A Saddle-High View of the Grand National Rodeo Color Guard Competition

By Lori Paoletti, SFHA Color Guard Member

On April 7th at around 8 pm, I call poor Yvette, our alternate, and warn her that she may have to ride Lena in my stead because I think my sister will have her baby – soon! Lucky for me, she had a C-section at 10 pm – Yeah, I can compete!

On April 8th at 5:30 am, after only 5 hours of sleep, Sharon wakes me up yelling “Good morning Auntie Lori, it’s time to get up!” I manage to drag myself out of bed so that I can help Sharon prepare for the day’s lunch and dinner and pack any last-minute items we may have missed. Yvette and her daughter Desirée meet up with us – we are on the road and on our way! The day we have been working so hard for is finally here, and to our surprise it is going to be a beautiful day! We arrive at the Cow Palace. We’re so jazzed to meet up with Annie and Nancy, our fellow Color Guard teammates, that it’s hard to contain our excitement. But this year, being our second time out, we have things better organized so we can stay calm and take First Place. We start by getting our hair done. Then it is time for our makeup. When the hair and make up are completed, we help with the hospitality preparations. We all have our jobs to do and we go and get ‘er done. Lunch is served. We have a great turnout from our fellow SFHA members, friends and family.

After lunch, we bring out our amazingly clean horses and get them saddled. Then, we’re putting on our awesome outfits. We are ready, mounted, and prepared to be judged. We walk out on to the runway. Sharon in the lead, then Annie, Nancy and I. We find our spot with the help of the steward and we assume our position on the line. We’re all a little nervous, but our horses, tack (who would of thought that those old saddles could look so good?! Thanks, Clif!) And, needless to say, all of us look and feel great!

The judge comes up and asks if we are ready to be judged. We prepare to do our maneuvers. Off we go – the horses are walking together pretty well. We salute, make our turn, then another turn and….oh my God, we did it! It’s done! We take a walk to the front and get ready to hear the placing – how our division scored out of the five teams competing. We are all so excited now that it’s hard to stand still. We took Second?! Wow! We took Second! The news was so great that we are all a chatter. We go back to the hospitality area to prepare dinner. And wow! What a turn out we had for dinner! Everyone was so wonderful.

But our thrills were not over just yet. After dinner, we get resaddled to head back down the runway, past the front entrance in the side door and onto the dirt – The Cow Palace Processional. This is the moment it is all about. Not only are we honored for our high ticket sales, we also get to listen to one of the most beautiful people in the world (Sharon’s daughter Alicia) sing our National Anthem. What a fitting end to a wonderful day.

The 2006 SFHA Color Guard would like to thank everyone who helped and supported us to achieve a victorious Second Place award at the 2006 Grand National Rodeo. Without your support it would not have been possible. Special thanks go out to:

Pete Spence – best ticket sales and an all around great manager

YvetteKillingham – for being our alternate and support

Mike Tyo – helping train, clean, set up the tack, and support

Clif Evans – for making those saddles look so wonderful

Patty Walsh – for the most beautiful jackets

Denise – with the Soggie Doggie Mobile Spa and also the wonder full pad covers she hand made

Pete – with Western Saddlery

Noel Powers – photography

Dennis Scherzer – photography

Uli Dueregger – last minute grooming

Nancy Ewald – for helping Uli

Letitica – doing hair and makeup

Karen Rosenthal @ Ariat – sponsorship

Donna – our parade judge

Shannon – donating cleaning supplies

Clint – cooking the great meals

Bertille Legrand – Breakfast and coffee

Buca di Beppo’s – donation of gift certificate

Sue – ground crew

Giselle – donation of the hay

Kristen Spence – ground crew

Wolfie – Photography

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