Howdy All!

Happy 150th Birthday Canada!  And Happy Canada Day to all you Canadians out there.  Freedom is a very good reason to celebrate.

Day four of the Ponoka Stampede Chuckwagon races has arrived.  The days are full and passing by so quickly.  The annual Special Needs Rodeo was held this morning. Rick and I have been volunteering from when it began, or close to it.  Today, we have at least half of the Chuckwagon drivers, some outriders and family come and pair up with one of the 25 children that participate.

I was paired up with eleven year old Jayden from Red Deer.  What a sweetheart little Jayden is.  Her dad and I took her around to the different rodeo activities that were held in the infield.  Her favorite thing was going for a horse drawn wagon ride.

 

 

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A huge shout out goes to all the many Volunteers that make this special day happen.  Beginning with the Krossa and Vold families, I can’t say enough how proud I am of them and their tremendous effort throughout the year that pulls this all together.  It  puts smiles, laughter and excitement into theses kids, even if it is for a short while.  I commend all the parents of these beautiful children.  They live for their kids through all the trials that they encounter due to different health issues.  And you know, they have told me, not one of them would change their life for a moment.  They say you have not lived, until you live with one of them.  They are all a blessing.

Meals around our camp can be very interesting.  Of course we all need to eat, and I always say if we keep the crew fed and watered, they will work a whole lot better.  I am always looking for easy recipes to try.  I often like to use my crock pot so that dinner is prepared and made in the morning, then I have the rest of the day to tend to the barn chores, laundry, grocery shopping and P.R. work.  We are not always connected to power, so then I have to choose other meal options.  This Pulled Chicken Fajita recipe was so simple and very delicious.  The kids loved it as there wasn’t much for leftovers.  A side salad of Strawberry Nut Vinigarette  along side was an added touch.

I got to spend a bit of time with Baby Ryker yesterday.  We visited a few of our relatives that are parked in the campground.

As Rick was born and raised into the Dorchester Chuckwagon Family, we have many relatives that don’t often get to come down the road with us, but keep track of our progress and cheer us on just the same.  Patti, Ricks cousin was with her granddaughter and they were cheering loud and clear.  Patti was Spirit the horse and little Kaelynn was Ricky the Chuckwagon Driver.

It rained and poured a couple of hours before the races, but the storm was short lived.  The sun then came out and it was warm again at race time.  Rick hooked Spirit on the Left Lead, Ranger on the Right.  Sporty on the Left Wheel and Cowboy on the Left.  Beau was ridden by Dustin and Dean rode Stadium.  The chuckwagons all pulled into the barrels in fine form.  The horn blew and away they went.  Rick had a great turn capturing the rail coming out of the infield.  I was taking  my photos as usual so thought things were good.  I then heard Les the announcer say that a barrel was down for Rick.  How unfortunate.  An outrider accidentally hit the top barrel just enough for it to go over.  Disappointment for sure as we would have had a 2nd day money and also made it into the semi-final tomorrow.

I wouldn’t be honest if I said we weren’t disappointed.  But having said that, our outfit worked very nicely together, and we now look forward to getting to Calgary next week for the Stampede.

Until Tomorrow

From The Travelin Trailer

Sue, with Rick and “Team 23

P.S.  All kids need a little help, a little hope and someone who believes in them.           Magic Johnson