Silver Spurs Rodeo in Kissimmee, FL

I got sun burnt and I’m happy about it! Normally that would not be the case, but after this winter it was great to be out in the sun!
My trip to Florida was more than I expected; we had so much fun and I met so many wonderful people.
I arrived in Orlando last Wednesday night and was able to meet up with Miss Rodeo Utah, Chris Wade and Miss Rodeo Wisconsin Amanda Breintfield. Twelve other girls from around the country were already there along with Miss Rodeo America, Kelli Jackson.

Miss Rodeo America and I before air boating.

I stayed with Heather Hall, Miss Rodeo Florida and her family. Mark and Julie Hall are such wonderful people. They opened their house to us and made it our home for the week! They even cooked southern grits for us…I did try them, but don’t think I will be eating grits on a regular basis.

Thursday we had four school visits. The children were so excited; we talked about the sport of rodeo, explained a few events, and invited all of them to the Silver Spurs Rodeo.

Thursday night we were able to experience Florida hog hunting! We rode on buggies that looked like over sized 4-wheelers with tractor tires and drove around Deseret Ranch. We only saw one hog; he was rather small and looked like he needed some Iowa corn!

Then on Friday we went air boating on Cypress Lake. We saw alligators, both BIG and small, a few bald eagles and an assortment of birds. After air boating, the Hall’s opened up the house for everyone to enjoy lunch. Friday night was the first rodeo performance and Tough Enough to Wear Pink. All the visiting royalty helped with the grand entry and the tribute to breast cancer awareness. We stopped to eat on our way home from the beach and this friendly alligator was available for pictures.

Saturday morning we all loaded up and headed to Cocoa Beach. It was a little cloudy, but by the time we arrived the sun was shining and we were all able to dip our toes in the ocean.

Saturday night was another performance. We carried our state flags and again took part in the grand entry. Throughout the rodeo we walked around, visited with sponsors and signed autographs.

Some of us with Randy Johnston, he gave the sermon that morning. He works with Reality Ranch Ministry's.

Sunday morning a few of us attended Cowboy Church and then headed to the Special Needs Rodeo. There were over 50 children! I was paired up with Nicholas and his father Allen. We tried our hand at roping then Nicholas rode a steer and horse. He was also able to pet a goat.

Allen said that they had never been to anything like this before, Nicholas had a blast! At the end he received a trophy and bag of goodies. I really enjoyed myself, I love helping with Special Needs Rodeo’s.

Nicholas and I with his trophy.

The rodeo performance was at two on Sunday. Again the royalty helped with the grand entry and signed autographs during the rodeo. There were people from all over the world there; I talked to a few families from England!

After the rodeo we were able to go to Disney World. Miss Rodeo South Dakota, McKenzie Haley meant a family at the Special Needs Rodeo who worked at Disney World. Their daughter just loved the rodeo and was so excited we were going to go to Disney World with her. It was late, but we were able to make it on a few rides before the park closed. We all had so much fun! I can’t thank Mallory and her parents enough for taking us to the park.

All of the girls with Mallory at Disney World.

Thank you to the Silver Spurs Rodeo committee, my host family; Mark and Julie Hall and Mark and Laura Kessler for all of their generosity. I had an experience of a lifetime in Kissimmee and I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to meet all of these wonderful people. I really appreciate all of their kindness and generosity.

Until next time, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22

God Bless
Jordanne

Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa Coronation Celebration

Hannah Hilsabeck was officially crowned on Saturday night at her coronation in Winterset. Thankfully the weather held out for a little while, but the snow did start coming down towards the end so the drive home was longer than normal, but we should be use to that in Iowa...its not a normal day if we don't get a little snow right?? :)

It was a fantastic evening. Hannah has so much support behind her and I really look forward to our year together.

Hannah and I before her crowning.

There was a wonderful dinner, live and silent auction's as well as a king contest. The visiting royalty helped with her live auction and the auctioneer auctioned off a pie giving the highest bidder a chance to throw it in his face. Hannah was given the opportunity to throw the cream pie and she didn't miss!! It was pretty funny and a great idea to help raise money!

Rachel Bergren-Miss United Rodeo Association Queen, Jenna Kool-Leon Rodeo Princess, Shelby Chapman,-Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa 2009, Suzy Fife-Miss Rodeo Lenox and I during the live auction.

Rachel Burton, Miss NFPB and I during the coronation.

The night finished with live entertainment. I really enjoyed myself and it was nice to sit back and relax. I know that Hannah and I are going to have a great year together and I can't wait to start traveling with her!

One more day till Florida...just about packed and more than ready to go!


Until next time, "If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and he will stay one with us." 1 John 4:16


God Bless,
Jordanne

Loud music + excited little girls = A LOT of FUN!!

Friday night I was able to attend a father and daughter sweetheart dance in Winterset. There were over 100 first through fourth graders... boy was it fun! I sure wish I still had that much energy; those girls ran around and danced for over two hours straight, but by the end of the night a lot of the girls were being carried out by there fathers and grandfathers.

Miss Iowa, Katherine Connors and I danced and signed autographs throughout the night.

I am so thankful that the Winterset Park & Recreation Department puts on this dance each year with this being the fifth year…I don’t remember having anything like that as a child, so I really enjoyed myself!

I would also like to thank Ramona Davis; the recreational specialist for inviting me to attend! I hope this dance continues for years to come.

Below is a picture of my beautiful chaps, made by Cary Veach (Ankeny, IA) and vest made by Ashley Kelber (Rhodes, IA). I am so excited to wear this outfit throughout the year and can't thank them both enough for all of their help and support!

I would also like to thank Tony Evans for taking all of my pictures so far this year. He has been so generous and I really appreciate everything he has done!

I am in the process of packing....two days until Florida... SO EXCITED!!!

Until next time "Look at the Lord and his strength; seek his face always." Psalm 105:4

God Bless,

Jordanne

Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo

The week after my coronation I headed to the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo. There were a couple other state queens there as well, McKenzie Haley, Miss Rodeo South Dakota and Erin Heffron, Miss Rodeo Wyoming. We had so much fun! We really enjoyed getting to know each other a little more.
On Thursday we signed autographs and attended a couple parties before the Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls. The Sutton Rodeo Company provided the stock and we were able to carry sponsor flags throughout the show. It was a fun and exciting night!




On Saturday morning we went to the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo Queen contest. McKenzie held the title last year so we joined her at the speech and modeling portion of the competition. There were three wonderful girls competing for the title; I thought the judges were really going to have a tough decision; all three girls did a fantastic job! Later that afternoon we went and watched their horsemanship at the fair grounds. Teri Joe Weidner from Wolsey, SD was crowned the 2010 queen. I wish her the best of luck throughout her year. I know she will be a great representative for the stock show.

I really enjoyed myself in Rapid City; the stock show was so much fun! I also have family that lives out there so I was able to see them a little bit during my trip.
My next trip is in a couple weeks and I will be heading to Kissimmee, Florida! You have know idea how excited I am!! Don’t worry; I will enjoy the warmer weather for all of you!

Until next time, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

God Bless,

Jordanne

Miss Rodeo Iowa 2010

I’m living my childhood dream; my year as Miss Rodeo Iowa 2010 has started! I am so excited to promote the sport that I love and represent the great state of Iowa.

I ran for the title in Fort Madison in conjunction with the Tri-State rodeo last September. My duties as Miss Rodeo Iowa 2010 started right away. I was able to help Lindsey Ahrenholtz, Miss Rodeo Iowa 2009, out at the Waterloo PRCA Rodeo at the end of September. We had a wonderful time and didn’t realize we looked so much alike, but after three people called me Lindsey I thought we might need name tags.

Binion Cervi presented me with roses after being crowned. He along with his family have one of the larges stock companies in rodeo history; Cervi Rodeo Company.


In December I flew out to watch the Miss Rodeo America pageant at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. I was able to cheer on Lindsey and BOY do I have big boots to fill. Lindsey looked wonderful and did a fantastic job. It was a great opportunity for me to see what I need to start preparing for to compete for Miss Rodeo America 2011.



Lindsey and I at the Get Acquainted Party.


While in Vegas I was able to attend a bowling party for the all of the ladies in waiting from around the country. We had a great time and I met so many wonderful state queens. I really look forward to all of the traveling to spend time with all of these young women. I would like to thank the Miss Rodeo America board for having the party for us, we really had a great time!

Judy Rogers, MRI President, Shelby Chapman, Miss Teen Rodeo Iowa 2009, me and Paula Jameson, MRI National Director and Teen Director. We are waiting for our car at the New Orleans Hotel.

The first weekend in January I went down to attend Katie Chaffin, Miss Rodeo Illinois, coronation celebration. I had a great time and helped with the live auction. The food was great and Katie had a wonderful turn out!

The second week in January, Katie and I were able to attend the Denver Stock Show and market. Don and Shirley Staver of Afton, Iowa own a western store and were kind enough to let us ride along with them. We traveled in a pick-up so we had to pack everything in totes to go in the back. Katie and I need to start packing a little lighter or we are going to have to start renting a U-Haul!

We arrived in Denver on a Wednesday and stayed with some of their family, Rus and Laurie Dudek. They were so generous in letting us stay with them.
On Thursday Don and Shirley took us to a few western stores and then to the Roper Warehouse. We were so excited when they told us we could buy anything in the warehouse at wholesale price. There were rows and rows of shirts, this place was huge. I will have to say I did keep myself under control:)

Then on Friday we went to the Denver Market; this is a wholesale market for businesses only. Since we were with Staver’s we were able to order at wholesale prices and as queens we were also given a lot of free items, we really got treated like royalty!
We attended the Denver Stock Show and PRCA rodeo on Saturday. There were three performances and I was able to help carry sponsor flags and show off my beautiful chaps made by Cary Vetch of Ankeny. Along with helping carry flags I was able to help with the children’s mutton busting. It was a long day, but we had a great time and really enjoyed the stock show. Jodi Martin did a wonderful job organizing all the visiting royalty and really appreciated all of her hard work.

We were able to attend the Denver Market again on Sunday and Monday morning and for a couple of hours each day Katie and I signed autographs in the Tandy Leather Booth. These gentlemen were so generous and I can’t wait to wear my beautiful belts I received.
A huge thank you to Don and Shirly Staver for allowing us to ride with them, I can’t thank them enough.

I got home late Monday night, despite the fog; I knew I needed to get home to prepare for my coronation. I was very lucky to make it back to Lake City before the big ice storm.

On Wednesday we were hit with lots of ice, the worst storm I’ve ever seen. I didn’t know electrical poles could snap like they did and thousands of people were without power, but thankfully my family had a generator. We went into the community building Friday morning and found that there was still no electricity. As we set-up for my coronation I tried to keep a positive attitude and did lots of praying. Thankfully Saturday morning the electricity was back on! The weather wasn’t the best, but my coronation went very well. There were around 240 people who attended; several from out of state. I can’t thank everyone enough for coming and being so generous. Thank you to all of you who have donated your time, food and auction items. I would also like to thank all of you who bought auction items or gave money donations. What a blessing each of you have been, this was above all of my expectations.

Starting on the left, my dad, Lee and mom Joanne, my brother Evan (middle back) my sister Jayme Kuehl and nephew Nash and my brother-in-law, Nate.

I have more trips and pictures to come, but until next time...

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

God Bless,

Jordanne