!

take care,

jolee

 4/8/2007 8:14:02 PM  

 

OK so five am was just too early!  We decided to spend Easter at home, which was good too.  Really enjoyed our church's Easter service and the time with my family.  No big deal to miss a barrel race, they always have more!

Hope your day was peaceful and blessed as well.

take care,

jolee

 4/8/2007 12:32:34 AM  

 

Just made it home from Las Vegas.  The clinic went great, we had a nice turnout, met some good people and had fun.  It was hot, though, over ninety degrees.  Thank goodness there was a little breeze to keep it from being intolerable.

Mom and I are just starting to do more lessons and clinics.  While she has been teaching horsemanship all her life and I have been listening to it all my life, I am just starting to teach myself.  I am really enjoying it.  The best part is when a student finally gets an exercise right!  I love to see the sense of accomplishment come over them and the excitement at the possibilities.  The group today all made great strides and improved their patterns just by learning the rail work and skills that we were able to teach them in a six hour session.  It was a good day!

Mom and I want to thank Curtis Fitzgerald and his family for organizing the clinic today as well as Joe (sorry didn't get the last name), Curtis' neighbor who loaned us his arena.  We enjoyed the experience and hope the students learned some things that will help them be more successful in their future barrel racing and riding endeavors.

Now the dilemma--do we stay home and enjoy a lazy Easter tomorrow, after church or do we load up early and head to Buckeye for a big Easter barrel race that is going on this weekend?  Tough call, I guess we'll have to see how we feel in the morning!

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE.  HOPE YOU ARE BLESSED TODAY.

take care,

jolee

 4/2/2007 12:05:36 AM  

 

Wow, April already!  Happy April Fool's Day to everyone.  We spent the day at a very nice Arizona chapter WPRA barrel race in Parker.  There was a good turnout and the weather was great.  Just feeling the sunshine soaking into my skin always makes me feel better about the world. 

The last month has been pretty quiet, we haven't been to many races.  We attended the Dixie Classic Futurity and Barrel Race in early March.  Belle and I placed in the 2D the first day and then came back on Sunday and won the whole thing!  It was a very smooth run and sure didn't feel like a 17.1 but that's exactly what it was.  The Dixie is a great race, very well run and they always give a tremendous amount of prizes.  Belle and I finished second in the two day average and won a beautiful headstall.

The race this weekend was our first race since Dixie.  Unfortunately, we got a barrel on Saturday and ran one out of the money on Sunday in the IBRA Open 4D.  But we picked up a 4th place check in the WPRA so that was nice.  Added a little to the total, so far Belle and I are ranked in the top 10 in the WPRA World Standings.

We have been roping quite a bit and that has been fun.  We went to a USTRC roping down in Bullhead City/Laughlin a couple of weekends ago.  We were talking, we have been barrel racing so much that we think that may be the first US roping we have made in several years.  Mom and I made the short round in the #9 but I waived it off the short go steer.  Mom and Dad also made the short go but had no luck either.  But it was still fun, maybe we will try to fit more of those into our schedules.

It has been a little strange to not be rushing off here and there to go rodeo.  The time at home has been a nice break.  I even took a day to spend with my best friend Kristyne at a spa.  That was a first time experience for me and I think I could easily become a Swedish massage junkie, if I could afford to!

We are giving a horsemanship/barrel racing clinic in Las Vegas this coming weekend.  That should be fun, Mom is such a great teacher and we both really enjoy watching people improve and learn.

The week after is the Cave Creek, Arizona PRCA rodeo.  The committee has decided to go with the WPRA for the barrel race so it will be our first pro rodeo of the season.  I can't thank these committees that stayed with us enough for their support, I know it has not been easy for them.  Cave Creek also hosts a WPRA All Women's rodeo so Mom and I will be dragging out the ropes for this one as well.

Well, more soon and hope everyone has a great week and a wonderful, blessed Easter.

take care,

jolee

 2/16/2007 10:32:12 PM  

 

OK, somedays I am a little more than technology challenged!

 Well, I am behind in the news because I have been gone quite a bit.  I will take it from where I left off.

We had a lot of fun at the WPRA Finals though I was disappointed in my performance.  Belle and I had mistakes in both DT runs, costing us penalties that would have equaled checks had we been clean.  The ground was great but a little different for Belle, she was not really liking it for some reason.

By the day of the $100K race, I was just hoping to make a clean run after all the troubles early in the week.  I drew 2nd out, which was good at that point because I could get done early and enjoy the race.  Belle ran a 17.3, we were a little wide off our third barrel, my fault.  After the week we had, I was very happy with it and honestly would take that time anywhere we go.

The race was amazing, one of the best barrel races I have ever seen!  Very exciting, both as a contestant and a spectator.  I can't wait for next year--hopefully I will be a little better prepared and Belle will have the ground figured out better also.  She is such a funny horse about things like that, very opinionated.

I believe the WPRA is making DVD's of the race available, if you didn't get to watch the RFD or webcast on barrelhorseworld.com, I highly suggest you buy a copy.  Or buy one even if you did see it.  So many great horses and great runs--when was the last barrel race you saw with five 16's on a full course!  A couple had barrels down but the times were still what they were.

In the Women's Finals, we just had no luck.  The first night our steer ran very hard and then let up just when I threw.  Somehow I ended up with a front leg so we were behind from the first.  The second night I finally caught one up but Mom had trouble, having to take two loops.  Then I just flat missed the third one.  Too much barrel racing, not enough roping the last couple of years.  That is a New Year's resolution for me, to get back to roping like I was a couple of years ago when Dad and I made our circuit finals roping against the guys.  I know I can do it, I just have not dedicated the time and effort to it that I should have here lately.  Unfortunately, there just are no short cuts in the world of rodeo.

Mom and Flirt, her futurity horse, did well, running their best time yet in the second go.  She made the futurity finals and placed in the average.  Flirt is trained incredibly well with a beautiful pattern.  She is just behind on the adding speed and quickness due to Mom's illness last year.  She is coming around though and will make Mom another stand-out horse, I believe.

We've been a couple of places since the finals, including a WPRA race in Marana last week, which Belle won.  She worked very nice and I think we are finally getting it together.

Earlier this month, I went and worked on a tv commercial for Dairy Queen.  That was a different experience!  They used my calf horse Roanie as the premise of the spot was something about a man dreaming he was roping calves.  I think it will probably be a cute commercial, can't wait to see it.  Roanie did great, she stayed very quiet despite all the big lighting equipment and people scurrying about and the fact that the actor riding her was very inexperienced.  I was proud of her, she kept looking at me like, what are we doing here?  She was cute and they all loved her.  Working on those things is an experience, lots of hurry up and wait.  Belle and I even did "background," though Belle was walking so slow that I don't think we made it into the shot before it was over!  Oh well, Belle will have to figure out a better way to get tv time!!!

That's about where we have been.  Looking forward to the next competition, next weekend.  Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day, I did.  Take care until next time.

 1/5/2007 5:18:50 PM  

 

OK I said next week and it ended up several!!!!  Sorry everyone.  The time really seems to get away during the holidays.  Hope you all had a happy and blessed season.  Ours was really nice, very peaceful and relaxing.  We spent a couple of days in Vegas, just kicking around, and Christmas at home.  Then I went to northern California with Allan for about a week.  A good time was had by all!

Our Turquoise Circuit Permit Finals barrel race was great!  The turnout was really nice and the weather even held up--it was supposed to rain but the sun was shining.  Kathee Martin, who had a terrific season in 2006, won both rounds and obviously the average.  There were quite a few good runs and I think everyone enjoyed the race.  Thanks to our sponsors, Desert de Oro Foods, Mission Bank, Necessity, and Santa Maria Co-op, we had prizes for all winners in the permit finals, WPRA DT, AW4D open, youth, and senior.  There were also awards for all twenty-nine permit holders who entered the finals.  Thanks to all our help and sponsors and of course the WPRA members who showed up to compete.

We are heading out to the Az Chapter's first race of 2007 down in Phoenix for the weekend.  Our chapter is a truly wonderful organization.  It is open to all WPRA members who live in Az and members earn points at all WPRA sanctioned events.  They give awards to all members, plus top ten for cards and permits.  Their website is awpra.com if you want to check them out!  They put on more than twenty WPRA events each year.

The big excitement is the approach of the WPRA MEGAFinale event.  Mom and I have qualified in the team roping again.  We are really looking forward to competing there--we qualified last year but were unable to go due to Mom's cancer.  So many blessings to count when we nod our heads this year!

Mom also has her paint mare, Flirt, in the futurity finals and I entered up in the WPRA's Richest Run, the race with a $100K to the winner pay-out.  Boy would that be a good time to make a great run!  I think the finals will be tremendous fun, can't wait to get there.

Remember it will be webcast on barrelhorseworld.com!

Hope everyone is having a great first week of 2007!  More next week before we leave for Texas.

take care, jolee

 12/6/2006 2:47:08 AM  

 

Happy Holidays everyone!  Looks like I am finally back on line and able to update my news.  Thank you very much to the crew at Barrel Horse World for taking on my site after Rodeo Buzz shut down.

 My life since August has been pretty much all WPRA, all the time.  The other members of the Board of Directors and I have poured our hearts and souls into trying to save this association.  I think we have a tremendous future ahead of us, one of which our founding sisters would be proud. 

The Board and several of the top fifteen barrel racers had the opportunity during this crisis to be on a conference call with Billie Jean King, founder of the Women's Sports Foundation and the leader in women's rights in sports.  She told us about the trials she and other women tennis players faced when the men of that sport broke away from them.  Now they are playing for millions of dollars and she let us know that we can do it too!  The key is to control your own destiny, control the business, and create your own opportunities for the women of rodeo.

 That is exactly what the WPRA has set out to do, create more opportunities in addition to the ones that have been there in the past.  Our web site lays out much of this new plan, wpra.com.  We will be having a youth division in the future with its own finals along with the WPRA World Finals.  There will be scholarships available.  We will also award bonuses to the fastest mother-daughter team at the finals.  I think that program will make for great watching and excitement.

While the WPRA Board met in Las Vegas during the WNFR, we had contact with many rodeo committees.  In the past the WPRA has always bought booth space at the trade show with the PRCA's Committee Convention and we have bought badges to participate in the convention so that committees would have access to us.  This year we were denied the right to be there at all and the new barrel racing subsidiary was a part of all the meetings. 

So, several of us went and stood outside the convention hall where all the meetings were taking place and spoke to committee people as they left.  We let them know where we were meeting and quite a few took time to come speak to us.  They wanted clarification from all the misinformation they were getting from the PRCA.  Quite a few committed to having a WPRA barrel race at their 2007 rodeos.  The sum total was that it was very positive, for the most part.

This has been a difficult time for all of us, committee people have been put in the middle as have our members.  The WPRA did not want this, we realized it was a bad move for the rodeo business but we also felt we had a duty to our members to demand justification of any bills we paid on their behalf.  Quite frankly, I believe that if we had been a bunch of men, we would have been praised for our fortitude, for taking a stand, and being savvy business people.

Now many of our members feel they have no choice but to join the new subsidiary.  I sympathize with them, of course, because Belle is finally feeling ready to go again and I was looking forward to making another run for the WNFR like so many others. 

But I also believe that we always have a choice. 

So I choose not to support the new organization.  To me, agreeing to abide by the rules of the PWBR is like taking everything the WPRA worked 60 years for and throwing it all out the window.  To me, no rodeo, including the WNFR, is worth losing my right to have a say in what happens with the barrel race, to handing over all control of the barrel race to the PRCA.  I am a PRCA member and they can't take care of the events they have been handling for years--what makes anyone think they can handle the barrel race?  They take steps to prevent their own members from having any say as evidence by the changes in the proxy vote rules and the fact that there are at least two members on their Board of Directors who were not re-elected by their constituents. 

Everything that has been written by them is insulting to me--they claim we should be "applauding them" for being on the cutting edge of women's rights.  Is that why the women have no vote?  Why their Board has almost no power in the governance of the barrel race?  Why there are three men governing the women on their Board of Directors?

My sincere wish is that the women of rodeo, who are known for their independence and strong spirits, will reject this takeover attempt by not buying their cards in the new subsidiary.  Even a short boycott, a month or two, would turn this whole thing back in the right direction, back toward the women running their own event.  It is difficult to make personal sacrifices for the greater good of the whole.  But our daughters and grand-daughters are counting on us to preserve their association and their event, just as Thena Mae Farr and Nancy Binford and Margaret Owens did for us sixty years ago.

On the personal side of things (which there has been little of since August!) Mom and I are once again hosting the Turquoise Circuit Permit Finals this weekend for all WPRA permit holders in our circuit.  This year's event will be held in Wickenburg, Az at Horseworld Arena.  We have always had tremendous support for this event and we always have a lot of fun too.  I am running Belle, haven't made a run on her since Thanksgiving weekend and Mom has been running her futurity horse, Flirt.

Hope everyone has a great week and I'll update next Monday on the permit finals.

take care,

jolee

 11/15/2006 3:29:37 PM  

 

Hi Jolee.  I think we have your journal fixed now and ready for NEWS from you.  Looking forward to working with you and thanks for the opportunity.  Maybe you can catch us up with what has been going on with you since August when you last signed on.  

 Dave Mattern
Barrel Horse World

 8/23/2006 12:12:34 PM  

 Last Update for Now

I am sorry for not posting in so long but so much has happened in the last month. First, this will be my last post for a little while--Rodeo Buzz has decided to close down its web site, which is how I update. Until I handle the move of my site, I won't be able to update. I promise to try to get this done as soon as I can.

The biggest issue of the moment, however, is what the PRCA is attempting to do to the WPRA. The PRCA Board voted on August 16 to start their own barrel race. The two associations have been in negotiations for about a year.

In a nutshell, the PRCA contends that the WPRA owes them money for programs which the PRCA provides that directly benefit the barrel racers. The WPRA has agreed from the beginning that we should pay our own way but has asked, and was promised through last year's agreement, for a financial analysis to accurately quantify how much we should pay.

WPRA members already pour nearly half a million dollars into the PRCA's Procom Central Entry. We account for about seventeen percent of the entries yet cover about one third of the cost. In addition, we pay around $50,000 per year to the judges and about $70,000 a year into the circuit system through payments made with each rodeo entry.

The financial analysis was promised to us by the first quarter of 2006 and has still never been provided. The WPRA Board is not willing to just pay any number picked out of the air without some justification as to where the number comes from and will not agree to financial terms which would all but eliminate a majority of its members from being financially able to continue to compete.

As some of you may know, I serve on the WPRA Board of Directors and have for six years now. I also hold a PRCA card and compete in their rodeos in the team roping with my dad, who is a gold card holder. I will NOT be competing in PRCA approved barrel races if it comes down to that. I doubt that I will even renew my PRCA membership to team rope. I love the WPRA and feel that such abandonment of our association is a betrayal to all the ladies who came before us and paved the road for all the opportunities that now exist for our members.

WE made the rodeo barrel race what it is today and now the PRCA sees a successful product and wants to steal it from us.

I do not feel good about such a move and do not believe that they can create a better situation for the barrel racers than we have now with sixteen officers and directors who compete and understand our sport lobbying across the nation for us.

If our event becomes PRCA, who will call individual rodeos and make sure that someone is working their ground? Or that they have a safe alleyway set up? How do we know we won't face even more limited entry rodoes, as the PRCA contestants do? Will our entry fee and pay off scales be changed to reflect theirs?  Who will ensure that we are getting equal prize money, as our Board stood up and demanded in the late 1980's? The fact is we already have a group working on our behalf on these and other issues. The WPRA directors do all these things and more already and WE got equal money for our rodeos without help or even support from the PRCA.

The truth is that such arbitrary treatment is what spurred those 38 ladies to gather in San Angelo, Texas in 1948 and form the Girls Rodeo Association. Their purpose then has not changed for the modern WPRA: to promote and protect the women of professional rodeo.

The WPRA members and all barrel racers must stand united on this. We will win this battle and come out better in the end if we do. This is a history making time for the WPRA, I believe. We won't stand for them to stamp out the oldest women's professional sports organization and the ONLY women's rodeo association in the nation.

Please look to wpra.com for the most up-to-date information on this battle. When the time comes, let your voice be heard in support of the WPRA.

Thanks for supporting my site and hopefully I will have a new server lined up soon. take care,


jolee

 

 6/4/2006 2:13:15 PM  

 After taking the Memorial Weekend off, we were back on the rodeo road this week. We ran Wednesday night at Silver City, NM and then drove over to Santa Maria, CA.

Silver City went well, I left winning the rodeo and ended up second, I think. Belle worked very well and has always worked for me in that arena. It is a fun rodeo, there is always a good, loud crowd. We were actually in the slack but they run it with their bull riding and sell it like a performance.

Thursday was a very long day as it is a fourteen hour drive to Silver City from Wilcox, where we spent Wednesday night at a friend's house. It seemed like we would never get there! It has been a while since we did a long trip like that so neither Mom nor I are in shape for it. It was actually a good warm-up for the upcoming Fourth of July run!

We ran in slack Friday morning at Santa Maria. Belle and I ended up 12th, just out of the money for the round. She ran hard but I knew our turns weren't as sharp as we needed. It was a tough barrel race, too.

We came back in the Saturday afternoon performance for our second round. We were able to make a few adjustments and it really showed up in our time--we took three tenths off our first round, running a 17.21. That was sitting second in the round and also second in the average when we left with just twelve ladies to run.

I was so excited with our time and our run. It has been some time since Belle has clocked that fast on a full set. I feel like we are really starting to regain our form, I am finally finding my spots and having patience in our runs and Belle's confidence is showing more and more with each run. I can't wait to get to Reno and the big Fourth of July rodeos!



Hope everyone had a great weekend--more later!



 

 5/22/2006 11:14:55 AM  

 

Mom and I had a pretty good weekend. We went to Payson, Arizona for an all women's rodeo plus the WPRA rodeo and then to Willcox, where they had three all women's rodeos.

Payson went well, we were 6.8 in the team roping to win first. It was a fun run to make, Mom really stuck the steer right on the corner. Then we both placed in the DT barrel race.

We were in the slack Friday morning for the rodeo and both made nice runs. Mom outran me by 1/100th of a second! We left winning second and third--she ended up splitting second which bumped me to third. It was great to have both of us do well though.

Dad and I were entered to rope but he pulled the ligament that runs across the top of the foot and is stuck in an immobilizer boot. It's been no fun for him but hopefully we are getting him on the road to recovery and he'll be back in the saddle again soon.

The first day at Willcox was OK--Mom won the DT on Twinkie, she had run Bo at Payson both runs. I decided against running Belle twice on Friday so I turned out my run that night. We had no luck in the team roping.

I rodeo Twinkie on Saturday for the DT and won first with Mom taking second on Bo. She also won second in the team roping with her second partner so it was a good day for her. I missed both of my steers, which really makes me mad!

Sunday I decided to ride Belle in the DT and we were able to take another first. Mom rodeo Twinkie and placed also. Again, bad luck ruled the team roping.

All in all, we did well, though and managed to make a little money over and above the fees and diesel. That is always the goal and not always easy to do. We were proud of all the horses, especially Twinkie who was pulling double duty as the heading horse and barrel horse, for both of us.

We have a little break from rodeo-ing this weekend, looking to take some of the young ones to a couple of jackpots. We head off next week for Silver City, NM which is one of our favorite circuit rodeos and Santa Maria, CA.

Santa Maria holds a special place in my heart because I won it in 2002, running in my pajamas. Not on purpose but because we were running late and would have missed our runs had we stopped to put on jeans and button down shirts. Anyway, it made for a great story, especially since Belle worked awesome and won the first round on that run. We came back the next day in regular clothes and won second in the round so everyone said I should have stayed with the pj's!

On a very sad note I want to send condolences and prayers out to the family of Mikel Moreno who passed away Friday following a long battle with leukemia. There is information on wpra.com regarding where to send contributions and cards so please consider taking a moment to do so.

Hope everyone has some fun planned for the Memorial Weekend.

Take care everybody. Jolee

 5/15/2006 2:40:31 AM  

 Belle was just fantastic this weekend! We went to a big Wrangler Divisional Tour held in conjunction with a Rough Stock rodeo in Victorville, California on Saturday and won second. Then we went to the new rodeo in San Diego and won fifth.

Belle seemed to find another level this weekend which is really ex

citing but I had a little trouble keeping the pace. I am going to have to get in gear to keep up with her! San Diego was held in the Sports Arena, which had a rodeo for many years a while back, and it was a 13-second pattern. It has been a long time since Belle and I have run one that short so it was a little wild, from my viewpoint anyway, but fast. It was nearly a plus-five run as I kicked the first barrel coming around it and it tipped very hard but luckily stayed standing.

Mom did not have any luck, tipping a barrel at Victoville and running just a bit off the pace in San Diego. But it was fun spending Mother's Day together, we got to have a nice lunch at the Olive Garden which was just a couple of blocks from the Sports Arena, before the rodeo.

I feel so blessed to have Belle coming back around, especially after falling at Clovis. We made an adjustment with her shoes, putting her in aluminums in front and she has really been firing ever since. She couldn't be getting it together at a better time with the big summer rodeos just around the corner and the Summer Tour starting at Reno.

This weekend we go to our circuit rodeo in Payson. Dad and I are also entered in the team roping and we've been getting to practice much more than usual so I think we have a good shot to win something.

I'll be heading on Roanie the Good Pony since Twinkie is off for some R&R for a little while. Then Mom and I are hitting four WPRA All Women's rodeos. They are a lot of fun for us and we hope to do well enough to have a shot at making the Women's National Finals, which is a wonderful rodeo.

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day and have a wonderful week.