I come from a long line of horsemen. I can wear the boots.

I've been thinking lately about the quality of the families I've come from and their histories and how they have shaped me to be the person I have become and am becoming. Now that I live in a rural field with all that goes along with that, I am glad that in my lineage there is a strong history of farming and ranching. It means I can wear cowboy boots with some sense of credibility, although I'm not yet ready for the dramatic cowboy hat just yet.

So last week Lauralea and I went to the Ponoka Stampede and we were there for the night of the finals. I felt at home in ways that were strangely comforting. The sights and smells and sounds all took me back to places in my memory where my Grandpa Thiessen and uncles Marvin and Ervin, who were horse men, still rode the range.

Grandpa would have loved being at the rodeo.

Here are more pictures from the evening.

This race was the final chuck wagon race and too close to call without an electronic beam. The winner was a local boy, whose dad, grandfather and great grandfather had all raced wagons in this race in previous years, and won.

Oh and the prize was $50,000 and a huge brand new truck. Nice.