Miss Rodeo Texas Blog

After our fun trip to Colorado for the ProRodeo Hall Of Fame Inductions, I was excited to be back home in Texas and start attending more of our own state’s events!  First, I traveled to Denton for the North Texas Fair and Rodeo. My trip started at the Miss North Texas Fair and Rodeo queen pageant as I attended their horsemanship competition as well as the modeling portion.

 The girls all did a great job and I was glad I was able to be there to support them! Each night at the rodeo, we all got to ride in the grand entry at the beginning of the performance, in addition to our queen runs. I really enjoyed getting to work with the stock contractor, Sammy Andrews, and his team. They were very helpful, provided me with great horses to ride, and even let me push cattle out with them during the rodeo! I love getting to be involved and help with rodeos in any way that I can so I had a lot of fun with that. Thank you to Jana Akins and Gayla Bolin for putting on the queen’s contest and being so hospitable during my stay in Denton. I loved getting to spend time with y’all and appreciate everything you did for me!

I traveled to Fredericksburg the following weekend for their Gillespie County Fair. I was honored to ride in the parade and was even presented with a plaque for being the “Honorary Parade Marshall!” Everyone was so friendly and I always love getting to spend time in such a pretty area.

The next week I went to Boerne for the Kendall County Fair and Rodeo. I was asked to be a judge for their Kendall County Fair and Rodeo Queen pageant and let me tell you, that was a tough job! All of the girls were so beautiful and personable that it was difficult for us judges to pick the winners. As surprising as it may be, I think I’m more comfortable on the other side of the judges’ table rather than being a judge myself! The committee put on a very nice pageant and I think they have a great group of girls to work with this year.

 The rest of the weekend, I attended their rodeo put on by Lester Meier Rodeo Company. I enjoyed getting to spend time with their newly crowned queens as we helped with the mutton bustin’, calf scramble, and visited with fans on the grounds. I also got to be introduced as I rode into the rodeo each night and was honored to carry the American flag the last night during their all bull riding performance.

Thank you to Alison Burkholder for inviting me to the event and for making sure I was well taken care of while I was there! And thank you to everyone else that helped put the fair and rodeo on. Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming which I am always grateful for!

Blessings,

Alex Ingram – Miss Rodeo Texas 2014

August 7-11, Marjorie Murphy, Frances Bendele, and I traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado for the ProRodeo Hall Of Fame Inductions. It was an exciting time as the ProRodeo Hall Of Fame celebrated its 35^th anniversary with many activities throughout the weekend.

My first morning there, all of us visiting queens made a trip to the Outlets at Castle Rock. We had such a fun time shopping and signing autographs for visitors. That night, we attended the Cowboy Ball at the ProRodeo Hall Of Fame, honoring the 2014 inductees. It was a wonderful night filled with great food, auctions, live music, and beautiful dresses.

The inductions were held Saturday morning at the sculpture garden outside of the museum. It was a gorgeous day as the ProRodeo Hall Of Fame inducted Pete Grubb, Wayne Herman, Glen O’Neill, Byron Walker, Miles Hare, and Spring Fling along with the rodeo committees from the Clovis Rodeo, Greeley Stampede, Rowell Ranch Rodeo, and the Snake River Stampede. Congratulations to all of the inductees on obtaining such an honor! Later that day, I attended the Douglass County Fair and Rodeo in Castle Rock. I loved getting to spend more time with some of the other state queens as we got to ride in the rodeo and help with the mutton bustin’.

Marjorie, Frances, and I spent our last day in Colorado sightseeing. We drove through thebeautiful scenery of the Garden Of The Gods and traveled to Manitou Springs to do some shopping. One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to visit the Broadmoor and havedinner at their Penrose Room. It is such an elegant place and we had a wonderful time visiting!

Thank you to Kent Sturman, the Director of the ProRodeo Hall Of Fame, for having us at this year’s inductions. He did an amazing job making it such a successful event and I was so glad I got to attend! Thank you also to Marjorie and Frances for taking me on this trip and treating me so well. I had the best time ever and it was all thanks to you. Y’all truly are the best and I hope you know how much I appreciate each of you!

Blessings,

Alex Ingram – Miss Rodeo Texas 2014

As I got ready to leave on my early trip to Cheyenne, I listened to the Pandora radio station and George Strait’s song “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” was the first song to randomly come on! What are the odds of that? Little did I know, that song was foreshadowing how my morning would go… Once I got to the airport, my suitcase weighed 65 pounds! I spent a good chunk of time trying to stuff those 15 extra pounds into my carryon and nearly tipped over in the airport from carrying my now overstuffed bags…But it’s alright, I hurried and I still made Cheyenne. 🙂

As soon as I got to Cheyenne, I was taken straight to Frontier Park for the rodeo. Cheyenne Frontier Days truly is unlike any other rodeo I’ve ever been to and I had SO much fun throughout my time spent there. During the rodeo, we kept busy by visiting with sponsors, passing out T-shirts to the crowd, and signing autographs after each performance. I was also able to be introduced in the rodeo arena and participate in the famous “fly by” where all of the state queens got to ride across the racetrack that surrounds the arena. Those horses definitely lived up to their name as they flew across the track and it was one of the best memories of the trip for many of us queens.

Besides the rodeo, I also got to take part in many other events that are special to Cheyenne! Friday morning, we flipped and caught pancakes at their Pancake Breakfast. It was so great to serve the community while promoting the rodeo and spending more time with my fellow state queens.  On Saturday, we got to ride in the Cheyenne parade which had a huge turnout. I loved getting to see the excitement of the crowd as we rode by! Later that day, we got to serve lunch to the contestants and their families. I really appreciated how generous and hospitable the Cheyenne Frontier Days committee was towards their guests and I was proud to get to be a small part of that. That Sunday, we were invited to Arlene Kensinger’s house. She is an incredible woman with an incredible house to match! Her love for the sport of rodeo is very apparent and I loved my time spent with her. After the rodeo performance that afternoon, we got to attend the Night Of Champions where the Cheyenne Frontier Days winners were awarded. Congratulations to everyone for your success at such an iconic rodeo!

Thank you to my host family, Gay and Wayne Spencer, for opening up their home and being so hospitable towards my roommate Katie Perry, Miss Rodeo Illinois, and I. We had such a good time together and I loved getting to know them all better. Thank you to Arlene Kensinger for being so genuinely caring and welcoming towards us visiting queens! And last but not least, thank you to EVERYONE at Cheyenne Frontier Days who made this trip so memorable. There are too many people to name but I hope each one of you knows how much I appreciated this trip of a lifetime!

Blessings,

Alex Ingram – Miss Rodeo Texas 2014