The day started early, with Harley heading out for her quick morning bathroom break and Sheldon organizing his binder with a coffee in the sunshine before off to the morning production meeting. I jumped in our shower then zipped off for a much-needed nail appointment to get my nails trimmed and shellacked in a sweet soft pink.
A quick pit stop at Brittany’s to grab a few things she’d brought in from the ranch (she has taken the day off for Stampede fun), and then it was back to the trailer to change into my jeans and head over to the backstretch. That’s where I made the rookie mistake of putting on the world’s least breathable denim shirt. Cue early signs of heatstroke.
Retreating to the camper and its blessed AC, I laid down for a quick recharge while Sheldon started working the rodeo gates. After a short nap and some water, I joined him for a three-hour shift under the blazing 29°C sun. Brittany and Amber, luckily, had shaded seats in the grandstand.
This year the rodeo featured the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride—a nice but long half hour show. There was one dismounted RCMP rider though. Once it wrapped, we scooted back to the trailer to give Harley a break and wait for Amanda, Craig, and the 2 littles, who stopped by for a cold drink and to grab the Chuckwagon tickets Sheldon scored at the morning meeting.
We gave them a ride in the Ranger back to the grounds and grabbed a beef-on-a-bun (because when you're living on rodeo time, meals are more of a suggestion than a schedule). We also met Britt, Amber and Grady going into the chucks so chatted for a bit in the hot sun. They are going to the Origin's birthday part tonight too so have a very busy event filled day.
Then it was chuckwagon time: three races watched from the calf-roping chute seats and the last six from near Chuckwagonville gate, learning the ropes from a friend on duty.
After surviving the sun and excitement, I took Harley on a long walk around the rodeo grounds, crossing paths with Craig and Amanda again for a quick hello at the trailer, while Sheldon helped with concert stage setup.
Once he was back, we were both totally spent. A shower for him, PJs for me, and we collapsed into the La-Z-Boys for a bit of Netflix before switching to concert mode—listening to Tyler Joe Miller live from the comfort of our bed, windows open, breeze rolling in.
Dave called at 11 hoping to pop by for a beer—but the real plot twist of the night? Sheldon actually declined. We were that tired. Stampede days hit different.
Both your shedules sounded fun-packed but lots of work. I'm working on putting together kitchen workers 8 am to 11 pm for three days next week. Matt Pick barrels/roping events with $40,000 added and if the winner had bought a horse from Matt they win an additional $10,000.
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