I spent another Mother’s Day with my mom and my daughter.  Not in the traditional “Hallmark” sense that the majority of mothers spend their day.  There was no breakfast in bed, lavish flowers, and/or gifts. We spent our Mother’s Day together, and like so many years before, at a rodeo. We are lucky to be a part of a community that is home to one of the country’s oldest women’s only rodeo associations, The Idaho Girls Rodeo Association.  For as many years as myself and the others who find ourselves as directors can continue the tradition of annually hosting a Mother’s Day Rodeo. A day were generations come together to compete and have fun.

In our family, the big winner is usually the youngest of us, my daughter, Taylor.  She is mounted on the best horses we have, and she shares her good horse with her Nana (sometimes) so that she can compete as well. Me, I ride the young up-and-coming mounts that in a few short years will belong to Taylor or Nana, who ever needs them first.

For once Taylor wasn’t the only “big” winner of the weekend! If you can count placing in the Novice Barrels a big win, in my defense the Novice is just as tough as the open, so a win is a win right? Really Taylor would have been the big winner but struggled in the Barrels & Poles tipping one in each to place, but as my grandpa would have said to me “that’s just rodeo sis”. She however redeemed herself in the goat tying, that is “her” event it’s the one event she full heartily wants to win. The last girl rodeo her goat got up causing her to get a no time, and since then we have been in full redemption mode and it showed! On the nana front well she learned that the old sorrel mare fires hard in the pole bending (I tried to tell her) and that made her decide that even though spanky isn’t going to win her any money she will just stick with Mr. Tried & True!

So Happy Late Mothers Days to all those rodeo mom’s I hope it was spent doing what you love!

**Photo Credit to Jonni Smith of Homedale, Idaho**