Anshutz - Brrr Cold!

Well for those of you that do not know I was able to go home for a week and help my uncle and my dad gather cows. We have run our cows for years up above Evanston in the Uinta Mountains at a place called Anchutz! It is beautiful there and I have told myself that if I ever win the lottery that will be the first place I will buy. I had a great time - worked my butt off but still had a great time.

Now for those of you that are reading this and are from Texas you probably don't know how to get cows in in the snow and still stay warm but it is all about layering and with my mom's help I think I wore an average of about 5 layers each day (tank top, underarmour shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, down vest and then of course the carhart coat). You should see me try to get on my horse but luckily I was able to ride my dad's horses and they are all stump trained (which means they will stand right by a stump so you can get on it and then get on your horse). Now I know that to most people this attribute of a horse really wouldn't really increase the value of the horse but to me and my short legs it means alot! So thank you dad for letting me borrow your horses - I really appreciate it.

I loved riding with my uncle Pete and my dad everyday but I have to tell you that my uncle is notorious for thinking he sees a cow and then we ride for about an hour and finally finding out it was either a bush or a moose. On a place that is over 90,000 acres you can ride awhile just looking for a few cows. We were lucky and it snowed the first weekend and so most of the cows were waiting at the gate ready to go home but we did have to do some riding to look (which is the best part). So after years of listening to my uncle about a cow over there a few miles away I brought some binoculars and that seemed to solve the situation!

All in all it was a great week and I hope I can come back next year with my husband to ride because I know he would love it.

Ranch Rodeo - Go K Bar Team

I know I have been horrible about keeping up with my blog - life just seems to be so busy but I did want to write about the ranch rodeo we went to in Sept. It was alot of fun and I got some pretty good pics!

I don't know how many of you have ever been to a ranch rodeo. I hadn't until I moved to Texas but they take them pretty serious around here. My husband has a yearly tradition of entering the one held in conjunction with the Permian Basin County Fair (yes I got my yearly intake of fair food - gotta luv it). Now this is a big deal and when I say big deal - I mean he prepares for weeks in advance even to the point of borrowing a fancy cutting horse to ensure his team's victory. His team has won it I don't know how many years and so there is alot of pride and ego on the line.

His team is made up of his dad and a few of his friends. There are five members on the team and they all compete in a list of different events from cutting and sorting to branding, bronc riding, trailer loading and wait don't forget the goat roping. Let's just say that the first year I went out to watch while we were dating I learned alot. My husband is a pretty easy going guy but when the ranch rodeo weekend is here - his competitive edge comes out and he is going for the kill and taking no prisoners. Well anyway it was a great weekend and yes the K Bar team did it again - They are the CHAMPS! So congrats to you guys - you did awesome and I was so proud of you and thank heavens it is over for another year!

The Fans

The K Bar Team

Trailer Loading

Branding

Ben and Dane planning strategy

Rescue Race

Sorting

Ranch Bronc Riding

My husband - The Pickup Man

I don't know which one's more tired - Raven or Ben

The Winners!

(L to R - Bob Clements, Ben Clements, Dave Driver, JW Todd, Drew Leeton)