Art of the Cowgirl Review - Day 3
The third and last day of the Art of the Cowgirl event was on Sunday, February 10th, 2019. I woke up eager for the day, but I was also dreading it for a few reasons. I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END!!! :) This may or may not have been because I kind of like the different scenery (including all of the cacti) and the warmer climate. I know I said it was freezing down there, but the idea of going back to below zero temperatures was making Phoenix feel like a good place to call "home away from home" during the winter. I think my horses would like it down there too.....guess I'm ready to become a snow-bird! :)
We arrived at Corona Ranch around 9 am excited for the day! We took in all of the vendors again...glad I brought my bigger suitcase! :) Here are a few pictures of the vendor's tents and all the delights to be found at the Art of the Cowgirl vendor show. There truly was something for everyone there!
I had a good visit with Bill Black of Bill Black Custom Braiding. I was absolutely in awe of his rawhide reins/rommels and his rawhide hackamores. Imagine the look on my face when he told me it only takes him 8 days to braid an entire set of those reins above and 1 full day on a hackamore. I'm still in awe!! I have a true appreciation for the art of rawhide braiding...and the Black's do it from scratch (meaning they skin the critter and make their own rawhide). Just...wow...such art!!!
Speaking of art....I had the pleasure of taking in the conversation of all of the Master Artists during their Round Table discussion. I was truly moved by something Nancy Martiny said. Please forgive me if it's not an exact quote, but it had something to do with being a woman in her industry. Nancy basically said, "I've never been one to champion for women's rights because I never felt like I didn't belong. We are ranch women." Holy buckets....I felt like jumping up and yelling, "BRAVO!!!" She absolutely nailed it with her words. I feel exactly the same and I know that all of the ranch women/cowgirls in attendance feel exactly the same way. We don't feel like we don't belong or that we aren't good enough because we know the truth of it all. Gosh, my skin in tingling as I relieve hearing her words. Well said, Nancy, well said!!!
I enjoyed listening to all of the Master Artists. They view of what they do and why they do it is fascinating. Their words spoke such eloquence and truth. I hung on every word as did the audience who joined in to listen.
After watching the Master Artists Round Table I headed to the Corona Ranch arena to take in the horse sale. I was also eager to see who the winner was of the Art of the Cowgirl saddle made by Bryan Kendrick. It was gorgeous!!!
The tickets were all gathered. One winner was drawn out of all the online tickets sales (sadly my name wasn't drawn....lol) and another winner was drawn out of all the on site ticket sales. Then the two tickets were put into a hat and the winner was drawn. The winner of the saddle was a tiny little girl. Her dad brought her down to sit on her new saddle...such a cute sight! I later heard that he dad was the buyer of "Headlight" (the high selling horse of the sale). I figure that that little girl is set up to be one heck of a cowgirl with a new horse and a new saddle of that caliber!! Second place went to a lucky lady. She won a pair of Stetson boots. I apologize that I didn't write down their names. I thought I did, but as of right now I can't find where I wrote it. Congrats to the winners!
The Elite Ranch Horse Sale was something to see...so many nice horses in one place! I understand the screening process that Mesa Pate conducted was pretty intense. Seeing the horses in the sale I'd say that was an understatement! Final sale prices ranged from $4,500 - $30,000.
Congratulations goes out to Jessica Cardon. She had the high selling horse of the Art of the Cowgirl Elite Ranch horse Sale. The pictures below should give you a good idea of why "Headlight" brought $30,000. Not only did Jessica remove his bridle, but she rode him around like nobody's business without it on as well. She also shot a pistol off of him (with blanks) in the preview. This 2013 AQHA Sorrel Gelding was amazing. His registered name is Athenit First. He goes back to High Brow Cat on his sire's side. He was my pick of the sale for sure. There were so many nice horses in this sale...heck, they were all great!
After to horse sale was over we headed out to the gazebo for the end of the day round table discussion with Western Influencers. I felt extremely humbled and honored to have been asked by Tammy Pate to participate in this event. As I sat there surrounded by others who are making an impact in the world via social media I felt so blessed. I believe we are in such an amazing time right now. Most of us come from isolated places, but our lifestyle no longer holds us back from being impactful and in helping our families financially through our online based businesses. The video of our discussion was shot live on the Art of the Cowgirl's Facebook page. Click here to check it out! I snapped this quick selfie right before we started speaking...and nobody was looking! :)
I will end this three day review with saying that this weekend was truly one of the best I've ever had! I felt surrounded by a tribe of people who have a similar background and who are focused on much of the same things. There never was a moment that I felt disassociated, bored, or tired of the goings on. I felt like I was in that very place all three of those days for a very special reason. I believe everything happens for a reason...always have and I always will. I feel in this day and age relationships are not being focused on as much as they used to be in the past. I'm glad to say that this true togetherness that I felt was what I strive to continue in the future. The connections we make in life follow us everywhere. Like I said in the beginning of this review...my grandfather sold a horse to Tammy's folks for her. And now probably almost 40 years later we reconnected because of the Art of the Cowgirl. I find that SO incredible! And not only did I get a chance to connect with Tammy, but I also got a chance to meet so many others. So many new friendships were begun....while other friendships were cultivated. It truly was unlike any other event and one I'm proud to say that I was behind from the beginning. I honestly can't wait for next year's event. You'd better believe that I will be there front and center...and after reading what I've said I hope you decide to be there too...bring your spouse, your gal pals, or whomever....JUST BE THERE!! :)
Before I end this I just had to pop in a few more pictures of the folks that I got pics with. I'm honored to know them all!
It was a thrill to see Judy all of these years after I moved away from Montana. I was so proud to see her accept the Western Horseman Woman of the West Award on Friday night!
Being one who dabbles in photography I was like a wild fan girl when I got to meet Constance Jaeggi and get a quick picture. Her equine photography is nothing short of amazing and she is such a nice person!
It was such an honor to finally meet Jenn Zeller - The South Dakota Cowgirl! We have been Facebook friends for years. It's so funny that we had to go so many states away to finally meet. She handling the art exhibit and helped with the online auction, Art of the Cowgirl social media posts, etc. This gal is amazing at whatever she decides to do! I'm super excited to be going to her photography workshop too in April!
I also enjoyed finally getting to meet Jennifer Dennison! I've admired her online for quite some time. She takes awesome pictures and write for some very well-known publications. We froze together at the ranch rodeo! :)
It was fun to meet up with Mandy Frank also! I've admired her amazing ranch photos for some time on Instagram. She's incredible and it was a pleasure meeting her, her mom, and her cute kiddos!
I snapped this pic at the end of the event. Tammy and Mesa were sharing their gratitude to all who attended the Art of the Cowgirl (as well as those who were tuning in online/live). There were some tears shed. Mesa said some wonderful things about Tammy. Tammy reciprocated. It was wonderful to see how much heart and soul they both put into this event and how appreciative they were of everyone who helped and of each other. THIS is what the world needs more of. A while back someone said, "The World Needs More Cowboys". I even wrote a column that has been published in various places about this. I remember telling my ranch rodeo team and friends that, "The World Needs More Cowgirls". Both are right...we need more of both, but what I really feel like saying now is, "The World Needs More Art of the Cowgirl!" See you next year! :)