I’ve always loved horses. Being in the presence of horses brings me joy. I love the way they smell. As a small child, we had a horse named Spike. He was a sweet horse, but he was old and lame. My twin sister Terri and I made an appeal to our dad to get another horse, but our dad deemed horses ‘hay burners’ since they provided no tangible value to the farm in terms of income.
Since we were adults, we have made it a point to enjoy horses in other places.
My 19 year old niece, Lillie, has always loved horses. Lillie enjoys riding and currently has two horses at my parents’ farm - Pearl and Scottie.
In 2008, some of my sisters and a niece took my mom on a road trip to visit relatives in Kentucky. As we drove through horse country, we enjoyed the many horses that ran free; their manes flowing in the wind. There were white fences that seemed to stretch for miles and beautiful horses dotted the landscape.
We made a plan to visit the horse park in Lexington, Kentucky. We also visited Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby) and got a behind the scenes tour. It was really fascinating.
We also visited Warm Springs Ranch on our way home from Kentucky. The official home of the Budweiser Clydesdales is a brick and stained glass stable located on the 100 acre Anheuser-Busch Brewery complex in St. Louis, but the horses are bred on Warm Springs Ranch, a 300 acre property in Boonville, Missouri. A baby foal was born while we toured.
We have visited Medora, North Dakota for their outdoor Medora Musical Theater several times in the past 20 years. The show started in the 1950’s and is an ode to patriotism, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Great American West!
They offer an amazing variety musical show featuring The Burning Hills Singers. World class musicians ride horses on stage as they perform. I’d highly recommend it!
I know a few people who own businesses that offer equine therapy. Some research indicates that horses may have a sixth sense that can identify anxiety, stress and fear in humans and help individuals identify these emotions in themselves.
Despite my love for horses, I am not a rider. However, many of my sisters and I often attend area rodeos, as well as the annual MN Horse Expo held at the State Fairgrounds.
I recently was introduced to Big Lake resident Leah Andersen. She is a Becker native currently serving as the Miss Buffalo Rodeo Queen.
Leah got involved with horses at the young age of eight and was hooked on horses from that time forward. She started barrel racing at the age of 11.
Leah shared these thoughts about her favorite part of being a rodeo queen: “It has been fun traveling the state of Minnesota representing the toughest sport on dirt and being involved in every rodeo. I love getting to see the smiles on kids’ faces when I sign autograph sheets for them, and seeing the crowd light up as I carry the flags around the arena.”
Leah was selected for the title through a pageant and queen’s contest. Andersen’s ambassador role as Buffalo Rodeo Queen is to attend community events and visit with rodeo fans while promoting it. She will be handing the title off to a new Lady In Waiting June 18th at the 68th annual PRCA Championship Buffalo Rodeo June 23-25, 2022.
Leah works as a Licensed Practical Nurse and is working towards her Registered Nursing License.
Leah loves to volunteer at nursing homes and visit homeless shelters during the holidays. She runs large rodeos and jackpots on her eight year old gelding, Levi, whom she built from the ground up!
Leah enjoys being outdoors, fishing, and hunting waterfowl and deer.
She also gives lessons to younger girls and teaches them about barrel racing.
Leah shared these parting words: “I feel very honored to represent the toughest sport on dirt.”
