Border Days 2015, Day One

It's official......  Nicole's reign as Queen of Border Days is over.  It was a great 12 months but we're all a little relieved it's over.  After three full days of parades and rodeos and other miscellaneous activities over the 4th of July weekend, we are all quite exhausted.  The kids and I are all recuperating today.  Sadly, Glenn had to go back to the real world.  Poor guy.

The first activity on day one (July 3rd) was the slack rodeo (extra rodeo contestants who don't fit into the regularly scheduled rodeo times).  Nicole and her princess had to be in the arena to put the calves away after each event.  I love this picture of these two watching together.

Then it was time for the parade.  This girl was lucky to have great help all weekend.  Her sister is a great little assistant and has gained a ton of horse experience.  She's never been super horse crazy, but she seems a lot more confident.

Sadly, we discovered that Nicole's horse, Jasper, is not a big fan of parades.  I thought after a year of doing this, he'd mellow out, but it's all just too much for him.  We got through it, but not sure he'll ever be in another parade. :)

Thankfully, he was great for the rodeos.  It was super hot every day, but we did our best to stay hydrated and not melt into a puddle of sweat.

Excuse me.  I think I'll go take a nap now.