The Only Thing That Stays The Same Is... Everything Changes!

Not even one month into the near and already so much has began to evolve in 2014. I promise I haven't completely quite my duties as a rodeo queen. I've taken a bit of a "step back" from all of the public appearances and school visits for a bit to get refocused on my own schooling.

This scholastic semester is by far the hardest yet! Every class is going to be a challenge but it will be doable. I am also preparing to take the LSAT on February 8th so I have set aside an hour a day to study which gets to be time consuming between school, work, riding, working out and class work! The LSAT determines whether or not I get into law school; it also costs $165 to take... so I am aiming to pass it on my first attempt!

After February 8th; I will resume school visits and some other very exciting events! Another changing factor is my occupation. Due to my midday, rigorous classes I was unable to continue working for Farm Credit. After sadly leaving that family, I quickly gained the opportunity to work more with my other second family at the Parsons Stadium office. I absolutely love going to work everyday and being a part of helping in the office, preparing for events and handling marketing and social media aspects.

Now, enough of my personal, life... I just thought I'd offer a bit of an excuse for my lack of queening-ness! On Martin Luther King Jr Day, the University of Arkansas did not have classes so I decided to do some volunteering. We (Shiloh & I) started at the Fayetteville Animal Shelter, where I took photos of dogs and cats for the shelter's web page. You can see some of the pictures on my photography page: KP Photography. I'll be sure to post a link. Maybe you need a new furry friend. I found out that it's not a good idea to where queen clothes while doing this (I thought I was saving myself from having to change clothes before our next stop). In one pen, I dog literally jumped into my hair and knocked off my hat. I'm sure I was quite the sight! After spending several hours photographing and playing with other dogs... I got back into the truck with one very resentful dog of my own. One would have thought that I had traded Shiloh in because he wouldn't even look at me!


But I was soon forgiven when he began to get all of the attention at the Shiloh Nursing & Rehab center. We spent several hours visiting with the residents. Shiloh was by far the star of the show!

Horse Tails, Horse Tales and other Tales

Last week, I read an article on the front page of the Northwest Arkansas Times about a program called Horse Tales for Literacy. It is a program designed to encourage students to read and get them excited by allowing them a hands on opportunities. Find out more by going to: http://horsetalesliteracy.org/

After reading it, I knew I wanted to get involved so I got in touch with those in charge and soon found myself at the front door of Harp Elementary in Springdale, Arkansas. At Harp I was placed at a station that talked about the uses of horses around the world, specifically divided between work horses and recreational horses. Can you guess what my section was?? You got it, recreational = rodeo! I spoke to 4th grade students from Harp, Lee, George and Jones elementary school about the 6 events in rodeo that use horses and briefly described each. The time was a bit restraining on how much elaboration I could do but nonetheless, I great way to introduce kids to the sport and promote my rodeo. I was sure to mention Rodeo of the Ozarks, since it's in their hometown. When beginning the presentation, we ask the kids, "Can anyone name some uses of horses?" One student exclaimed "To eat them!" another quickly and seriously retorted, "no, that is illegal." I'm thankful I didn't have to address that one much, I quickly diverted by saying that here in the U.S. we do not because we consider horses to be a companion animal but they do have many important uses...

This morning I was at Bayarri Elementary and stati

oned at the grooming/ shoeing area. The kids have a journal of questions that they are supposed to filling out as the rotate stations. In this group, I was able to speak more and the kids seemed to enjoy it more because of the hands on factor. I had a table of grooming utensils set up and briefly told the kids about the most important ones while letting them touch each one. Some of the comments and questions asked were very interesting because they ask things that a horse person, never thinks twice about. Thankfully, when preparing to run for Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks, I had a great support team (especially my boyfriend) who helped prepare to answer questions on the spot. I can attribute my ability to think quick because of the pop up questions he would ask me and I would rattle of an answer in a heartbeat. After giving the students a run down of grooming, we split them up into two lines and each child got to brush a horse several times then pass it to the next person. While they were brushing, I asked them if they had any other questions about horses or about me. By the second part of the day, I though I'd heard it all when the ultimate question was asked, "How do you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" A quick wave of panic probably swept over my face but all day I had been relating horses to the kids so my response, "just like you boys and girls have different body parts, so do horses. If you look underneath them, you can tell the difference." In another group, we some extra time so I asked if they had questions about me. One question turned into another and one student asked to touch my belt buckle so I let her... bad choice because if you let one, the rest of them have too as well. As if that wasn't a lesson learned, another kid wanted to see my crown so I squatted down to let him see it. And... you guessed it, all of them had to see it. The result? My leg workout for the day was one really long squat!




I had such a great time, not only working with kids, but getting to know the kind people behind hosting such a spectacular opportunity. Jacci Perry and the team presented me with the sweetest box of gifts in order to thank me for helping but in reality, no thanks is needed because it was such a rewarding time. I look forward to the next Horse Tales for Literacy events in Bentonville and Rogers around March or April.

Hope everyone is staying warm!

Granny's Quilts of Love

I called up my grandma to see if they needed help serving food, setting up or handing out items at the upcoming auction. Instead, she invited me as 2013 Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks to help draw door prizes!

I attended the 10th Annual Granny's Quilts of Love Auction on Saturday August 24th. This year over 280 baskets of items from local companies was donated and over $16,000.00 was raised! That's a new record. This organization of sweet ladies makes quilts for children at Arkansas Children's Hospital; all of the proceeds to go to purchase the material. These quilts are more than just gifts, they are a representation of hope, home and love for kids who do not always have those three things. 

I spent Saturday evening in my hometown, visiting with old friends and families and of course, making a few new ones!