Week One (Summer Run)
I cannot believe week one is already under our belt. This week was eventful when it came to travel. I left out on Wednesday, right in the heat of the Southwest computer shutdown. This week my wife was with me and we were delayed quite a bit in Austin, thankfully we were able to get out and when we got to Phoenix, the computers shut down again. We found out that some of the people in the airport had been there since Monday, so we were grateful when the computers restarted and we were actually able to catch our flight to Reno. We landed around midnight and we found out that Uber wasn’t operating like normal, but we lucked out. On the road, you can’t always find the best hotels and in Reno during the rodeo, they are all pretty much sold out. We ended up at a hotel and it was quite the adventure. Looking back, you have to laugh because everything was so unpredictable- but I was continually optimistic because I was finally able to do what I love.
The next day, my traveling partners and their wives picked us up and we were back in the rig. We went to the fairgrounds where I got to see one of my favorite committee members, Gina. Funny story, my first year I came to Reno, I got dropped off at the wrong place and I walked forever with my gear bag until a nice woman named Gina picked me up. Since then, Gina (or as I call her, giggles) and I have enjoyed our yearly reunion in Reno. She is great for our sport and loves what she does, she is the epitome of a joyous person.
That night, I rode at the Reno Xtreme Bulls and it was probably one of the best nights in rodeo we have had in a while. The crowd was energetic and the enthusiasm was unmatched. Reno Rodeo is one of those events that you look forward to because it kicks off our summer and everyone is happy to be on the road. I rode my first bull for 84.5 points, which was enough to get back to the short round. I finished the night with an 87.5 point ride and came in second behind Clayton Sellers. We were the only two to stay in on the short round, which meant we walked away with some ground money as well. Afterwards, a big group of us went to dinner at the Silver Legacy and it was great to catch up, my mom, aunt and uncle were there as well. After last year, this was a refreshing memory.
The next morning, we left out early for Delta, UT. It was about 7.5 hours and we took the route through Nevada, on the way there we saw a U.S. Calvary rider in the middle of nowhere. It was nice to have the traveling group together for the first Official weekend on the road.
In case you didn’t know, Utah loves rodeo. Both of my traveling partners are from Utah, so I stay here a lot in the summer. Delta, stayed until the very end, even though it was 11:30pm. I got on a young bull of Page and was 84.5 points. It was great to see our Powder River family, who are great contractors in our sport.
When we finished, we made the trek to Tyler’s house, which was 3 hours away. We got there at 4am and ended up sleeping in the next day. When we woke up, Alexis and I headed to Salt Lake where we stayed at the KOA. It was a nice night of relaxing and even shooting some hoops.
Overall, week one was great. Even with the few bumps in the road, I am often reminded how great it is to do what I love. Tonight, I’m up in Reno, you can watch it on the Cowboy Channel.
Thank you for the support,
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