The beauty of this week, in my mind, is the climactic energy we felt from the get-go. It was almost surreal to finally be in our "home court." The spotlight was finally ours, bearing with it a vibrant aura, just like we witnessed from the host courts of each rodeo we attended hitherto. We could finally relax without the pressure of inviting people to our rodeo and constantly advertising. The huge crowd that whooped and hollered each night furthered the support I have felt from this county in my summer adventures. I like to think of this week and the weeks leading up to it as a plot line. Prior to, our anticipation and excitement exponentiated similar to a book's rising action; this week, our patience and work throughout the year proved totally worth it. We reached the climax!
Tuesday, July 26 - This morning was relatively laid back and casual. Our only responsibility for the day was the Bucking Horse Stampede and the Kick-Off Dinner. I woke up (bright-eyed and bushy tailed I'm sure), and caught Buddy. Today was the only day it was not crucial for him to be spotless, so I took advantage of this by ditching the soap and giving him a quick, but thorough rinse. 12:00 - Brooke and I mounted our horses and followed the Dodge Pick-Up Men and Growney Stock Contractors out to a holding pen at the base of Chief Joseph Mountain. Upon arrival, the men made their way to Steve Rogers (CJD President) and a slew of contractors and distinguished get 'er done guys to pop open a can of Coors and socialize before the Stampede. Among the group was John Growney, the rodeo stock contractor that has supplied our rodeo with top notch stock for years, including the bucking horses we run down Main Street. John has a certain swagger and confidence about him as he mingles. One might make the conclusion that he presumes everyone knows who he is and visa versa (most people know who he is, but Brooke and I were slightly confused when we said hi and he replied by saying that we have grown up so fast... must have mixed us up with some other girls). We played along and waited patiently until the crew received the A-OK to commence the stampede. The stampede periodically starts at 1:00... theoretically. I mention this because in past years, the horses managed to escape from their confinement, therefore starting the stampede significantly early, confusing tourists who show up at 1:00 to an empty street scattered with occasional piles of horse apples. So far so good with this year’s schedule. We finally got the OK to let them out. Sonny, a Pick-Up man who has attended Chief Joseph Days for as long as I can remember, told us to follow him in the rear of the herd and let the guys stay ahead and make sure the horses didn’t leak into anyone’s driveway (as the streets are not blocked off). Once the horse’s pushed towards Main Street, it was our job to try to string them out so they didn’t run as a short, wide pack. As a child, I remember standing on the edge of the street, dweedling around, impatient for the stampede to start. As soon as I heard the clip-clopping of around 30 hooves on the pavement, I made sure not to blink. These horses are on a mission, and their mission isn’t to give you an extensive look of themselves. However, I didn’t understand why we weren’t provided more than a three second glance of these animals. As I loped my way down Main Street, trying to wave at the blur of people while restraining Buddy’s built up excitement, it was crystal clear. In retrospect, this uncertainty and speed is what makes the Bucking Horse Stampede. Showcasing the life of a Bucking Horse - running untamable and free - constitutes a part of the dwindling tradition of rodeo.
6:00 - Social hour for the Kick-Off Dinner. I thought I would be familiar with most of the people attending, but I was mistaken. Contractors for entertainment and stock, traveling as far as Oklahoma, were welcomed and talked up by our rodeo committee. Before dinner, Brooke and I finally got to see the poster and program. After dinner was served, we helped out at the auction. We made it home not too late so we could rest up for the busy week to come.
Wednesday, July 27 - Woke up too early for my likings to practice with the Tuckerettes and go through the Grand Entry and run-ins with the announcer. Brooke and I both had the pleasure of riding in our curlers. It was nerve-wracking to think that tonight was our first rodeo... something we had waited for since we were little girls. But we had other things to keep our mind off our nerves in the meantime.
12:00 - Lunch with the local Rotary chapter. Some of the rodeo contractors decided to join us, as well as Miss Rodeo Oregon. The Rotarians were very curious about each of our experiences and impressions, so we were asked to talk for quite some time.
Directly after lunch, we made our way to the head of the lake to meet up with Dave and Darlene Turner and Kolton and Sandy Kolbaba. They were readying their team of Percheron mares to pull the stagecoach around the campgrounds. Our job was to invite people to the rodeo. Surprisingly enough, some of the campers hadn’t heard that the rodeo was in town, so we encouraged them to crawl out from under their rock and check it out.
5:30 - meet at the van and get dressed for the first night of rodeo! My stomach was turning and lurching with anticipation and excitement. I swung my leg over the saddle and tightened the chaps to my legs. Buddy’s excitement showed too as we pranced into the arena to warm up. It was pretty amazing to watch all of the faces stream into the crowd. Seeing the affectionate smiles of friends, family, and members of the community led to a overwhelming sense of support. When we were asked to leave the arena to start the rodeo, my butterflies were almost bursting through my stomach and into my throat. The visiting courts lined up behind us for the Grand Entry. When we were finally allowed in, Buddy burst into the arena (anticipating a run-in) but slowed to a lope as we weaved through the Tuckerettes and waved to the crowd as we were introduced. At the end of the serpentine, we exited through the roping gates and had to rush around the arena to the run-in gate. Buddy was exploding with energy - so ready to fly around the ring. As we surged into the arena, I entered tunnel vision. A unification of horse and human bound by trust beyond measure. A flood of adrenaline and the roar of the crowd. As I slowed into the final corner, a rush of awareness came over me. All the hard work had paid off - it was finally my time to shine. Ticket sales, makeup, hair, long nights memorizing my speech, countless hours in the saddle: all of it was worth the incredible experience before us.
Following a short autograph signing session outside the gate, we kicked our heels up at the Family Dance. I can remember when my family took me to this event many years ago. This year I danced with the little girls who were so appreciative of our company.
Thursday, July 28 - Darlene’s Brunch at 9:00. For the first time in Chief Joseph Days history (we think) the court was allowed to wear their hair straight. Whooo! No curlers for us! The brunch we attended was for the current court to get together with courts on their 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, etc. anniversaries. It was really special to hear about their experiences and memories. Every one of them expressed gratitude for the memories and skills gained in their year representing CJD. Nostalgia was in the air on that beautiful, cloudless morning as old friends were reunited over a delicious meal.
12:30 - Visit to Alpine Senior House. Said hello to the elderly people living in the senior house and talked with them about our experience as they ate breakfast and drank coffee. Not sure how clued in they were about what we were talking about, but they were all very appreciative.
After visiting the Alpine House, we walked into Joseph to hand out flyers for the CJD teen dance. This allowed us an opportunity to walk around the booths as well. After we finished shopping and marketing, we had lunch at the Outlaw Restaurant with Brinda, our chaperone.
5:30 - Tough Enough To Wear Pink Rodeo! A portion of the ticket sales as well as money from raffle and miscellaneous souvenirs went to the Wallowa Valley Health Care District for local cancer screenings. Over the past four years, CJD has donated more than $14,000 for this cause. The rodeo was another success, and it was back to the curlers for us that night.
Friday, July 29 - American Legion Breakfast at 8:00. This breakfast event was right before the Kiddie Parade, so we ate with our costumes on. Fairy costumes at that. We got lots of compliments, as well as odd looks. The Kiddie Parade was relaxed and fun, but the best part was seeing our dad’s dressed up as the Rednek Rodeeyo Court. Only a picture can describe this ridiculous sight (:
After the Kiddie Parade, we changed clothes to go to the Sports Corral to sign autographs. Signing autographs is a bittersweet thing for me... I know how much the kids appreciate it, but I have the hardest time understanding why my signature is so important. I can barely handle the local fame of being on the rodeo court, and I can’t even imagine being famous world-wide! I liked signing autographs after the rodeo much better because we were still beaming with the bliss of a great night on our horses. Over the course of the week, we signed boots, hats, posters, shirts, programs, and pictures.
Today, our family also celebrated my Grandfather’s birthday at Terminal Gravity. I moseyed over to my previous employment, happy to spend time with my family which I hadn’t seen much of with all the hustle and bustle of the week.
6:00 - Warm up for Friday Night Rodeo! This was definitely the best night in my mind. It surprised me, however, because the most emphasis is placed on Saturday night.
After the rodeo, we went to the teen dance until it ended at 12. It was so fun to wind down and have a great time with our friends. When I got home around 12:30, I took a shower, dried my hair, and woke my mom up around 1:15 to put my hair in curlers for the last time! Yayyyyy! Now that’s what you call family support.
Saturday, July 30 - Shrine breakfast at 8:00. Suede day all day! Which was... hot. Pancakes for the 7th time (haha). Following breakfast, we got ready for the Grand Parade. It was an overcast day, so we weren’t sweating buckets... yet. The parade was a blast, but my arm must have gotten out of shape from the last rodeo because I could hardly hold it up at the end. But the sore arm was so worth leading our own parade!
After the parade, we put our horses away and walked to the Joseph Community Center for the Queen’s Luncheon. Sara Freels, a former CJD Princess, and her mother had so generously decorated the room and prepared the food. As visiting courts trickled in, we welcomed them and gave them their gift (a bundle of CJD scrapbook materials made by Jeni Greenshields). Once everyone was seated, we introduced ourselves, our special guests, and thanked the sponsors and volunteers. After the meal, every court introduced themselves before getting together for a group picture. More courts than we had seen at any other rodeo attended our luncheon which goes to show what a great and fun rodeo Chief Joseph Days is.
After the luncheon, we made our way to the Indian Encampment. There were some delays after the Friendship Feast - pushing back the dancing, but we were set on staying. I had the pleasure of talking with a man who shared his experiences at Native American ceremonies. Eventually, we were welcomed with a dance directed in appreciation for Brooke and I. It was a really powerful and special experience, and I couldn’t help myself from letting out some tears of gratitude. It was probably partly lack of sleep, but I have always been intrigued by noble history and traditions of the Native American people, and being a part of this ceremony was overpowering.
6:00 - Last night of Chief Joseph Days. As well as the normal routine - Grand Entry (largest one yet!), run-ins, rounding up calves, setting out barrels - we handed out the awards for each event. Unfortunately, most of the winners weren’t present, as they had already left for another rodeo. But business is business, and this year has opened my eyes to the life of a cowboy, so I understood their absence. Tonight was the last night we rode our horses by the rail and said “Happy Trails” to the people leaving the bleachers. Buddy was awesome with the kids - he leaned up against the rails and let them stroke and caress him (sometimes not very gently). All too soon, we were called over to the autograph table for the last time.
We rallied for the last night of the teen dance. In the past, the courts wear their suedes and leave really early to catch up on sleep and avoid overheating. We agreed to leave early to avoid the same problem. To our delight, Brinda told us that we could bring our own clothes to change after around a half an hour. I was so excited and stayed till the very end, taking advantage of every second of this special week.
After the dance, Landra and some friends went to the lake and jumped in. As if it could get any better, we went to the Cowboy Breakfast at around 2 a.m., eating pancakes with wet hair and smiles.
Sunday, July 31 - 8:00 Cowboy Breakfast (again). Oooh, this morning came too soon. Haha! Luckily we were allowed to wear our hair in pony tails (no curlers at ungodly hours).
9:00 - Cowboy Church. A very interesting experience indeed. It was the first time I had attended this event, and I was fascinated by many aspects of the sermon. It was also a great opportunity to tear off my fake nails (: When it was over, Chief Joseph Days had officially come to an end.
A bittersweet thing indeed. The week went by in no time. While I would have liked it to last longer, I don’t know if my body could have handled another couple days of minimal sleep and the constant demand of the Rodeo Queen image. That being said, I wouldn’t have traded my time in our mountain shadowed arena for anything.
