I was lucky enough this year to spend 4 days with dear friends from Canada, that I hadn’t seen in a few years. Peter my husband, gets to see them yearly… Just a little background on them – “The Millers” and not quite like the movie “Meet the Millers”… have been friends of ours since 1997 if I remember correctly. Neil came to a clinic to start a colt in one of Peter’s clinics near Brandon, Manitoba… I can still remember it being freezing cold and snowy… Neil brought a colt and little did we know he was one of Canada’s great steer wrestlers in his day and had also competed in team roping… He came to see Peter thinking there was no way you could start and ride a colt in 4 days… Well, I think it was the 2 or 3 night after the clinic, Peter showed Neil and another good friend Dirk how a horse could come and walk through a loop and “catch itself”… Neil and Dirk spent hours working on it and I think they got it working… but alas I get lost in memories… A year or two later Neil hosted a clinic in Neepawa, Manitoba… It grew so big we used to stay two weeks and do 2 clinics of which were 4 days… I can remember we did a colt class in the morning, then horsemanship and then another colt starting class in the evening… Which would end about 11pm because folks would keep showing up with a colt to start –and we would keep taking them… We had Fancy, Candy and Anita if I remember back then and those horses gave their hearts as did Peter… We would also do a big BBQ one of the nights and Peter would always be showing some little kid how to rope or crack a whip…. At the time, it truly was a family affair, Neil’s mom and dad joined every clinic and helped where ever needed. Brenda, Neil’s wife would do lunches and chase around the two little boys they had Justin and Ryan. But not only did they host a clinic they would all come to other clinics too and down to the ranch once we moved there. The whole community supported it and lots of young kids rode with Peter that are now doing well very well in the Rodeo circuit. Justin for example was the 2013 Rookie of the Year at the CNFR for steer wrestling and this year was the 2014 Reserve Canadian Champion. He set the College Finals record in 2008 and it still hasn’t been beat… In Vegas, Justin stated without what Peter taught him about the horse and life, he would have never made it where he did… And Ryan who is now 21 has modeled for Cinch Jeans and is getting into the rodeo scene. After High School rodeo he took time and is in school. So, needless to say our weekend in Vegas with this family was awesome! Brenda is a tiny little gal with a heart of gold that loves…. LOVES to shop and well just hanging with the family makes my heart full.
But I bet you are thinking of what this had to do with the title of my post… Well, one night we went to watch the rodeo at the South Point Casino, where it’s a live feed… Well, you could see on TV they were singing the national anthem but we couldn’t hear it… And a few ladies in the front started singing it, all of us joined in… Canadian and American…It was amazing to see when you read Facebook and all the crap or watch the news and see all the fighting and wars… It was a utopia of diverse people who don’t know each other joining together to fill in, to show respect to America. And that is one thing the Rodeo world is awesome at, they have pride in their country, respect for the flag and are all members of one nation… under god… at the rodeo…
Another positive in the Rodeo was a barrel racer Fallon Taylor, who I befriended on Facebook as she looked fun and cool – I watched her run at the rodeo and she was a true willing partner with her horse, there was no whipping and spurring and she praised her horse always when she talked about it…. but also, she ran with a helmet on to raise money. I give her credit, a lot of credit… she’s doing the best she can for the horse and what seems for the younger generation. I don’t know all her story, but from what I saw over 10 days she sure seems pretty dang cool.
When I look back on my short family vacation, I am so thrilled I got to spend time with my friends in such a way we could enjoy, visit about past, present and future, not worry about tomorrow just live in the moment. And that I was a part of a bigger rodeo family that came together to show respect for our country… If we could all live in that moment for just a minute the world would be a better place. Be sure my inner cowgirls to have pride in yourselves, your horses, your family and stand strong with truth, integrity and courage!