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Parade and Bloopers

September 19, 2017 by Shanna Hatfield

I promised to share some photos of the Westward Ho Parade in Pendleton, and here they are!

a troops

These four started off the parade. Loved their uniforms and how seriously they took their job.  They were also at the rodeo on Saturday during the opening ceremony.

 

a grand marshal 1

This is the parade Grand Marshal. The fun thing is that my daddy worked for his dad way back in the 1950s when my mom and dad were newly married.

a mounted band

The mounted band is always such fun. I so admire people who can do two things at once… like ride a horse and play an instrument. Not everyone can say they play a tuba while riding a horse.

a bevy of court

Miss Rodeo members from various states chose to ride in a wagon with their chaps on display. It was fun to see them, full of smiles for the crowd.

a wagon 1

The team of horses was impressive, but this wagon… the woodwork on it was gorgeous and my photo does not do it justice. Seriously, it was absolutely beautiful!

a longhorns 2

So… if you don’t have a horse, just go ahead and ride a longhorn.

 

a longhorns

Legendary Longhorns have been participating in the parade the last few years. They also take their animals to the park (where a bunch of vendors are set up) and people can get a  photo sitting on one of the longhorns. It’s always fun to see them in the parade.

Mules 1

I think after writing about Steve the Mule, I now have a thing for mules. So enjoyed seeing this team.

As for the bloopers, here are a few of my favorites…

blooper 1

 

blooper 2

 

blooper 1

 

a bulldogger

This poor guy slid I can’t tell you how far in the grass. Glad I’m not the one having to get the stains out of his jeans.

blooper 3

This cowboy missed his mark and landed in front of the steer. And the steer didn’t slow down, just ran right over him.

blooper 4

And this one missed bulldogging his steer, too. As thanks, the steer stomped on his leg.

If you have any fun captions for these photos, please feel free to share in the comments!

 

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Posted in Rugged Romance, Western author, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments »

Joy Lessons Week 38

September 18, 2017 by Shanna Hatfield

Joy is…

a great rodeo

BB f1

Captain Cavedweller and I spent the weekend at the Pendleton Round-Up.  It’s something we look forward to attending all year.  I have a lot of fun just snapping photos during the rodeo, so I’m sharing some of my favorites with you today.

BAREBACK

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Swan Lake starts to play in my head when I look at this photo.

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Liked the colors in this one… of his shirt, boots and the horse.

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Eye-catching colors…

BB2

And the dust softening the image.

INDIAN RELAY RACE

A Indian Relay

The Indian Relay Race hearkens back to the early days of the Round-Up and is still an action-packed event. Teams race around the big track to win the title of this event. Each rider switches horses three times. And some of these horses act is though they’ve barely ever seen humans let alone been ridden before. Oh, and did I mention they ride bareback? At Saturday’s championship race, one of the horses got away and started racing in the opposite direction around the track. Made for some exciting moments for the spectators as well as the racers.

CALF ROPING

calf roper 1

This is my favorite of all the calf roping photos I took. I love the look on his face and the way the rope is floating above the calf.

SADDLE BRONC

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Saddle Bronc is probably my favorite event.

Bronc F17 2

Why, you ask?

Bronc s1

There’s the fact The Christmas Cowboy hero is a saddle bronc rider and it’s what started me out on the Rodeo Romance series of my books.

Also, these guys ride with a certain grace and panache…

Cort 2

And we love cheering for this guy – Cort Scheer. I met his sweet mama and sister years ago in Las Vegas and enjoy staying in touch with them.

dismount in crowd

This is one of my favorite photos from the rodeo this year. The rider made his eight second ride (which took him into the crowd of cowboys watching on the grass). He dismounted and landed on his feet right there to receive a bunch of hearty slaps on the back from his peers while the horse caused a bunch of last-minute scrambling. (Note the one cowboy who’s got a death grip on the back of a photographer’s vest in the lower left corner). Oh, and Cort is the one laughing and cheering right by the horse. So fun!

B pickup men

I don’t think these guys get enough credit for what they do, but the Pickup men are awesome.

BULLDOGGING

bulldogger 1

I didn’t get a lot of fabulous Bulldogging photos, but I liked this one because you see so much action in it.

BULLRIDING

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This bull has a rather devilish look to him. I don’t think the tongue out and flying snot is helping any.

bullrider F17 2

Kickin’ up dust…

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It’s challenging for me to get good bull riding shots because the bulls stay so close to the chutes.

a bullfighters.jpg

The bull fighters did a fantastic job at the rodeo. Dusty Tuckness is a crowd favorite and Tim  O’Connor was fabulous, too.

clown 1

If any of you read Barreling Through Christmas, above is a barrel and the rodeo clown just happens to be inside it at this particular moment.

Enjoy the photos today? If so, I’ll share some of the parade and a few “blooper” photos tomorrow!

 

Posted in Books, Rugged Romance, Shanna Hatfield, Western author, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments »

Joy Lessons Week 37

September 11, 2017 by Shanna Hatfield

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Yesterday was my beloved Captain Cavedweller’s birthday. So it was definitely a day of celebration, of celebrating life and going through the day with joy.

I love this quote because how awesome would it be if we spent a little time each day celebrating the joy of life, of being alive. Why can’t each day be a festival of joy?

(And don’t you just love the visuals that come to mind when you say “festival of joy”… it just sounds fun and wonderful and lighthearted!)

Start small. Take five minutes (or fifteen or thirty… whatever you can work into your schedule) and make it a celebration of life – a festival of joy. Fill your thoughts and your heart with grateful gladness and just be joyful, happy, and light in heart.

I bet it will put a spring in your step the remainder of the day.

Posted in Joy, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

What I’m Working On

September 6, 2017 by Shanna Hatfield

It’s been a while since I’ve shared an update on what projects I’m working on or have coming soon. So here goes!

Saving Mistletoe

Hotshot attorney Ellen Meade seems to have it all: a powerful position with her firm, a posh downtown apartment, and a bright future ahead of her. But for Ellen, the future grows dimmer with each passing day. Her apartment is lonely without her best friend, and the demands of her job are slowly killing her soul. She’s simply surviving until she bumps into a police officer who changes everything.

Burke Tipton loves his job as a Mounted Patrol Officer in downtown Portland.  The life he’s built away from his family’s ranch is simple and uncomplicated. At least it was until a beautiful woman bumps into him and turns his world upside down.

Add in Burke’s partner Sugar Bear, Lovey the dog, and a child named Mistletoe in need of a Christmas miracle, and you get a heartwarming, holiday romance.

You can find Saving Mistletoe in the Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 boxed set. It’s available for pre-order now for just 99 cents or grab it on release day Sept. 26!

Kindle: http://a.co/9TxNMzz

Nook: http://bit.ly/2g8xyO8

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2xgU0sG

Google: http://bit.ly/2viH7g4

 

Blown Into Romance

Artist Brooke Roberts spent her life without roots, wandering from town to town. When she seeks refuge from a freak storm in the town of Romance, she decides to stay and open a blown glass studio. Determined to immerse herself in the community, she adopts a family of pigs. Brooke is unprepared for the chaos and comfort they bring to her world, or the dashing cowboy who rescues her heart.

Solid, dependable Blayne Grundy runs a busy ranch, volunteers on various committees, and takes in stray animals too large to stay at the local animal rescue. Then a chance encounter with a beautiful, beguiling woman leaves him so befuddled, he can barely remember his own name. His predictable organized life is about to be blown away by free-spirited Brooke.

A sweet, lighthearted novella, Blown Into Romance highlights the mighty power of love and letting go.

You’ll find Blown Into Romance in the Fall Into Romance collection releasing Oct. 5.

Surround yourself in the romance of the autumn season with 10 heartwarming, sweet novellas from USA Today, national bestselling, and award-winning authors with a foreword by New York Times Bestselling Author Susan Hatler. Each story takes you inside the heart of a small town—its people—and features adorable animal friends in need of a forever home.  Take a trip to Romance, Oregon, where falling in love has never been easier and happily-ever-after is guaranteed!

Kindle:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0749T1Z89

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fall-into-romance-melanie-d-snitker/1126861809

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fall-into-romance

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/fall-into-romance/id1264676338

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=6mouDwAAQBAJ

 

Those of you who are wondering will be happy to know I plan to have another book in the Hardman Holidays series as well as one in the Rodeo Romance series. Tentatively, they will both release in November!

I also have two super secret projects that are killing me to keep secret. One of them is something incredibly different from anything I’ve done before and every time I think about it, I get giddy with excitement. So, so looking forward to sharing it with you!

Posted in Books | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

Joy Lessons Week 36

September 4, 2017 by Shanna Hatfield

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At the beginning of each month, I like to take stock… How did last month go? What goals did I meet? What goals do I hope to achieve this month?

I also find myself taking a moment to be grateful… for the blessings of last month and the wonderful things waiting ahead this month.

Although I seem to need to repeat this lessons frequently, there is such joy in true gratitude. And the more grateful I am, the more joy I experience.

One of the many things I’m grateful for is you, dear reader.

As we begin this new month and week, I hope your heart is full of joy and gratitude.

Posted in Joy, Writing | Tagged , | 6 Comments »

Maureen by Mary Trimble

August 30, 2017 by Shanna Hatfield

Please join me in welcoming fellow Women Writing the West member – the incredible Mary Trimble! 

Welcome, Mary! 

*****

Maureen Cover MediumMaureen has been such a fun book to write, I almost hated to see it end! Although
I don’t consider it a sequel to my previous Coming-of-Age contemporary-western novels, Rosemount or McClellan’s Bluff, it’s about a character, Maureen, who appears in both those previous books. Maureen has haunted me for years—her story still needed to be told.

In my first book, Rosemount, sixteen year-old Leslie Cahill rebels when her widower father announces he’s sending her to a private girls’ school in Spokane. A good student and musically gifted, Leslie loves her ranch life and riding her beloved Appaloosa, Polly. In Rosemount’s sequel, McClellan’s Bluff, Leslie, then seventeen, is flattered when a neighboring cowboy, eleven years older, shows interest in her. He treats her like a woman, not just another kid. But danger lurks.

Throughout these two novels, the Cahill housekeeper, Maureen Gardner, plays an important role in the family.

In the years following Rosemount’s and McClellan’s Bluff’s publications I have often thought about Maureen and how life was for her on the Cahill ranch. Her story was yet to be told.

In Maureen, Leslie is seven when Maureen comes to the family; Leslie’s brother Wade is seventeen. Their father John, still overwhelmed with grief from the tragic death of his wife and with the burden of managing the family, struggles to keep things running on their large eastern Washington cattle ranch. Maureen covers a ten-year period.

Thank you, Shanna, for the opportunity to appear on your lovely blog.

*****

It’s lovely to have you join us here, Mary! Thank you! Get your copy of Maureen today!

Mary trimble
Mary E Trimble is the author of six books including four works of fiction and two memoirs. To learn more about Mary E. Trimble’s work, please visit
http://www.MaryTrimbleBooks.com

Posted in Books, Reviews, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments »

Joy Lessons Week 35

August 28, 2017 by Shanna Hatfield

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I saw this image and loved it for so many reasons, but it did make me think of the joy that comes from looking at the world through the eyes of a child.

Children see the wonder and magic and possibilities of what could be all around them.

So, my hope for you today, is that you’ll see the world around you (even just for this day) through the eyes of a child and experience the joy it brings.

Posted in Joy, Writing | Tagged , | 4 Comments »

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