The very next day, Winner, my hometown, had their regional high school rodeo. My grandpa, Keith Gebhart, was announcing and he asked me to help him. Grandpa announces rodeos in the area and the State 4-H finals and I will be joining him at that rodeo to help announce as well.
I was asked to come and help out for a week at a rodeo bible camp in Sioux Falls, SD. I stayed with the girls in the expo building and it reminded me of my days of staying up all night and being bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning! The camp was for ages eight to thirteen years old so it was great to be able to help the campers with rodeo events and being a better christian. I gave my testimony and asked questions about faith. It was a great week and I am so glad that I went!
In Mid- June, I headed down to North Platte, NE for NebraskaLand Days. The Miss Rodeo Nebraska pageant was during our stay and it was fun to watch Becky Grimm be crowned Miss Rodeo Nebraska 2011! There were 18 state queens and Miss Rodeo America there and we were kept busy with many autographs signings. My host family was Grant and Wendy Schramm who are from Winner as well. It was great to stay with family friends and catch up on what is going on in Winner! Thank you for being great host parents, I had a great time with you!
My next trip was to the Crazy Horse Memorial Rodeo. It was such a beautiful place to have a rodeo. Crazy Horse Memorial was in viewing distance and the beautiful black hills were surrounding the arena. Kristina Maddocks, South Dakota 4-H Ambassador, joined me and we had a good time catching up and we enjoyed the view that we had!
The Crystal Springs Ranch Rodeo in Clear Lake, SD was my next stop. This rodeo was so much fun! The fans that were there were incredible and made this rodeo one of my favorites! It was so awesome to see such fantastic rodeo fans and see them so enthusiastic about the sport! Krystal Carlascio, Miss Rodeo Aberdeen, and Courtney Peterson, Jackrabbit Stampede Ambassador, were there with me and we had a great time!
The 4th of July can only mean one thing, the Black Hills Roundup and the Miss Rodeo South Dakota pageant which were held in Belle Fourche, SD. The pageant started June 29th and continued to July 2nd. Vanessa Ternes was crowned Miss Rodeo South Dakota Lady-in-Waiting 2011 and I know she is going to do a great job representing rodeo and South Dakota. Congratulations Vanessa! The three days of rodeo were great and I was very honored and proud to present the great American Flag on the 4th of July as there was a B1 flyover! Thank you to the Black Hills Roundup committee and the Miss Rodeo South Dakota committee for all the encouraging words and advice. It is so nice to know that I have so many people believing in me! Thank You!!
The month of July is going to be exciting as I am doing a great deal of traveling! This year is flying by and I am soaking up every bit of it! I am truly having a blast and the goal of becoming Miss Rodeo America is growing nearer and nearer!
God Bless and See you at the Rodeos,
McKenzie Haley
Miss Rodeo South Dakota
