Cheyenne Frontier Days- The Daddy of ‘Em All

            On Thursday July 26, 2012 I flew out of the San Antonio Airport bound for Cheyenne Frontier Days- The Daddy of ‘Em All. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by the rodeo committee and the other visiting state queens.  I was anxious to get started and went straight to the rodeo grounds to help with the kid’s rodeo where we played numerous games. The children rode a mechanical bull, practiced their roping skills, and barrel raced with reliable stick horses. I had a blast spending time with all the kids, and being able to help them.

            The rodeo was like no other I had been to before.  I was in awe when I saw the size of the arena. There is no doubt why they call it the Daddy of ‘Em All. The rodeo was truly a great experience and I was so proud to cheer on all the cowboys and cowgirls. After the rodeo, the state queens and I went to the autograph signing.  It was a real pleasure to visit with people from all over the world. I met rodeo fans from France, Australia, and China. A couple from France told me that they wanted to move to America so that their daughter could be a “real cowgirl.” Immediately after the autograph signings, the out of state queens and I went to the VA Hospital. I enjoyed hearing the stories from the Vets about the planes they flew, the ships they were on, and all the places they had traveled. While at the VA Hospital we were lucky enough to join in on their Bingo game. I sat with Norm and Mary, and I was excited to help them win a game.

 

            The pancake breakfast was up and going at 8 a.m. Friday morning. I was surprised to find out how many people came out to this event. Together the volunteers and I fed over 10,000 people that morning! I had fun tossing pancakes out of the truck and when it was my turn to catch them – I did a pretty good job to not to let any of them fall off the platter. After all of the hard work of making the pancakes, the girls and I got to sit down and enjoy some for ourselves. 

           Friday’s rodeo performance was another great rodeo and I signed tons of autographs. Hank Williams Jr. put on an entertaining concert. Prior to going to Cheyenne friends had told me about the “Wild Horse Racing,” but I don’t think the stories I heard did the event justice. As I watched the event for the first time in my life, I quickly realized that this event was truly “wild” and very entertaining to watch! “Wild Horse Racing is a team sport, in which the cowboys compete to be the fastest team to saddle a “wild horse” and make a lap around the track. While many of the horses did get the best out of the riders, there were a few teams to make qualified times and complete the lap around the track.

            Saturday morning was the parade in downtown Cheyenne. It was such an honor to be representing Texas. I truly felt like royalty riding down the parade route and hearing people cheer, “Miss Rodeo Texas!” After the parade, we were off to the rodeo again. I was asked to commentate on the radio during some of the events. I really enjoyed being able to do the radio interviews. After the rodeo we had a sold out concert performance by Blake Shelton, who put on an awesome show!

It was so exciting to watch the finals in Cheyenne! Several of my favorite cowboys and cowgirls picked up big wins in Cheyenne. Being able to cheer them on in the championship round was a great way to end such a wonderful trip. After all these years of looking at pictures from “the Daddy” I can now say that I have seen it first hand, and was even lucky enough to be a small part of this great rodeo!

            I would like to thank my host family, for welcoming Miss Rodeo Utah, Chenea Shiner and myself into their home. Also, I would like to extend a big thanks to Miss Arlene Kingsinger for organizing everything and inviting me to Cheyenne. I will never forget my first experience at the Daddy of ‘Em All.

 

Happy Trails,

Rosanna Pace

2012 Miss Rodeo Texas