rodeo

Learning to Write Westerns When I Had No Clue

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Please welcome special guest author Lisa Jordan to the Junction!

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Several years ago, I had a wonderful conversation with my editor at Love Inspired, asking her input about what I could do to increase my readership.

She said, “Write Amish or cowboy stories. That’s what’s really selling right now.”

At that time, my husband and I had started watching Heartland, too, and I fell in love with the family dynamic as they worked through the trials and triumphs of ranching and all things horses. I appreciated her advice, took it to the Lord, and determined that it was time to move away from my fictional town in PA and head to CO—at least, fictitiously.

The only problem was I’ve only been to a hotel in Colorado for the 2009 ACFW conference. Oh, yeah, I’ve never been on a ranch. And come to think of it, I haven’t ridden a horse since middle school…and Queenie was the gentlest pony on the planet.

So creating a fictional family on a fictional ranch in a fictional town shouldn’t be too hard, right?

How was I going to create a four-book series and make it realistic?

When it came time to decide where my fictional town was going to be located, I pulled up Google Maps and determined my fictional town of Aspen Ridge was going to be set about forty-five minutes outside of Durando, Colorado.

I learned to lean on my friends, who were able to help with some geographical aspects of the terrain, the weather, and even little things like what brands of ice cream were popular—I needed that info to write one sentence in my book coming out in April 2025. Another friend, Dalyn Weller, lives on a ranch in Washington and shared information pertaining to care, feeding, and tacking horses.

I’ve purchased books and magazines to help with research…and the other articles inspired new ideas.

YouTube is one of the best sources of information. I searched for videos for that part of the state for visuals to build storyworld into my scenes. I watched videos about ranching, tacking horses, growing strawberries in that area. I also took visual tours of the San Juan Mountains that overlook my fictional town.

In my book series, my fictional family expands their ranch to include a guest ranch. Instead of building cabins, which can be quite costly, I decided the Stone family was going to put yurts on their property. For the past three years, my husband and I have camped in a yurt for a week in July. Since nothing is wasted in a writer’s life, it was the perfect inspiration for a novel.

My husband and I visited a local rodeo where I spent the afternoon and evening taking lots of pictures and video to create a realistic bull rider in my series. Additionally, we watched a wonderful (and painfully-looking) documentary about bull riders, bull riding, and all that goes into the sport.

I’ve visited online forums like Reddit to get a real, down-to-earth view about different aspects from people who live out their days running ranches, caring and riding horses, and trying to make a living for their families.

And finally, one of my favorite ways to research my newly-released book, Bonding with the Cowboy’s Daughter, was to visit a nearby horse rescue. My new friend Nola, who has a huge heart for saving the beautiful animals, took me on a tour of her small non-profit horse farm and walked me through what she’s done to start and grow her organization. A couple of times, I was moved to tears as she shared a few stories of heartbreak in trying to save the animals.

I’ve learned to not be limited by what I know when it comes to writing new stories. It’s become an adventure to learn something new and use that knowledge to inspire readers.

I will be giving away a signed copy of Bonding with the Cowboy’s Daughter. Post a comment below and tell me what you love most about reading westerns.

Bonding with the Cowboy’s Daughter

She’s left her old life behind

…only to find a new love waiting

After a broken engagement, Callie Morgan decides to move to Aspen Ridge, Colorado, to fix up her late grandmother’s gift shop. But the shop is in bad shape and Callie runs out of money faster than expected. Old childhood friend and single dad Wyatt Stone comes to the rescue, offering her a job at his family’s ranch, Stone River Ranch. While their friendship is rekindled, will Callie ever risk loving again…even as Wyatt’s little girl is already stealing her heart?

 

AMAZON LINK

Del Blancett

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I love learning tidbits from history.

We were at the Pendleton Round-Up over the weekend, and the souvenir program had a lovely article about Dell Blancett.

That name is probably unfamiliar to most people, but his wife’s name was well known in rodeo circles in the early 1900s.

Bertha Kaepernik Blancett was born in 1883 in Ohio. She made history in 1904 by becoming the first woman to ride a bucking horse at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Fashionable and tough, she went on to win the bucking championship at the Pendleton Round-Up in 1911, 1912, and 1914. She become known as the “most famous woman rider in rodeo.” Bertha established the world record for Roman racing in Pendleton, making a quarter mile in eight seconds.

The year was 1909 when she met Dell Blancett, a rodeo steer wrestler who also worked as a trick rider for the Bison Moving Picture Company.

Dell was born in Iowa in a wagon train traveling west from Indiana in January 1883.  His family ended up in Washington state.

The year was 1909 when Dell and Bertha wed. What many people don’t know is that they were a team. She rode as his hazer when he was steer wrestling (a hazer’s job is to keep the steer going in a straight line without touching or assisting the wrestler). Dell was considered one of the best all-around cowboys during the 1910s. He was a world champion bulldogger (steer wrestler), a talented roper, and a rider above average ability. He owned strings of horses he transported all around the West, setting up his headquarters in Pendleton.

 

Dell and Bertha were partners and sweethearts, wowing rodeo crowds with their skill and talent, as well as participating in movies and wild west shows.

With the United States’ entry into World War I looming on the horizon, Dell became one of the men who organized a voluntary cowboy company, the Oregon Troop D Field Artillery. Sadly, he was rejected from serving because of rheumatism. However, that didn’t stop him from finding his way to France and the war. Dell headed to Canada and enlisted in the Canadian Cavalry. He was assigned to the A Squadron of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadian). The unit was  one of the most elite of Canadian Cavalry units. It had been formed by the Honourable Donald Alexander Smith, later the 1st Baron Strathcona, as a privately organized cavalry unit during the Boer War. It was comprised of cowboys and members of the Northwest Mounted Police.

The company was transferred to France in February 1918. In March, the squadron was pressed into battle against a German offensive. Machine gun fire killed all but 51 members. The last letter Dell wrote was address to Roy Raley of Pendleton (Roy was one of the founders of the Happy Canyon Pageant and the Pendleton Round-Up). The letter included Dell’s riding crop and spurs.

Dell was killed March 30, 1918 at the age of 35. Reportedly, his last words were, “Those German bullets sure hit hard.” The action by Canadian cowboys in the wood was regarded as a principal element in the ultimate Allied victory in November of that year. Dell is buried in Moreuil Woods in France. He was the first Pendleton resident, and first Round-Up star to die in the war.

Bertha never remarried. She retired from rodeo and worked as a stunt woman in Western films starring notable names such as Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson. She traveled across the United States and Europe with the Pawnee Bill’s Wild West show and the 101 Ranch Wild West show. In later years, she served as a guide at Yosemite National Park. She died in 1979, at the age of 95.

One of my recently released books, Molly, takes place during World War I. It’s about an American soldier named Friday and a Hello Girl named Molly who meet in France.

If you haven’t yet read it yet, the story is a sweet and wholesome historical romance filled with hope, faith, courage, and love.

Because I dug deeply into the research for this story, the lives of the Hello Girls came alive for me.

The real Hello Girls were incredibly brave women who opened the door for women in the military. They are also part of the reason the 19th  Amendment was finally passed after World War I, giving women the right to vote.

However, these amazing women were not recognized as veterans for nearly six decades. Right now, efforts are being made to put a bill in place to aware them a Congressional Gold Medal. After reading their stories, I can honestly say they have more than earned it!

We have just a few more weeks to get the legislation through Congress before it dies. The required 67 votes in the Senate have been attained, but 60 additional House Representative sponsors are needed.

Would you consider helping the Hello Girls? It doesn’t cost anything but a moment of your time! (Note: This bill does not require any funding!)

If you are interested, just go to the Hello Girls website, choose your state and district, copy and paste the provided letter, and submit. That is it! With enough people reaching out to their district representatives, it can make an impact. If you know anyone in a government office, ask for them to offer their support, too!

If you’d like to learn more FAQs about the Hello Girls, there’s a handy sheet here.

The Hello Girls have become so dear to my heart, and it would mean so much to their descendants if the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to them.

What is something “near and dear” to your heart? 

A charity? A sweet story? A special memento or photograph? 

Share your answer for a chance to win an autographed copy of Molly.

Cowboys Always Place Horseshoes Up

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This week we welcome award-winning inspirational author Linda Goodnight and she has an interesting blog for us. She also has a GIVEAWAY so don’t miss that at the bottom.

How many of you, as kids walking down a sidewalk, chanted, “Step on a crack and break your mama’s back” and did your best to skip over those cracks? Are you superstitious? I’m not really, but I think it’s fun to hear about them.

Athletes in particular are a superstitious bunch, whether for fun, ritual, or whatever. For instance, one famous basketball player wore the same pair of ankle-flopping socks throughout his career. Serena Williams, the tennis champ, is known to always tie her shoes exactly the same way before a game. Some athletes insist on eating the same pregame meal or wearing the same (sometimes unwashed) article of clothing. Instead of superstitions, they call these “routines” or pregame rituals. Putting their uniform on in the same order. Stretching in the same spot on the nine-yard line. Regardless of whether the behaviors are routines or superstitions, athletes do them because they think they’ll play better if they do. They’ll laugh about it, but they still do it.

Cowboys, including rodeo cowboys, have their own set of unique superstitions. According to one rodeo source, as many as 75% of rodeo athletes adhere to at least one superstition.

Walker Littlefield, the hero in To Protect His Brother’s Baby would quietly grin and shake his head if asked if he was superstitious. He wasn’t. But some of his rodeo buddies were. That’s why I thought it would be fun to discuss some cowboy and/or rodeo superstitions that are still around today.

Let’s look at ten.

  1. Never put your hat on a bed, especially brim down. All the luck will run out. Several theories about the origin exist, including warnings of impending injury or death. Eek! But a more reasonable origin could be the fact that cowboys back in the wild west only bathed occasionally and had headlice. A hat on the bed could spread the vermin. The only thing to do if your hat is accidentally placed on the bed is spit in it, throw it down, and stomp it flat. Problem solved. ?
  2. Place your hat upside down on the table or other surface when removing to keep the good luck inside. Better yet, hang it up.
  3. A horseshoe over the door or tack room brings good luck as long as it’s “heels up.” “Heels down” drains out all the luck.
  4. Never eat chicken before a rodeo. Eat a hotdog instead. You are what you eat.
  5. Don’t wear yellow in the arena. It means you’re a coward.
  6. Never carry change in your pocket when competing. That’s all the money you’ll win.
  7. Don’t kick a paper cup that someone tossed on the ground. It’s bad luck. And could spook your horse!
  8. Never cross your boots when removing them to keep from getting “tripped up.”

       9. Never accept a gift of old boots. You will step into the old owner’s troubles.

 * *10. And my very favorite: Finding a feather in the arena is good luck. It’s a reminder that angels are watching over you.

 So, there you have them, just in time for Halloween!

Leave a comment about a ritual or superstition you or someone you know has. You’ll go into a drawing for a copy of my latest book, To Protect His Brother’s Baby.  GOOD LUCK in the drawing!

 

About Linda:

Linda has appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, and Christian bestseller lists, and her romance novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages. A  former nurse and teacher, Linda loves writing fiction that carries a message of hope and light in a sometimes dark world. Linda enjoys cooking, reading, and travel. Next on her bucket list are Israel and Scotland. She lives in Oklahoma with husband, Gene, who, ironically, doesn’t travel at all.

Rodeo Cowboys–Competitors, Friends, and Even Family

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Today we welcome Danica Favorite to the Petticoats and Pistols corral.

One of my favorite parts of the rodeo is the bronc riding. It’s such a great combo of talent, skill and a little bit of luck. The announcer at a rodeo series I often watch has always been good about sharing some of the inside stories of the cowboys, and one of the things I fell in love with was how many times he’d talk about how cowboys competing against each other were often close friends and traveling buddies. You think about rodeos as competitions, but it reminded me of my life growing up in the rodeo scene. The people do become like family, even if you spend all season vying for the top spots.

So when I came up with this series, I thought a lot about that sense of family, not just in my Shepherd’s Creek community, but also among these rodeo cowboys. That became the heart of The Bronc Rider’s Twins. What do you do when someone in that found family dies, leaving behind a mess? For Wyatt Nelson, that meant stepping up and being the husband and father his best friend couldn’t be.

Family is equally important to Laura Fisher. For those who read the first book in the series, Journey to Forgiveness, you know that the Shepherd’s Creek family is working through a very painful past. You don’t have to have read it to read The Bronc Rider’s Twins, but for me, this series isn’t just about each of the family members, but about the way they’ve found their way back to each other after being estranged for so long.

Though there is, of course, a happy ending, what I love about this book, and this series, is that we see how messy families can be, and how sometimes working through these issues can take a lot of time, patience, and love. And, even though we have a picture in our heads of what a family is supposed to look like, the family in this series isn’t your traditional family. But together, they find healing and hope.

About The Bronc Rider’s Twins:
A family he doesn’t expect…

But will protect at all costs.

Convinced he caused his best friend’s death, rodeo cowboy Wyatt Nelson will do whatever it takes to look after widow Laura Fisher and her infant twins—even propose to her. A marriage of convenience is the perfect solution to keep custody from Laura’s overbearing in-laws. But as Wyatt begins to fall for the little family, will he let guilt get in the way of his heart?

About Danica Favorite:
Danica Favorite has spent her life in love with good books.  Never did she imagine that the people who took her to far away places would someday be the same folks she now calls friends.

A mountain girl at heart, she lives in the Denver area with her family and ever-changing menagerie of animals.

Put it all together, and you find an adventurous writer who likes to explore what it means to be human and follow people on the journey to happily ever after.

Giveaway:
Danica will be giving away a copy of The Bronc Rider’s Twins. To be entered in the random drawing, leave a comment about someone you’re not technically related to, but you consider family, and how has that person helped you in your life?

 

A New Series For Danica Favorite

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Danica Favorite, a bestselling inspirational romance author, has dropped by to talk about a new series she’s just begun. We’re so happy to have her. She also has a giveaway so be sure to leave a comment.

 

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for having me! I’m so glad to spend some time with you and tell you about my new book, Journey to Forgiveness, with Love Inspired. It’s the start of a new series called Shepherd’s Creek. Each book, of course, is a standalone, but I hope that once you read book one, you’ll be eager to pick up the others when they come out as well.

About the book:

The one place she wants to avoid…
Is the home she needs to save.

Josie Shepherd never expected to inherit her estranged father’s horse stables—not after fifteen years of painful silence. But keeping the failing business is the only way to protect her hometown from developers, even if it means partnering with Brady King—the man who once broke her heart. Saving the property won’t be easy…but could forgiveness be the key to reopening their hearts?

For me, this series has been super fun to write as it hits very close to home. My daughters have been part of a horse program for the past twelve years, and I’ve gotten to explore so many different facets of the horse world. Journey to Forgiveness features trick riding, which is something my youngest daughter does.

Yes, this is my daughter! It takes a lot of practice and hard work as well as nerves of steel to do this! And yes, it still scares mom to watch. But I love my daughter, and seeing her live her passion is really important to me. It’s also nice to have a live-in horse expert. Even though she thinks it’s gross to read romance written by her mother, she does read every horse scene to make sure I got it right.

I love being able to incorporate a little of my world into my books. On Sunday, I was writing in my backyard and the horses were grazing nearby. They occasionally stopped by to say hi to me, and I felt so grateful that I get to share this world with my readers.

For me, though, it’s not just about the horses. Journey to Forgiveness, is, as the title suggests, very much about forgiveness on multiple levels. It’s interesting to me, because as I write, I often find that I am learning a piece of the lesson my characters are learning as well. Over the weekend, as I worked on book three in the series, I found myself revisiting the forgiveness lesson from this first book, and I had to stop writing for a bit because I was prompted on something I needed to forgive in my own life.

But that is what I love about this journey as a writer, and I hope it’s something you find valuable as a reader. We are constantly in the process of being refined, and looking at the lessons we thought we already learned, only on a deeper level. And of course, we have to have fun along the way, which is why the horses are so important!

The next book in the series, The Bronc Rider’s Twins, is all about… you guessed it! A bronc rider! Thankfully, it’s not a women’s sport, so my little adrenaline junkie will not be doing that one, but I go to a lot of rodeos to watch her, plus I grew up in the rodeo world, so it’s been a lot of fun taking a look at that aspect of the horse world. That book will be out in March 2023, and I hope, after reading Journey to Forgiveness, you’ll preorder it.

Thank you again for letting me spend time with you today!

I’d love to hear about the horse-related things you enjoy reading about. I have one copy of Journey to Forgiveness to give to one lucky commenter.

You can order a copy HERE, or at your favorite retailer. If you do spot it in stores, I’d love for you to share a pic and tag me on social media.

NEWSLETTER | WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | AMAZON | BOOKBUB

 

ABOUT DANICA

With four active kids, and a flock of birds, Danica Favorite is never short on inspiration for her latest story, whether entertaining a live audience or crafting her latest novel. She and her family recently moved from the city to the Colorado mountains, where they’re living a brand-new adventure!

 

Small Town Rodeo

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I love our local rodeo. The contestants are for the most part local folk, so the cheering sections are loud once the rodeo begins, but it starts off quietly with cowboys getting their equipment ready and mentally preparing for their events.

Prepping the rein prior to a bronc ride.

The stock is quiet. The contestants are quiet.

The ambulance gets into position. Thankfully, there wasn’t any call for an ambulance trip during this rodeo.

The rodeo opens with a performance from the drill team that my mom coaches. She rode as part of the team until she was 76 and it’s still a big part of her life.

Things start getting busier behind the chutes. The guy with his feet in the air is saddling a bronc. The cowboys handle their own broncs prior to riding, sometimes with the help of a friend.

When the action begins, everyone is very excited. This is why they came, after all.

Not all rides go well.

Darkness falls and the lights come on.

After the official rodeo ends, there’s an event called wild cow milking, and it’s exactly whaat it sounds like. Teams of cowboys rope and milk a wild cow. After the cowboy gets a small amount of milk in the bottle (enough to drink) they race to the finish line.

And that’s the end of the small town rodeo for this year. I love my big rodeos, particularly the Reno Rodeo, but this one allows the fans to enjoy all the action behind the scenes.

And that’s the end of this small town Montana rodeo until next year. I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Women in Today’s Sport of Professional Rodeo

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I love that we’re seeing more and more women participating in sports traditionally dominated by men. And I’m happy that rodeo has become one of those sports. Yes, you say, women have long competed in barrel racing. But did you know in the early days of rodeo, 1850s to 1900s, women competed against men in all rodeo events, including rough stock?

Eventually, they got pushed out (grrrr), and in 1948 the Girls Rodeo Association was formed with the intent of advancing women in professional rodeo. The Girls Rodeo Association later became know by its current name, the Woman’s Professional Rodeo Association. Yay! Go girls. Um, I mean women.

While women still don’t compete against men in today’s professional rodeos, they do have their own rodeos and are no longer restricted to just barrel racing. Breakaway roping and team roping have become sanctioned events, and women from all over the world compete on local and National levels. Pretty impressive. I’ve tried roping and couldn’t even get the rope to land correctly on a stationary practice dummy. Can’t imagine succeeding while chasing a live calf on a fast moving horse.

 

Photo by Kirstie Marie Photography

There are also some brave and talented women who compete in non-sanctioned events such as tie-down roping, steer wrestling, bull riding and bronc riding. Picture yourself climbing onto the back of a two-thousand pound bull and letting him toss you around like a bean bag. Nope. I can’t, either. Even with all the safety equipment. Talk about dangerous. But I admire the women who are paving the way for future generations.

Daily Mail Online

I especially like that these rodeo events are open to ages thirteen and up, giving opportunity to young women they didn’t have just a short time ago and opening doors for future generations. Who knows what women in rodeo will look like twenty years from now, or even ten?

At the 2020 Inaugural Women’s World Rodeo Championship last November in Las Vegas, four women became the first in history to claim the title of Women’s Rodeo World Champion (besides barrel racing, breakaway roping, and team roping, a title was also given for heading and heeling).This is an amazing step forward, and I hope more events will be added in the future.

I haven’t yet put a professional woman rodeo athlete in one of my books. Thinking maybe I should. And one of these days I’ll travel to Las Vegas to attend the rodeo. I read somewhere that CBS will be airing the final rounds for this year’s 2021 Women’s World Rodeo Championship on Sunday, October 31st. I’m marking my calendar 🙂

Roping Christmas

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Picture yourself as the owner of a small business (you and one employee). You’re struggling to compete with bigger, more established businesses. Then, you suddenly find a goose laying golden eggs (okay, so it’s not a goose but a billionaire who is interested in hiring you – but close enough to a goose with golden eggs!). All you have to do is prove yourself and your business savvy to that ol’ goose.

Unbeknownst to you, part of earning his business is going to involve a quest to learn things you never dreamed you’d known how to do. 


That’s the basis for my new sweet holiday romance, Roping Christmas. And it releases tomorrow! 

There is still time to pre-order it today (just $3.99!). When you do, you can enter your purchase info into this form, and you’ll get a free Bonus Bundle that includes a short story that leads into the book, a recipe, rodeo photographs, and a set of printable, unique, western gift tags! 

 

A focused cowboy, a distracted executive, and a hilarious quest make for an unforgettable holiday . . .

Wyatt Nash is a professional tie-down roper, a good ranch hand, and not too shabby when it comes to attracting women. But according to his five-year-old niece, he needs to work on both his roping skills and his dating game. His sister thinks he needs to settle down. And don’t get him started on the advice he gets from well-meaning friends. When his rodeo sponsor, billionaire Jon Sinclair, asks for his assistance in tutoring a clueless city girl about Sinclair Industries, Wyatt doesn’t feel like he can say no. Then he discovers he’ll be teaching none other than the one woman on the planet who wants nothing to do with him.

Ashley Jarrett would do almost anything to turn her small publicity firm into a huge success. When Jon Sinclair expresses interest in working with her, she readily agrees to his crazy idea to have her learn about his company through hands-on projects. Not only is she forced far outside her comfort zone, but the man documenting every bumbling misstep she takes is an infuriating cowboy she’s determined to ignore.

Packed with small-town charm and the wonder of falling in love, Roping Christmas is a sweet holiday romance sure to bring laughter and infuse hearts Christmas cheer.

Available on Amazon

Add to Goodreads

Also, I want to invite you to an upcoming celebration! 

You’re invited to join in a celebration to officially kick of the Read a Book, Help a Cowboy campaign. The fun gets underway November 12 at 10 a.m. (Pacific Time) on Facebook in the Wholesome Hearts Events group with guest authors, giveaways, and more!

 

For a chance to win, fill out this form. The prize includes a beautiful Coldwater Creek fleece throw, an autographed copy of Roping Christmas, a box of delicious holiday tea, Godiva chocolates, a tube of body cream from Bath & Body Works, a boot Christmas ornament, and a swag bag to carry all the goodies.

The giveaway runs through October 30, 2020. The winner will be notified by November 15, 2020, and will be given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Void where prohibited by law or logistics. The giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

Just for fun, I’d love to know what you’d do if you were in Ashley’s shoes? Would you prove yourself to the billionaire, or would you look for a less demanding goose? 

 

The Fourth of July, Frontier Style

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The Fourth of July was celebrated big time in the Old West.  From mining camps to wild cow towns, those early settlers used the day to whoop it up with dances, speeches, parades, foot races, and turkey shoots.  Not to be left out, even American Indians celebrated the day with pow-wows and dances. 

Some celebrations even took place in remote areas. In 1830, Mountain man William L. Sublette, on his way to Wind River with 81 men and 10 wagons, celebrated the holiday next to a large 130-foot-high rock.  Claiming to have “kept the 4th of July in due style,” Sublette named the large boulder Independence Rock.

Independence Rock

Located in what is now Wyoming, the rock became a signpost for travelers on the Oregon and Mormon trails. Companies arriving at the rock by July fourth knew they had made good time and would beat the mountain snows.  Celebrations included inscribing names on the rock and shooting off guns. 

Not every community celebrated with guns and fireworks.  In 1864, a mining town in Nevada decided to celebrate its first fourth with a dance.  Music, flag, and dance committees were formed. Of the three, the music committee was the most challenging as the only musician was a violinist who had an affinity for whiskey. His drinks had to be carefully regulated before the celebration.  

Stag Dance

Since the town lacked a flag, the flag committee pieced one together from a quilt.  Fortunately, a traveling family camping nearby provided the blue fabric.  The family included a mother and four girls, which meant more women for the dance.  The problem was the girls had no shoes, which would have made it difficult to dance on the rough wood floors.   The miners solved the problem by taking up a collection of brogans, and the dance went off without a hitch. 

William “Buffalo Bill” Cody made history in North Platte, Nebraska on July 4, 1882, when he mounted an exhibition of cowboy “sports.”  This was the beginning of his Wild West shows and what we now call a rodeo.

Not to be outdone, Dodge City did something different two years later for the Fourth of July to attract attention and business; It hosted the first professional Mexican bullfight on U.S. soil. Though the event was a financial success, it was not without controversy.  Many, including Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals, denounced the sport as barbaric.

Compared to the rest of the country, Denver’s first Fourth of July celebration was oddly subdued. Drinking or carousing was not allowed.  Instead, the Declaration of Independence was read, followed by prayers, “chaste and appropriate oration” and wholesome band music.

This year, most public celebrations have been canceled.  But we Americans will find a way to keep “the 4th of July in due style.”  Just like they did in the Old West.

How are you and your family celebrating the Fourth this year?

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He may be a Texas Ranger, but he only has eyes for the outlaw’s beautiful daughter. Amazon

B&N

 

Kaylie Newell: It’s Rodeo Time!

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For our last guest of the month, we have romance writer Kaylie Newell. Yippee! Get ready to talk about cowboys! She has an exciting new book plus a giveaway so leave a comment to enter the drawing. Please make her welcome!

 

Hello, everyone- It’s such a pleasure to be here at Petticoats & Pistols talking about my new release, Betting on the Bull Rider!  This cowboy romance was so much fun to write, mostly because the characters took the reins (literally and figuratively!), and told me exactly where they wanted to go.

My hero, Jake Elliott, is a bull rider, so researching was especially fun.  The Wild Rogue Pro-Rodeo is our local rodeo here in Southern Oregon, and my husband and I take our girls every year.  Drawing on those experiences, as well as time spent with our ranching friends, helped me write this story, and give it what I hope is texture and life.  There’s nothing like the sweet smell of a horse up close, or the feel of an old saddle creaking underneath you.  But most importantly, there’s nothing like that feeling of loving someone who holds your heart in their hands.

I’d love to hear from you all about your own rodeo experiences.  Do you go?  What’s your favorite event? (Mine’s the cowboy watching, of course.) I’ll be giving away a signed paperback copy, so be sure to comment!

Thank you again for reading!  Xo

Here’s an excerpt from Betting on the Bull Rider, which is the second book in my Elliotts of Montana series…..

 

Jake looked around. The stands were packed. The Copper Mountain Rodeo always brought in a good crowd, but today was especially perfect, with the sun coming out for the first time in days, and the temperature rising into the sixties—a rarity for this late in September.

The sharp smell of sawdust and animals filled his senses. The sound of the music, of the crowd cheering, of hooves thundering over the arena floor, made him anticipate what was coming. He’d drawn a bull named Tequila Sunrise, who was small and wiry, and who had a habit of spinning like an absolute thing of beauty. But it was his name that Jake kept coming back to. Even now as he stretched his arm over his chest and felt the muscles and tendons there pull with a distinct tightness.

Tequila… Tequila, or more specifically tequila shots, and the night at the Wolf Den kept trying to work their way past his frontal lobe. But out of a need for pure survival, Jake had pushed it to the furthest, darkest corners of his mind these last few weeks. He hadn’t allowed himself to think about Alice, to wonder what she was doing, or who she might be doing it with. And when he had gone there in a moment of weakness, he’d climbed onto his motorcycle and headed to the fairgrounds, a place where he’d always felt the most in control, to scrub his mind clean of her. So there were only thoughts of rodeo, of getting back into the game, and the money, where he belonged.

Still, his heart had a way of betraying him. At the weirdest times, when he should’ve been one hundred percent invested in climbing on the back of a bull and thinking only of staying the hell on. She always came back to him. Her face, her scent, the way she’d felt in his arms just that once. But it’d only taken one time to show him a glimpse of a life he didn’t feel like he deserved, or that he’d be any good at. What if he failed? What if he failed her? In the end, the night they’d slept together had been a fork in Jake’s country road—embark on a journey he wasn’t altogether sure he’d finish, or take the easy route, the route that was tried and true, and had never caused him any heartache. Not once.

So, here he was. A coward in the simplest terms. He pulled his Stetson low over his eyes and rolled his head from one shoulder to the other. It didn’t matter. He was back on the circuit. And hell, maybe it wouldn’t last much longer, but wasn’t that what he’d told himself he’d wanted? To rodeo until he couldn’t anymore? And he’d continue telling himself that, right along with the fact that he didn’t need Alice.

He didn’t need anyone…

* * * * * * *

Kaylie writes romances, romantic suspense, and women’s fiction and won numerous awards along the way. She was a finalist in the Romance of America’s RITA contest for Christmas at the Graf.

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