rodeo

I love horses. I love barrel racing. I always have. My family does not consist of rodeo participants or ranchers, but somehow I found it. In high school my friends and I would dream of hitting the rodeo trail and getting swept off our feet by the cowboys. It seemed like it was so far fetched. Turns out that dream was closer than I thought, but reaching the goals within it are close to impossible.
After four years in college, without anything but watching rodeos on tv or when they come to town, I had forgotten the dreams from high school. I never thought I would own another horse. I was trsndformed into a city girl.
Two years later, my roots came back. I owned my first horse. A year after that, a move to the country to live on acerage with the horse.  I purchased a trailer and began going to jackpot barrel races. Over the years and through two horses, I am now purchasing my pro rodeo card and trying to get to as many rodeos as possible.
There is a catch. I am on the rodeo trail but I don't leave my home state much and I don't win a lot.
Rodeo has changed so much over the years. It is all about who wins the most money and that person is the one the focus is on. I do this because I love it. I like the thrill, the adrenaline rush when the crowd roots for me,and the good people I meet along the way. The big money winnners are seen along the way, but they breeze in and out and don't talk much. It is sad.
Although I didn't grow up with it, it was around me and the people that competed in it were wonderful people. It wasn't about the money. When did things change???
It is also a challenge to reach the goals within the sport because I want to be able to compete at Cheyenne Frontier Days, National Western Stock Show, Ft. Worth and many other big rodeos. Getting there when you don't have an automatic horse or did not grow up in a rodeo family is next to impossible. I won't give up. I will keep trying. I can say that at least I am living my dream of being in rodeos, and I can only hope that someday rodeos will go back to what they used to be. A time where everyone went and had fun. There  and everyone helped everyone out and talked to them no matter who it was. Money has gotten in the way of that.